Six Galleri Classic golfers return to Masters where they won in their primes

One of the allures of the Masters is that a victory gives a player a lifetime exemption into the major tournament. So even years after a player is truly competitive, the golfer can still tee off and bring back the memories and history of the event that Augusta National covets so much.

With the PGA Tour Champions, many of the past Masters winners can stay in competition even when their chances of winning at Augusta National seem dim at best.

Here’s the six golfers who played in the PGA Tour Champions Galleri Classic in Rancho Mirage two weeks ago who are also playing in the Masters this week:

Bernhard Langer

Langer is a two-time winner of the Masters, in 1985 and 1993. Today, Langer is best known perhaps for having won a record-tying 45 times on the PGA Tour Champions, most recently in February at the age of 65. It was just three years ago that Langer finished 29th in the Masters, beating, among others, long-hitting Bryson DeChambeau. But making the cut this year would be one of the more remarkable feats in golf history. Langer finished 19th at the Galleri.

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Fred Couples

Couples, 63, understands the reality of playing in the Masters 31 years after his victory at Augusta National. At the Galleri Classic, where he finished tied for 10th, Couples said he’d have to make a lot of 6- to 10-foot par putts on the tricky Augusta National greens, because it will be almost impossible for him to get close to the pins on par-4s when he’s hitting fairway woods into those greens. Chipping and lag putting will be important, but he might still have a chance to make the cut.

Mike Weir

The most recent winner of the Masters among those who also played in the Galleri Classic, Weir won the 2003 Masters when he was one of the best players in the world. But it is unlikely that Weir will be around for Masters weekend this year. At 52, Weir has missed the cut at Augusta 10 of the last 12 events, and what may be soggy fairways won’t help him with his distance off the tee. Weir was 26th at the Galleri Classic.

Vijay Singh

Now 60 years old, Singh won the Masters in 2000 when he could challenge Tiger Woods for the No. 1 spot in the world rankings. Still a grinder on the range, Singh has the distance that could allow him more success than other senior players this week. But Singh has four missed cuts and one withdrawal in his last six Masters starts.

Jose Maria Olazabal

The Masters winner in 1994 and 1999, Olazabal has not been much of a factor on the PGA Tour Champions. Now 57, he has yet to win on the 50-and-over circuit. While he was third in the 2006 Masters, seven years after his second Masters title, he has missed the cut in 10 of his last 13 starts. At the Galleri Classic, he was well back in the pack, finishing tied for 73rd in the 78-player field.

Sandy Lyle

Lyle, 65, told the world that he was walking away from the PGA Tour Champions at the Galleri Classic, where he finished 76th and last among those who finished 54 holes at Mission Hills Country Club. By why walk away without one more tour of Augusta National? The 1988 Masters winner will take with him when he leaves one of the more memorable shots in the tournament’s history, his fairway bunker approach shot to the 18th green on the final hole on the way to that year’s victory.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Masters: Six Galleri Classic senior golfers in Augusta field