Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 7, 1990 TAG: 9004070195
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Randy King Sportswriter
DATELINE: AUGUSTA, GA. LENGTH: Medium
And, thus far, he hasn't been handcuffed.
Hoch, who missed a 2 1/2-foot par putt that could have won the 1989 Masters, said he hopes his misfortune of last April finally is history.
"The last year has been pretty tough, with reporters coming up and bugging me about it," Hoch said Friday.
"When I got down here, I called a press conference for Tuesday to talk about it and get it off my chest.
"Hey, I screwed up. It's over with. Let's get on with things."
So far, Hoch has done just that. He fired a 4-under-par 68 Friday and stands only one shot behind leader Ray Floyd heading into today's third round.
"It's nice to come back here and play well," Hoch said. "I'm hitting the ball well and, who knows, maybe I can do something about it [last year]."
Hoch, of course, still wishes he had drained the putt that let England's Nick Faldo off the hook on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Faldo went on to win the '89 Masters when he birdied the second playoff hole.
"I think if I'd made that putt at [No.] 10, I'd have been a much better player," he said. "I'd liked to have seen whether I could have handled winning this tournament.
"One thing it has done for me is it's made me more tough-skinned to comments and what's written about me."
Hoch said Curtis Strange approached him a week after the '89 Masters and offered his condolences.
"Curtis told me, `A lot might say they know what it's like.' He said, `They don't know whatever.' He said, `I know; I've been through it.' "
Strange lived his day of infamy at Augusta in 1985, when he knocked two balls in the water on the back nine of the final round to blow a four-shot lead and the tournament.
After the Masters ordeal, Hoch rebounded three weeks later to win the Las Vegas Invitational. An emotional Hoch donated $100,000 of his $225,000 first-place check to the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital, affiliated with the Orlando Regional Medical Center where his son, Cameron, was treated successfully for a rare bone infection in his right leg.
Hoch, who in a 1988 magazine poll among players was voted the most disliked golfer on the tour, said his popularity has improved immensely in the past year.
"Today, when I was walking through the ropes, I heard one father tell his kid, `There's Scott Hoch, the guy who gave the money,' " Hoch said.
"And the fans here seem to really be behind me this year. They were giving me chills today. A lot seem to be pulling for me and I feel it." B4 B1 HOCH Hoch
When asked about the lack of foreigners in contnetion this year, Hoch stared at the leaderboard and tried to answer.i
"Hopefully," he said, "one of us [American players] will bring [the title]home this year...unlike I did last year."
by CNB