Mize struggles in third round at Masters

Larry Mize was happy to be playing on the weekend at the Masters on the 30th anniversary of his win in 1987.

But he wasn’t happy with his game Saturday. Mize, who made the cut on the number after rounds of 74-76, had a 7-over-par 79 in the third round.

He is 13 over entering Sunday’s final round.

“Well, it’s great, but the competitor in me, it’s just no fun to go do that, it’s no fun to play that poorly,” Mize said. “I was just having to scramble all day long, and it’s just exhausting trying to play golf like that around this golf course. So, great to be here, but disappointing in the play (Saturday).”

Mize’s day started with a double-bogey on the first hole, and he finished his round with a bogey. In between, he had four other bogeys and no birdies.

“It’s me. I just didn’t play good. The conditions were great; that’s what makes it frustrating. The conditions were good,” Mize said. “Some things were really close; I was close to hitting a good shot on 3, but it comes back down the hill, and I make bogey. And that’s just the way it is here. You’ve got to hit shots just right. If you don’t hit them right, you pay the penalty. And I didn’t get up-and-down or putt as well and I hit it a little worse (Saturday).

“So it’s just tough. I just didn’t play good. I hit too many bad shots, hit some bad shots coming in to finish, bogey, bogey, par, bogey, and you can’t do that, especially when you’re already short off the tee. So you can’t afford to drive it bad like I did and hit some bad shots, and if you do, you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Mize struggles in third round at Masters."