NOTES: Stress in the Masters? It’s no big deal for LSU fan Smylie Kaufman
A Masters rookie named Smylie Kaufman shot 69 Saturday, the low round of the day, to finish at 2-under and only one stroke off the pace set by Jordan Spieth.
But the stress level Kaufman will feel by playing in the final group on Sunday in the 80th Masters is nothing compared to being a fan for an LSU football game.
“This doesn’t come close,” said Kaufman, laughing. “LSU football is one of the most painful things to watch ever – really. That just speaks to how big a fan I am.”
Kaufman, as well as his parents, attended the SEC school in Baton Rouge, La.
He won this past fall at Las Vegas to qualify for the Masters – his second major. He played in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
So how will Kaufman prepare for this final round?
“I’m going to hang out with my buddies, family and friends, do the same things we have been doing all week. I’ll just hang out and keep it pretty casual and hopefully I sleep good.”
Smylie, by the way, isn’t a nickname. He was named in honor of his father’s cousin, the late Smylie Gebhart , who was an All-American at Georgia Tech.
GLAD HE STAYED
When Bill Haas arrived at the practice range Saturday morning, he immediately wished he had stayed in bed.
It was cold, it was windy and he wasn’t hitting the ball that well anyway.
“I was thinking that I might not be able to finish,” said Haas, who lives in Greer. “I was just discouraged. If I had to warm up in wind like that every day, I would never practice.”
When he holed his third shot for an eagle 3 on the 13th hole, he was glad he stuck around.
“In the air, I was telling it to get down,” Haas said. “I’ve hit the pin before and it can go anywhere. When it landed, I though it was going to be good, but for it to go in was obviously a huge bonus.”
Haas shot 72, his best round of the tournament, for a three-day total of 5-over 221.
JOKE’S ON THEM
Like Haas, Kevin Kisner had a morning tee time when the wind was blowing a lot harder than it did in the afternoon.
“Every shot is just guessing and hitting and praying,” Kisner said. “I never felt comfortable all day, even on wedge shots, and putts are just brutal.”
Kisner shot 76 for a three-day total of 9-over 225.
Asked what he learned from the tough conditions, Kisner, who lives in nearby Aiken, said, “You go home, sit on the couch and have a beer and laugh at everybody else. That’s my plan. Hopefully we’ll play the course the way it’s supposed to be played without much wind tomorrow.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 8:37 PM with the headline "NOTES: Stress in the Masters? It’s no big deal for LSU fan Smylie Kaufman."