Smith feels the wrath of Augusta

FINE is the line at Augusta National. Nathan Smith watched as he carved a lovely fade around the trees guarding the right side of the 18th fairway.

From his viewpoint, it appeared the ball bounced and carried on to the front third of the green, almost pin-high, a fantastic shot.

But it actually bounced on the front fringe, rolled only a few feet onto the putting surface and never got past the green’s false front. The ball rolled back off the green and into the fairway.

It was almost a good shot. Just like it was almost a good week for Smith, an amateur from Pittsburgh. Almost, but not quite, and almost isn’t quite good enough at the Masters. Smith, a three-time US Mid-Amateur champ, got up and down for par on 18, but finished at eight-over after rounds of 75 and 77. He played well enough to score better, even make the cut, but there were too many almosts. Three Masters, three missed cuts.

“The Masters is everything you think it will be, and more,” said Smith, 32. “It never gets old.”

As usual, Smith had his father, Larry, as his caddie. Larry is 63, big and athletic, but his knees aren’t what they used to be. “Sometimes you have to hustle to keep up,” he said, “and my hustle has kind of hustled away.”

The Smiths had an enjoyable week. Nathan played the Par-3 contest with Rickie Fowler and Peter Uihlein, and last week spent several hours in the clubhouse with Phil Mickelson. Nathan’s on-course highlights were back-to-back birdies Thursday, when he nearly holed a 60-degree wedge shot for eagle at the 15th, then sank a 20-foot putt at the 16th.

“Sometimes, you can get lost in being out here, but it was fun today. You never know, it could be your last.”

Smith didn’t make a double bogey this week. “I thought that was one of the keys,” he said. “Unfortunately, I made a lot of bogeys.”

The Smiths — Nathan and his wife, Nicole, and Nathan’s parents will stay in town all weekend. Larry will hang out at the caddyshack on the range. He loves watching the other pros. “Plus, they’ve got great food and big-screen TV.” Nathan will soak in the tournament as a spectator. On Monday, the whole clan will drive back to Pittsburgh in two cars, an all-day trek.