‘57 Champ Still Up To The Challenge Ford, 74, Sets Record By Making 45th Trip To Augusta

The early-morning dew was still clinging to the grass at Augusta National Golf Course when Doug Ford leaned over slowly at the first hole, teed up his ball and shot himself into Masters history.

Doug who?

Other than a small group of people who trailed the 74-year-old Ford around the course, hardly anyone seemed aware he was setting a record for longevity Thursday with his 45th appearance in the Masters, breaking a tie with Sam Snead.

That’s just fine with the crusty man who earned a lifetime exemption by winning the Masters in 1957. He hardly pondered the significance of the moment when he stepped up to hit his first shot.

“No,” he said after shooting a 13-over-par 85 in the first round. “I didn’t think anything about it. I was just trying to make a score, that’s all. I don’t even know what year it is.”

Ford, who hasn’t made the cut at Augusta since 1971, has become somewhat of a running joke with his annual appearances, not unlike some other past champions who keep coming back long past their competitive prime (Arnold Palmer excluded, of course).

“And the early leader at the Masters, Doug Ford,” a fan cracked after Ford made a par putt on the first hole.

Just this week, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player said they didn’t intend to keep playing at Augusta when their level of play prevented them from having a chance to put up a competitive score every now and then. Ford scoffed at that kind of talk.

“You break your leg to try to get into it,” said Ford, who has missed only one Masters since his first in 1952. “Why wouldn’t you stay in when you get in? It’s a hard tournament to get to play in. When you have the right to play, you’d like to take that right and play. It’s a beautiful place to play. I enjoy it.”

And as for those people who hint around that it’s time for the old-timers to step aside, Ford responded gruffly.

“I listened to Nicklaus when he said he’d never play on the Senior Tour,” Ford said. “Don’t tell me what Nicklaus is going to do. Nicklaus said, ‘You guys are crazy to start the senior tour. You old guys should quit playing.’ Now the SOB is out there playing it himself.”

Ford’s more recent appearances have obscured the fact that he was a pretty good golfer in his day. He won the 1955 PGA Championship and had 17 other wins on the tour, the last coming at the 1963 Canadian Open.

Ford plans to return today for 18 more holes.