Capelle On Golf

2008 Masters Coverage - Thru 4/15

There was no good reason for Gary Player to think that he could win the 1978 Masters when he stepped to the first tee for the final round. He was 42 years old, an advanced age for most golfers in the ‘70s, even given his level of fitness. He hadn’t won a major since the 1974 British Open. His best finish was a 10t in the 12 previous majors. And, most importantly, he was seven shots in back of Hubert Green, the reigning U.S. Open champion. In between he and Green were Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Gene Littler, and three other players.

No, there was no reason to think that he could win except for one thing: this was Gary Player, a man of great faith and unfailing self-confidence. Player was a man on a mission, just as he’s always been, so he went about his round with one goal in mind: winning.

Player opened up strong with birdies at the second and fourth holes, but a bogey at the tricky seventh and a par at the par five eighth left him at -4 for the tournament. This was hardly the start that miraculous comebacks are made of.

The three players who would eventually tie for second, one back of Player were well ahead of his score when they finished the eighth hole. Green was -10 while Watson and Rod Funseth were at -8.

Up ahead, however, Player had begun to light up the scoreboard with red numbers. He birdied nine to make the turn at 34, then birdied the always difficult tenth. Four more birdies through the seventeenth left him at -10 for the tournament. On eighteen he pumped his fist after an 18 footer dropped for a 64, tying the since broken course record. He stood at -11. Then came the waiting.

Funseth finished with a birdie and three pars for a solid 69 that left him one back. Tom Watson bogeyed 18 to fall to a shot back of Player at -10. That left it up to third round leader Green, who’s bogey at 16 left him in need of a birdie on the home hole. His approached nestled in close, a mere three feet from a tying birdie. Green got set to putt, but backed off the putt after hearing sportscaster Jim Kelly nearby. He reset, missed, and Player was the champion.

The 2008 Masters marks the 30th Anniversary of one of the greatest comebacks in golf history. Player’s third green jacket has also proven to be of great historical significance. It tied him with Ben Hogan at nine majors and, in hindsight, gave him one more major than Tom Watson.

Player will be seeking another bit of history at this year’s Masters, for this will be his fifty-first, moving him out of a tie with Arnold Palmer for most Masters played. Now let’s hope that the TV people plan to treat us to some vintage footage of that moment 30 years ago when a man of great faith orchestrated a miracle.

Player’s Miracle
The Front Nine
454-343-454—36 Par
444-243-553—34 Player

The Back Nine
443-545-344—36 Par
342-444-243—30 Player