AUGUSTA, Ga. – Trip Kuehne first played in the Masters in 1995 after being the runner-up to Tiger Woods in the 1994 U.S. Amateur Championship. He qualified for this year's Masters by winning the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
He repeated all week that all he wanted to do was have an opportunity on the back nine yesterday to make the cut and end his amateur playing career in style by playing on the weekend at Augusta.
With the cut line at 147, Kuehne needed to shoot a 69 yesterday after opening with a 78 on Thursday. He shot 72, hurting himself with a double-bogey on the par-3 16th hole. He had made eagle at the 13th.
An emotional Kuehne, with his brother Hank and tennis star Venus Williams and family members standing nearby watching, fought tears as he met with the media.
“It was a hell of a ride,” said Kuehne, 35, a hedge-fund manager. “This is the culmination of a dream that I've had since I played here in 1995.
“With everything that this course means to amateur golf, with Bobby Jones and all the amateurs that they have historically had play in this tournament, to get the opportunity to represent all the amateurs that have never turned pro or just dreamed about playing here, all the working people that have either dreamed about playing Augusta National or coming to the Masters Tournament, to get to play and to represent those people, that's what I always wanted to do.”
Player will return
Gary Player said if he broke 80, which he said is par for him at Augusta National these days, he would return for a 52nd Masters. He broke his and Arnold Palmer's record of 51 Masters by playing this week. Player shot 78 after opening with an 83, so he'll be back.
Player has taken a record 11,920 strokes at Augusta, with Jack Nicklaus second at 11,733 and Palmer next at 11,148.
“I've exercised for 63 years and dieted and, yes, it's nice to break Arnie's record,” said Player, 72. “But the important thing is to set an example for the youth to look after their bodies, to be productive and to be willing to work hard.”
Streak over
Fred Couples had a chance to break Player's record of 23 consecutive cuts made at the Masters, but Couples missed a 10-foot birdie putt at 18 and missed the cut by one by shooting 4-over 148.
“It's been a long time, and it's been fun,” Couples said. “I just didn't make many birdies out there today.”
Couples downplayed the streak, saying it was much more important to him to come here and compete than to just make the cut.
“I'm much more disappointed that I didn't play better,” Couples said.
Amateur honor
Michael Thompson was poised to make a birdie from 15 feet on the par-5 15th, but as he grounded his club, his ball moved slightly. He called a penalty on himself and that cost him any chance of making the cut. He made a bogey there because of the one-stroke penalty and then bogeyed 16 and 17 to finish at 7-over 151. The cut was at 147.
“It really turned my round, turned the momentum against me,” said Thompson, the runner-up to the 2007 U.S. Amateur champion, Colt Knost. “It was very unfortunate, but I'm sure it's happened many a time before here. These greens are superfast.”
Someone asked Thompson why golf is such a game of honor.
“That's just the part that brings out the best in people and also brings out the worst when people don't obey the rules,” Thompson said. “It's just part of any game. You've got to follow the rules, especially out here in front of all these people. I don't want to create a bad image of myself, and that's just something that you just have to do.”
Notable
Trevor Immelman has struggled this year. But showing that it doesn't matter how you're playing when you get to the Masters, Immelman took the lead with his second straight 68 after having just one top-25 finish in eight starts, in the FBR Open in February. Immelman and Brandt Snedeker, who is in second place, one shot back, are the only players with two rounds in the 60s.
Zach Johnson shot a 76 yesterday, but he made the cut at 2-over. Mike Weir was the most recent defending champ to miss the cut.
Former San Diegan Craig Stadler shot 77 on Thursday, but battled back with a 72 thanks to an eagle on the par-5 13th. He missed the cut by two strokes.
There have been nine eagles so far: Stadler, Steve Flesch, Boo Weekley, Retief Goosen, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Kuehne on 13; Adam Scott on 8; Ian Poulter on 16; Tiger Woods on 15.
Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com
