Champions Tour, win kindle Mize's competitive spirit

With most of the local talent watching this Masters Tournament from their sofas, Larry Mize will be representing golfers with Augusta ties by himself for the first time since 2000.

But more satisfying to the Augusta native and 1987 Masters victor, Mize comes home this year a winner for the first time in nearly two decades.

Mize claimed his first senior title at the 2010 Montreal Championship in July, and the feeling of hoisting a trophy didn't feel old even at age 51.

"It was fun to get back in the winner's circle because it had been since '93," said Mize, whose last of four career PGA Tour victories came that season in Tucson, Ariz., and Grand Blanc, Mich. "It had been a long time. It does wonders for your confidence."

Playing full time on the Champions Tour since turning 50 in September 2008 has rekindled his competitive spirit even on an Augusta National course that has stretched beyond the reach of most aging, medium-length golfers. He made the cut in 2009 for only the second time in 10 years, opening with a 67 that had him only two shots off the lead. He missed the cut by only a shot in 2010.

This year he'll come to the Masters fresh off competing in Mississippi the weekend before.

"I'm playing a few more weeks," he said of the 42 starts on the senior circuit the previous two years that included 17 top-10 finishes. "As a competitor and golfer you're just so thankful and blessed to be able to continue to do this. And being out there with your friends you played for years with, and to get to play that much and play well and win again does wonders for your confidence and incentive to continue to play hard."

With a lifetime exemption into the Masters thanks to his 140-foot chip-in on the 11th green to beat Greg Norman in a playoff in 1987, Mize continues to set his sights on peaking each spring even if the odds grow longer with each passing year.

"April is always in the back of my mind, seeing if I can't play well and get in there a little bit," he said. "I know I'm a long shot and the course is really long for me. But to shoot that 67 on Thursday (in 2009) and to be in there and play pretty good on the weekend, it shows me that you still can play there. I've got to be hitting on all cylinders, but that's the fun of it."

Mize was never one of the bombers perennially favored at Augusta National, but that never stopped him from using his guile to contend in his hometown from the time he tied for 11th in his Masters debut in 1984. He missed the cut only twice in his first 17 Masters appearances and finished in the top 20 seven times, including a solo third in 1994 and a tie for sixth in 1992.

"I've got to really manage my game and have a game plan and stick to it to have a chance to play that golf course," he said of the layout that's 530 yards longer than when he won on it. "Where Phil (Mickelson) can overpower it and do different things as a lot of the younger players can, I still think I can play well there and it's an exciting challenge I look forward to every year."

That challenge has been more fun in the past two years with the weather pleasant and the course set up more conducive to scoring.

Mize credits chairman Billy Payne for bringing the excitement back to the tournament that had been lacking for several years after the course got lengthened and tightened.

The fact that his 67 two years ago was his first sub-par round since shooting the same score in the second round of 2000 illustrated that trend.

"It's exciting for us players," Mize said of the vibe that has prevailed the past two tournaments. "Part of Augusta is the roars. ... To get those roars back was very important and they've done that and are doing a great job of setting up the course. Still a tremendous challenge but they're setting up where there is going to be some good scoring on certain days and get the excitement back in there because that's what Augusta's about. Augusta is Augusta. It's not the U.S. Open, it's not the British and it's not the PGA. Augusta is its own tournament and they've got to do it their way and I like what they're doing."

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 orscott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.