16 at August National
<< "This guy's pretty good." >>
Yes, but old hat.
The 1995 Masters runner-up sensed it was time to attack when he [Davis Love III] stepped onto the par-3 16th tee, two shots behind Olazabal's 7-under-par pace. His tee shot veered left, seemingly out of position to make even a par. ... But Love used the slope of the 16th green as a backboard and pitched the ball past the hole. It teetered slowly back down toward the hole and clunked in. ... "I hit it up the hill and let it do a U-turn, and then I begged it into the hole all the way down the hill," Love said. ... "When it went in, I went running up the hill, and everybody was screaming," Love said. "At first, I was excited and shocked. Then you want them to keep screaming because the guys back the hole before -- you want them to hear something great's happened. "Just like I got a couple of times from them." By the time Love reached No. 18 Sunday, Olazabal had birdied No. 16, and Love had one more opportunity to apply the pressure. He needed to put the crowd into a frenzy, send a roar down the 18th fairway to let the last pairing know they weren't alone in the hunt. He wouldn't get it. His birdie putt rolled over the lip of the cup without so much as a shiver. Love settled for par, and Olazabal's 1994 green jacket would get a partner.
augusta.com
Speaking of Augusta's 16th, it should be remembered that the Bear darned near aced it in 1986 and almost had a tap-in for birdie as a follow-on to his eagle on 15 when he toured the back nine in 30 to win his 6th green jacket.
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