Low Am No Green Kid

April 6, 2000 / 8:54 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Danny Green was a college All-American, as good a fit as any to shoot the best round Thursday among the amateurs at the Masters.

One minor hangup: he was an All-American in tennis, not golf.

He's also 43 years old, has a paunch that would embarrass Craig Stadler and a swing that looks better suited for a municipal course on a Tuesday than Augusta on a Sunday.

But with all due respect to 19-year-old Aaron Baddeley, 20-year-old David Gossett and all the other youngsters competing as amateurs this week, Green seems to fit the definition the best.

"I never played golf growing up, so I never did get good enough to consider going pro," said Green, who shot 1-over-par 73 to lead the six amateurs. "My game was always marginal. The last few years, I've gotten better."

The Senior Tour could beckon in a few more years, but to hear Green talk, that might take some of the fun out of it.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur champion got into the sport 20 years ago because he "didn't mind betting money on things and didn't know anyone who gambled while they played tennis."

So, off to the driving range he went. He learned the game on his own and has never taken a lesson, a rarity in this era of entourages and swing gurus.

"I just squatted over it and hit it," he said of his first experience hitting golf balls. "Until 15 years ago, I thought I stood over it and hit it like anyone else. It's too late to change now."

He stands farther away from the ball than most players, but that didn't seem to hurt him as he moved his way up the ranks, winning local tournaments at first, then state events and coming in second in 1989 at the U.S. Amateur tournament.

That runner-up finish earned him a bid to the 1990 Masters, although the trip wasn't memorable. He shot 79-83 and missed the cut.

Back for the first time in a decade, Green finished the first round not just in contention for the top amateur score, but ahead of a handful of notable names, including Tiger Woods.

"I've played a lot of golf, a lot of tournaments and I've been through a lot of battles and wars in 10 years," said Green, a star tennis player at Tennessee-Martin back in the 1970s. "I'm a lot better player than I was 10 years ago. I wasn't really ready for this 10 years ago."

While Green played in relative peace Thursday, Baddeley was in the same group as Woods for his first Masters appearance. Hyped as Australia's possible answer for Woods, Baddeley overcame some early jitters to finish the front nine at 2 over.

But on No. 11, he looked every bit the amateur. He hit his ball in the water, then had to call for an official to get instructions on where to drop. Once he figured it out, he ended up with his second straight duble bogey.

He finished at 5-over-par 77.

"Tiger and I were talking," Baddeley said. "We said this is just one of the days where you have to stand out there and grind it out. That's what I learned today."

Hunter Haas, the U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, said the aura of Augusta overwhelmed him as he took the first tee.

"I was shaking like a leaf," Haas said. "I could barely get the tee in the ground. I just told myself I had to be able to focus. I gritted it out. I figured the worst I could do was shank it into the media center."

Haas finished the day at 8 over.

Other amateurs in the field were U.S. Amateur runner-up Sung Yoon Kim (3 over), British Amateur champion Graeme Storm (11 over) and Gossett, the U.S. Amateur champion (3 over).

None of the amateurs besides Green has celebrated his 25th birthday. And almost all of them, at some point, have attracted more attention than Green ever has until this week.

"That's well-deserved. They're all good players," Green said. "You can leave me out of that if you like. I'll just stay in the background and play."

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