Larry Mize
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Lawrence Hogan Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American
professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
who played on the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
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 is his only
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
title to date. He is also the only winner of that tournament to come from Augusta.


Biography

Mize was born in
Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
, and worked during his teenage years at the Masters Tournament as a scoreboard operator on the 3rd hole. He attended
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
. 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. In 1986, at the Kemper Open, Mize lost a six-hole playoff to
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
. At the 1987 Masters, Mize was tied with
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
and Norman after four rounds. Ballesteros was eliminated in the first hole of the playoff after missing a 5-footer for par. On the second playoff hole, Augusta's par-4 11th, Mize's second shot landed well to the right of the green. It appeared a birdie would be impossible and even a par would be a challenge. Meanwhile, Norman's second shot landed on the edge of the green leaving him a lengthy birdie putt. On his third shot, Mize holed a 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. 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 The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
. 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 The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players use ...
in Flint, Michigan, also in 1993. He also won on the Champions Tour victory in 2010, in Montreal. Mize also won four international events and played for the U.S. teams in the
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
in 1987 and the Dunhill Cup in 2000. For many years Mize and
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
sponsored a successful charity golf tournament to benefit
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mize currently resides in
Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...
with his wife and three sons. His hobbies are
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, and playing the
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
. As of April 2022, he has played in 39 consecutive Masters Tournaments, 34 of which have been since earning a lifetime invitation because of his 1987 win.


Professional wins (10)


PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–3)


PGA of Japan Tour wins (3)


Other wins (2)

* 1993 Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship (unofficial event) * 2000 Straight Down Fall Classic (with Jim Lehman)


Champions Tour wins (1)


Major championships


Wins (1)

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.'' 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...


Summary

* 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

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


Results in senior major championships

''Results not in chronological order before 2022.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...


U.S. national team appearances

Professional *
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
:
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
*
Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...
:
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...


See also

* Fall 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mize, Larry American male golfers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships Golfers from Augusta, Georgia Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia 1958 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen