Casper still has spirit of champion

Adam Candee

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 9:21 a.m.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- How easy it would be to assume that Billy Casper, an accomplished golfer suffering a horrible day, would find the fastest route from thecourse Thursday evening.

And just like the most forgettable part of Casper's day, such an assumption would be all wet.

Casper put five balls in the water at No. 16 to card a 14 on the par-3 hole, but chose not to officially card his record-breaking round of 106, instead withdrawing from his final Masters at age 73. Having not played here since 2001, Casper wanted one more trip around Augusta National in front of his wife, Shirley, his children and grandchildren before he "got old."

Casper said he never considered quitting the round.

"I'm proud to finish," Casper said.

With a swollen horde of reporters waiting to pry into his 34-over round, Casper kept his humor and patience. He entertained the first wave of reporters and then a second swarm before finally making it to the TV cameras for another round of questions. In all, Casper engaged every one of the roughly 100 media members for close to 45 minutes, talking, laughing and never expressing an ounce of embarrassment about his trying day.

"I have the card in my pocket," Casper said. "I'm going to frame it."

Had Casper turned it in, the score of 106 would have shattered the previous high Masters round of 95 by Charles Kunkle in final round in 1956. His 57 on the back nine also would have set a new tournament mark.

Before Thursday, Casper's records had much more to do with success on the PGA tour. Once called the most underrated player in the history of golf by analyst Johnny Miller, Casper won 51 times on the PGA tour, including the 1970 Masters win that earned him a lifetime invitation to the tournament. He is also a two-time U.S. Open champion.

He was considered one of the premier putters of an age of golf that included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. After Thursday's struggles, Casper will be content to let his legacy live in that past generation.

"I had the desire to play," Casper said. "I've done it. I'm satisfied."

A SubAir system is installed below every green. The systems allow Masters officials to suck water down out of the greens at the flip of a switch. They have been modified to quiet their sound enough to run them during play, if necessary. A decent-sized puddle can be sucked below in less than a minute.

"With the amount of rain we had, the golf course is great," Vijay Singh said. "It was the best condition we've played in considering all the rain."

The SubAir system was first installed at Augusta National on the 13th green in the mid-1990's.

On the green in two shots at the par-5 13th, Woods lined up a downhill 40-foot eagle putt that seemed to pick up plenty of speed as it rolled ... and rolled ... and rolled, through the fringe and straight down a bank into the creek.

Stunned, Woods chose to putt again from the same spot on the green and ended up two-putting for a bogey. It was just one crazy part of a weird day for Woods, who stopped play at 2-over through 12 holes on Thursday evening.