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 is his only major title to date. He is also the only winner of that tournament to come from Augusta.

Early life and amateur career In 1958, Mize was born in Augusta, Georgia. He worked during his teenage years at the Masters Tournament as a scoreboard operator on the 3rd hole. Mize attended Georgia Tech.

Professional career In 1980, Mize turned professional. 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.

At the 1987 Masters Tournament, Mize was tied with Seve Ballesteros 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.

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.

Mize also won four international events and played for the U.S. teams in the Ryder Cup in 1987 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. He played in 40 consecutive Masters Tournaments, 36 of which were after earning a lifetime invitation because of his 1987 win.

Personal life Mize currently resides in Columbus, Georgia with his wife and three sons. His hobbies are fishing, basketball, and playing the piano.

Professional wins (10) PGA Tour wins (4) LegendMajor championships (1)Other PGA Tour (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Jun 26, 1983Danny Thomas Memphis Classic70-65-69-70=274−141 stroke Chip Beck, Sammy Rachels, Fuzzy Zoeller2Apr 12, 1987Masters Tournament70-72-72-71=285−3Playoff Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman3Jan 24, 1993Northern Telecom Open68-66-70-67=271−172 strokes Jeff Maggert4Aug 8, 1993Buick Open64-69-71-68=272−161 stroke Fuzzy Zoeller

PGA Tour playoff record (1–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11986Kemper Open Greg NormanLost to par on sixth extra hole21987Masters Tournament Seve Ballesteros, Greg NormanWon with birdie on second extra holeBallesteros eliminated by par on first hole31990MCI Heritage Golf Classic Steve Jones, Payne StewartStewart won with birdie on second extra holeJones eliminated by par on first hole41998Canon Greater Hartford Open Olin Browne, Stewart CinkBrowne won with birdie on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Nov 27, 1988Casio World Open72-71-68-73=284−41 stroke Masashi Ozaki2Nov 19, 1989Dunlop Phoenix Tournament69-64-71-68=272−164 strokes Naomichi Ozaki3Nov 18, 1990Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (2)69-65-69-71=274−143 strokes Naomichi Ozaki

Other wins (2) 1993 Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship (unofficial event) 2000 Straight Down Fall Classic (with Jim Lehman)

Champions Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jul 4, 2010Montreal Championship67-68-64=199−171 stroke John Cook

Major championships

Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreTo parMarginRunners-up 1987 Masters Tournament 2 shot deficit 70-72-72-71=285−3 Playoff1 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. Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters TournamentT11T47T161T45T26U.S. OpenCUTCUTT39T24T4T12T33The Open ChampionshipCUTT46T26CUTT19PGA ChampionshipT47T6T23T53CUTCUTT17 Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentT14T17T6T213CUTT23T30CUT23U.S. OpenT14T55CUTCUTCUTCUTCUTT5864The Open ChampionshipT31CUTCUTT27T11CUTT52PGA ChampionshipT12CUTT40CUTT15CUTT8T58CUT Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentT25CUTCUTCUTCUTCUTT42CUTCUTT30U.S. OpenT37CUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTCUT51CUTT5252CUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament20192020202120222023Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTCUTCUTPGA ChampionshipU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipNT

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 Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 1 0 1 2 3 11 40 20PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 6 16 10U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 1 4 18 10The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 7Totals 1 0 1 3 6 23 86 47 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 Tournament19831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002The Players ChampionshipT13T15CUT2T12CUTT70CUTCUTT54CUTCUTT8T13T14T31T23CUTCUTCUT

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

Results in senior major championships Results not in chronological order before 2022. Tournament 2008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023The Tradition4T25T25T31T46T24T9T42T34NTT2974T69Senior PGA Championship2T6CUTT38CUTCUTWDT16T11T38T68NTT23U.S. Senior OpenT16T8T2963T30T43T38NTSenior Players ChampionshipT27T47T33T30T24T28T59T20T35T17T52T48WDSenior British Open ChampionshipT6T14T21T47T21CUTT38CUTCUTNT

CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances Professional Ryder Cup: 1987 Alfred Dunhill Cup: 2000

See also

Fall 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References

External links