News from Augusta

Player makes cut, makes history

Augusta, Georgia. 10th April 1998 - Windswept Augusta National dealt another cruel blow to Greg Norman, kept Nick Faldo off the course on the weekend for the second year in a row and stopped Vijay Singh's streak of making the cut in 53 straight tournaments.

Then again, the gusty conditions Friday for the Masters didn't seem to bother 62-year-old Gary Player.

The diminutive South African, bundled in a sweater and having the time of his life, shot an even-par 72 in the second round to become the oldest player in Masters history to advance to the weekend. Player, a three-time Masters champion, beat the record of Sam Snead, who was two months shy of his 62nd birthday when he made the cut in 1974.

"I've always enjoyed the challenge of a great wind," said Player, whose 5-over total of 149 put him 10 shots behind co-leaders David Duval and Fred Couples. "It was like I was playing again in my 20s. What a thrill!"

There haven't been any Masters thrills for Norman since he took a six-stroke lead into the final round in 1996. He shot a gut-wrenching 78 that day to finish second to Faldo, missed the cut last year with a 7-over 151, then fell short again this year with rounds of 76 and 78.

The 10-over 154 is Norman's worst score in 18 trips to the Masters, and is only the fourth time he has missed the cut. He is rapidly becoming one of Augusta's most pitiable figures: three times the runner-up, eight times a finisher in the top six -- but no green jackets.

"I felt like I hit the ball solid," said Norman, who has been bothered by a shoulder problem, "but the putts didn't go my way. So now it's time to get on a horse and go home."

Norman will undergo an MRI next week and doesn't expect to play for another month, giving his ailing shoulder time to heal. As for another brief appearance in Augusta, he had no complaints.

"It's the best four or five days I've ever had here," he said. "It's the easiest, quietest week I've had in a long time. It's just too bad I couldn't shoot 10 shots better."

Faldo fared no better than the man he beat in 1996, bogeying the final three holes to miss the cut for the second straight year. At 18, he missed a 2-foot par putt that would have allowed him to play through the weekend.

As it was, Faldo finished with a 7-over 151 -- one shot away from the cut and on his walk to the clubhouse he wouldn't even acknowledge reporters' questions, simply staring straight ahead.

Singh's mood wasn't much better. He had made the cut in every one of his tournaments since the 1995 PGA Championship, tying him with Tom Kite for the fourth-longest streak in tour history, though still well short of Byron Nelson's record of 113.

Singh's remarkable run of consistency was halted by a 12-over 156. His relationship with the media, tumultuous even on the best of days, was more standoffish than usual after Friday's round of 80.

"Don't talk to me anymore," he told reporters, walking briskly toward the clubhouse. Asked if he was disappointed that his streak had ended, Singh replied tersely, "What do you think?"

Ben Crenshaw was much more graceful in defeat. The two-time Masters champion, whose 1995 victory was one of the most popular in the 62-year history of the tournament, finished up an even-par round before only a handful of fans at the 18th green.

Crenshaw was doomed by an 83 in the first round.

"I'm pretty disappointed," said Crenshaw, who has missed the cut in all six tournaments he's played this year. "I just never got anything going. Yesterday was pathetic."

Crenshaw underwent surgery in September to remove a bone fragment in his right foot, and his playing time at the start of the season was cut down when his wife had a child.

"I'm still out of shape golf-wise," he said. "I'm searching for my rhythm on every swing."

Among the other prominent players who didn't make the cut were Tom Watson, Tom Lehman and Nick Price. They can get an update on the weekend from Player and 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus, another old-timer who made the cut easily with a 1-over 145.

"I would love to make the cut at 62 years of age," Player told a group of reporters after he came off the 18th green, unsure if his two-round score would be good enough for the first time since 1993. "I've missed so many times by a shot or two. But I think I'm going to make it today."