The son was not like the father in Thursday’s opening round of the Masters.
Kevin Stadler, playing in his first Masters, shot a 2-under par 70 and was 12 shots better than his father, Craig, the 1982 Masters champion, who posted an 82.
The Stadlers are the first father and son duo playing in the same Masters.
“It was pretty cool,’’ said Kevin, after his 70 placed him in a tie for fifth, two back of leader Bill Haas. “Watching the tournament on TV for 30 years and to be standing there on the first tee getting ready to play, it was a pretty cool experience.’’
Kevin said he hit a short drive into the fairway on No. 1, saying: “It was cold. I hit a pretty poor tee shot. It went into the fairway. … I was happy to get it underway. I struck the ball fairly well, but didn’t drive it as well as I had the last couple of days. I kept it in play and hit a bunch of greens and kept away from 3-putts.’’
Kevin said his father didn’t give him a “whole lot’’ of advice on how to play the course.
“I think he was really wanting me to find my own way around here,” Kevin said. “I supposed he’s not wanting me to overthink everything out here [by] telling me where to go and where not to go.’’
Craig, who teed off at 8:40 a.m., was unable to watch Kevin, who teed off at 7:56 a.m., hit his first shot.
“I played like a moron,’’ Craig said. “I actually hit a lot of decent shots, I just 3-putted five or six times or missed a green and made bogey and it added up to a heck of a lot. It was ugly. My whole game stinks. The putting just accentuates it.’’
Asked if he thinks Kevin has a chance this week, Craig said: “He’s driving it really good. He’s evolved into a wonderful iron player. He hits it high. So, he does what you need to do around here and it’s kind of just a matter of how friendly his putter is day in and day out, I think [he has a chance], because he hits it good enough.’’
There was much speculation Masters officials would pair the Stadlers together. Both said before the pairings came out it didn’t matter to them whether they were paired together. But their playing separately held to form.
“I don’t see him very often; we’re always traveling one way or another,’’ Craig said. “I think I was home 11 weeks last year. One year we played Hilton Head and Savannah the same week and I went up pretty much every day and watched him. But other than that, I’m here and he’s there and we never cross paths, we’re never close to each other out on the road. We’re usually opposite ends of the country.
“But the next couple years, when I kind of … quit playing, I’ll go out and follow him a bit.’’