Larry Mize

Lawrence Hogan Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well known for one career-defining shot – a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at Augusta to win the playoff for the 1987 Masters Tournament, which was his only major title. He is also the only winner of that tournament to come from Augusta.[2]

Larry Mize
Personal information
Full nameLawrence Hogan Mize
Born (1958-09-23) September 23, 1958
Augusta, Georgia
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceColumbus, Georgia
Career
CollegeGeorgia Tech
Turned professional1980
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking10 (June 21, 1987)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
European Tour1
Japan Golf Tour3
PGA Tour Champions1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1987
PGA ChampionshipT6: 1984
U.S. OpenT4: 1987
The Open ChampionshipT11: 1994

Biography

Mize was born in Augusta, Georgia, and worked during his teenage years at the Masters Tournament as a scoreboard operator on the 3rd hole.[3] He attended Georgia Tech.

Mize turned professional in 1980. He finished in the top 125 on the money list (the level needed to retain membership of the tour) for 20 seasons from 1982 to 2001. His first PGA Tour win was the 1983 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.[4] In 1986, at the Kemper Open, Mize lost a six-hole playoff to Greg Norman.[5]

At the 1987 Masters, Mize was tied with Seve Ballesteros and Norman after four rounds.[6] Ballesteros was eliminated in the first hole of the playoff, with a bogey. On the second playoff hole, which was Augusta's eleventh, a par four, Mize's second shot landed well off the putting green. It appeared that a birdie would be impossible, and that even making par might be difficult. Meanwhile, Norman's second shot landed on the edge of the green, giving him a potentially makeable birdie putt. On his third shot, Mize hit an incredible, memorable chip shot with a sand wedge from around 140 feet, giving him the birdie. Norman now had an opportunity to tie, but he failed to sink the putt.[7] Mize's win was especially appreciated because he was an Augusta native and had worked on the scoreboard at Augusta National's third hole as a teenager. His Masters win and a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open in June briefly put him in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.[8]

Mize won twice more on the PGA Tour, at tournaments in Tucson, Arizona, in 1993, at the Northern Telecom Open, and at the Buick Open in Flint, Michigan, also in 1993. He also won on the Champions Tour victory in 2010, in Montreal.[6]

Mize also won four international events and played for the U.S. teams in the Ryder Cup in 1987[9] and the Dunhill Cup in 2000.

For many years Mize and Coca-Cola sponsored a successful charity golf tournament to benefit cystic fibrosis held at the Atlanta Athletic Club.[9] Mize currently resides in Columbus, Georgia with his wife and three sons. His hobbies are fishing, basketball, and playing the piano. As of November 2012, he has played in 37 consecutive Masters Tournaments, 32 of which have been since earning a lifetime exemption because of his 1987 win.[3]

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (4)
Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 26, 1983 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic 70-65-69-70=274 −14 1 stroke Chip Beck, Sammy Rachels,
Fuzzy Zoeller
2 Apr 12, 1987 Masters Tournament 70-72-72-71=285 −3 Playoff Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman
3 Jan 24, 1993 Northern Telecom Open 68-66-70-67=271 −17 2 strokes Jeff Maggert
4 Aug 8, 1993 Buick Open 64-69-71-68=272 −16 1 stroke Fuzzy Zoeller

PGA Tour playoff record (1–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1986 Kemper Open Greg Norman Lost to par on sixth extra hole
2 1987 Masters Tournament Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman Won with birdie on second extra hole
Ballesteros eliminated with par on first hole
3 1990 MCI Heritage Golf Classic Steve Jones, Payne Stewart Stewart won with birdie on second extra hole
Jones eliminated with par on first hole
4 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open Olin Browne, Stewart Cink Browne won with birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 Nov 27, 1988 Casio World Open 72-71-68-73=284 −4 1 stroke Masashi Ozaki
2 Nov 19, 1989 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament 69-64-71-68=272 −16 4 strokes Naomichi Ozaki
3 Nov 18, 1990 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (2) 69-65-69-71=274 −14 3 strokes Naomichi Ozaki

Other wins (2)

Champions Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 Jul 4, 2010 Montreal Championship 67-68-64=199 −17 1 stroke John Cook

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreTo parMarginRunners-up
1987Masters Tournament2 shot deficit70-72-72-71=285−3Playoff1 Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros

1Defeated Norman and Ballesteros in a sudden-death playoff: Mize (4-3), Norman (4-x) and Ballesteros (5).

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T11 T47 T16 1 T45 T26
U.S. Open CUT CUT T39 T24 T4 T12 T33
The Open Championship CUT T46 T26 CUT T19
PGA Championship T47 T6 T23 T53 CUT CUT T17
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T14 T17 T6 T21 3 CUT T23 T30 CUT 23
U.S. Open T14 T55 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T58 64
The Open Championship T31 CUT CUT T27 T11 CUT T52
PGA Championship T12 CUT T40 CUT T15 CUT T8 T58 CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T25 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T42 CUT CUT T30
U.S. Open T37 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT 51 CUT T52 52 CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament10123113720
PGA Championship0000261610
U.S. Open0001141810
The Open Championship000002127
Totals10136238347
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1984 PGA – 1987 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1987 Masters – 1987 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
The Players Championship T13 T15 CUT 2 T12 CUT T70 CUT CUT T54 CUT CUT T8 T13 T14 T31 T23 CUT CUT CUT
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

References
  1. "Week 25 1987 Ending 21 Jun 1987" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. Kirby, Bill. "Sept. 23, 1958: Larry Mize, Augusta native and Masters champ born this day". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  3. Colgan, James (November 12, 2020). "How a 62-year-old is in the hunt at the 2020 Masters". Golf.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. Townsend, Mark (March 27, 2020). "'People can think what they want – it wasn't a fluke'". National Club Golfer. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  5. Feinstein, John (March 29, 2017). "A Chip Down Memory Lane". Golf Digest. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  6. Smits, Garry (March 31, 2012). "Steve Melnyk had best seat in house for Larry Mize's magical Masters moment in 1987". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  7. Ballard, Sarah (April 20, 1987). "My, Oh Mize". Sports Illustrated. pp. 36–43. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  8. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  9. Tremlett, Sam (April 3, 2019). "8 Things You Didn't Know About Larry Mize". Golf Monthly. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
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