Mondays are a boost to Mast's comeback

By Bill Kwon

With all the attention focused on Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Shigeki Maruyama and Michelle Wie, one of the feel-good stories that went unnoticed in last week's Sony Open in Hawai'i involved 53-year-old Dick Mast and his longtime local friend and caddy, Ron Tsuruda.

Dick Mast has qualified on consecutive Mondays to play in regular PGA Tour events in Hawai'i (Sony Open) and San Diego (Buick). Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

He easily made the cut, shooting a 6-under 64 — the low round on Friday — to finish in a tie for 47th with reigning British Open winner Todd Hamilton and a stroke better than two former U.S. Open champions, Retief Goosen and Steve Jones.

Mast and Tsuruda are at it again.

With Tsuruda, a civilian aircraft maintenance mechanic at Hickam Air Force Base, toting his bag, Mast again qualified on Monday for the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in San Diego starting today.

Pretty awesome odds, getting in on back-to-back Monday qualifying.

Beating the odds is nothing new for Mast, a devout Christian who resides in Florida and spends time in Big Sandy, Texas.

He entered only five events on the Champions Tour last year and played hurt most of 2003 after injuring his left hip flexor muscle.

"Golf is a hard game, even when you're healthy. I'm fully recovered and looking forward to playing well in 2005," Mast said.

No, he's not pulling a Tom Kite and planning to play a lot of regular tour events. He's tuning up for the Champions Tour, hoping to get in as many events as he can as a conditional qualifier after finishing 12th in the national qualifying tournament. Only the top seven earn full exemptions.

Mast's first senior event of the year will be next week's Turtle Bay Championship on the North Shore, where he finished tied for third in 2002 for his best Champions Tour showing and biggest purse ($90,000).

"Right now it looks like I'm in. I'm in by 10 guys (as conditional qualifier) and I'm 90 percent sure. But I'll know for sure Friday," said Mast, who plans to qualify for the event on Monday if necessary.

In the meantime, Mast again is battle-testing his game against the younger guys and, judging by the results so far, he's doing exceedingly well.

His seven-birdie 64 in the Sony Open — which matched his career low round set most recently in the 2000 B.C. Open — was an eye opener to everyone, especially the younger pros. And in the Monday qualifying in San Diego, he shot a 7-under-par 65, the low score among the qualifiers at the El Camino Golf Course.

Mast isn't just thinking about making his second straight cut on the PGA Tour.

"I want to try to get in contention. That's why I'm here," said Mast, whose best finish in his 27 years on the PGA Tour was second in the 1992 Greater Milwaukee Open.

Mast has played in several PGA events at Waialae, including the 2000 Sony Open. A tie for 21st in 1974 is the best of his finishes in the Hawaiian Open.

Mast and Tsuruda first met in San Diego at the time when the Buick Invitational was known as the Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams San Diego Open.

An avid golfer until three daughters came along, Tsuruda first worked as a standard bearer at the Hawaiian Open, then as a marshal. He wanted to get inside the ropes, so he decided to be a caddy.

He caddied his first eight tournaments with Jay Don Blake, then hooked up with several others, including Loren Roberts and Bill Glasson.

Tsuruda first got together with Mast for the start of a beautiful friendship around 18 years ago, according to Mast, who stays with the Tsuruda family at their Moanalua Valley home when he visits here.

"We try to schedule our vacation so that he can caddy for Dick," said Tsuruda's wife, Sandra.

A former baseball player for Farrington High School, Tsuruda has caddied for Mast a number of times on the Mainland. In 1987, he was on the bag for Mast at the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club and again at the PGA Championship at Oak Tree the following year. They also teamed at the 1997 U.S. Open at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

They hooked up at the 2002 Turtle Bay Championship and will be doing it again next week at the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore.

Mast is anxious to see what he can do on the Champions Tour, playing against guys like three-time (at Turtle Bay) defending champion Hale Irwin, Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller.

"I feel good. Physically, I'm healthy. I've been chomping at the bit to get started," Mast said.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.