In 1947, after being runner-up the previous year at the Trans-Miss Championship at Denver Country Club and a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Amateur, Babe Lind became the first Coloradan to compete in the Masters, finishing 46th.
Last year, Evergreen resident Craig Stadler played in his final Masters after 38 appearances, including his victory in 1982.
This week, Stadler’s son Kevin, a part-time Denver resident, will carry on the tradition of Coloradans competing at Augusta National Golf Club. That is, assuming the stress fracture in his left hand allows it. Kevin Stadler has played a grand total of just two PGA Tour rounds — plus two holes — since mid-October because of the hand injury. He’s in the 2015 Masters field thanks to a top-12 finish in last year’s tournament — eighth place, to be exact — his best showing ever in a major championship.
Stadler said he’s about 70 percent of normal.
“Basically, I figured if my hand wasn’t detached I’d give it a go here,” he said. “I had the time of my life last year and I couldn’t miss it.”
(April 10 Update: Stadler posted rounds of 77-74 and missed the cut by five strokes.)
As has been well-chronicled, Craig Stadler was continuing to play the Masters with the hope that Kevin would earn an invitation and that they could be in the same field at Augusta. With that happening in 2014, the elder Stadler will end his streak of 36 consecutive Masters when the field tees it up on Thursday.
“For five years or so, I’d been saying under my breath to friends that the first year Kevin got in was going to be my last,” Craig Stadler recently told Golf Magazine. “And it worked out perfectly because he played really well. A couple of bogeys down the stretch on Sunday, but otherwise it was awesome to watch.
“I love the place (Augusta National). I always have, other than Thursday or Friday the past five or six years (he missed the cut his last seven times competing in the Masters). Last year, I had a blast watching Kevin over the weekend. He played well, and I loved every minute of it.”
(The Stadlers are pictured together at last year’s Masters.)
With this passing of the torch, it seems a good opportunity to look back on how players with strong Colorado ties who have played multiple times at the Masters have fared over the years:
Evergreen resident Craig Stadler — Masters appearances: 38. First Masters: 1974. Best finish: Won in 1982, beating Dan Pohl in a playoff. Top 10s: 5.
Boulder High School and CU graduate Hale Irwin — Masters appearances: 21. First Masters: 1971. Best finishes: Fourth in 1974 and ’75. Top 10s: 7. Notable: Irwin, now a three-time U.S. Open champion, finished in the top five at Augusta every year from 1974 through ’77.
Former Broadmoor director of golf Dow Finsterwald — Masters appearances: 14. First Masters: 1951. Best finishes: Third in 1960 and ’62. Top-10s: 5. Notable: Just months after being hired by the Broadmoor, Finsterwald posted his final top-10 at Augusta National, a ninth in 1964.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Dave Hill — Masters appearances: 12. First Masters: 1968. Best finish: fifth in 1970. Top-10s: 2.
Cherry Hills Village resident David Duval — Masters appearances: 11. First Masters: 1996. Best finish: second in 1998 and 2001. Top-10s: 4. Notable: Enjoyed his Masters success before moving to Colorado 11 years ago.
Former Yuma High School and CU golfer Steve Jones — Masters appearances: 9. First Masters: 1988. Best finish by 1996 U.S. Open champ: 20th in 1990.
Castle Rock resident Gary Hallberg — Masters appearances: 6. First Masters: 1978. Best finish: sixth in 1985.
Former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid — Masters appearances: 4. First Masters: 1981. Best finish: His only made cut was a sixth-place showing in 1989.
Former CU golfer Jonathan Kaye — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 2001. Best finishes: 43rd in 2001 and 2005.
Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Dale Douglass — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 1969. Best finish: 19th in 1969.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 1999. Best finish: 14th in 1999.
Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 2011. Best finish: 20th in 2011.
Aurora resident Mark Wiebe — Masters appearances: 2. First Masters: 1986. Best finish: 35th in 1987.
Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler — Masters appearances: 2nd will be this week. First Masters: 2014. Best finish: Eighth in 2014. Notable: Stadler’s showing last year was his best performance in any major championship.
