Morrison runs out of magic

Mark Morrison, who does magic as a hobby, had a trick up his sleeve - he almost disappeared out of a bunker on No. 18 in Round 1. (Essdras M Suarez/Globe Staff)

CONCORD - Here's a list of what Mark Morrison needs to play well at the Bank of America Championship: a little luck, some smoke, a good short game, a few mirrors, distance with his driver, a magic hat with trick rabbit, no double bogeys, a deck of cards, and his trusty 8-iron. If all that's in order, he may avoid pulling a disappearing act after yesterday's first-round 79 left him 16 strokes behind the leader, Tom Kite.

"I could've used some magic out there," Morrison said after making seven bogeys at Nashawtuc Country Club.

Magic has always been a hobby for Morrison, whose specialty is cards and coins.

He attended UCLA and graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering. Shortly thereafter, he heard about Magic Castle in Hollywood, a three-story Victorian mansion that is a sort of private resort for practicing magicians. It opened in 1963 and started in part because of William W. Larsen Sr., a magician who aspired to build a private club for magicians. William's son, Milt, then a writer on NBC's "Truth or Consequences," carried out his father's dream. Once a magician passes a 15-minute audition, they can join, which is what Morrison did.

The place is "rigged to the hilt," Morrison said.

For example, there is a small library with a bookend that looks like an owl. Say "Open Sesame" to the owl and the walls part, revealing a nightclub. In another room, there is a piano with a "ghost" at the seat named Irma, who will play symbolic songs.

"Any of the magicians, if we have a guest with us we'll say, 'Irma, I've got my friend in from Boston' and Irma will start playing some Boston theme song," Morrison said. "The piano starts playing itself and it's not a player piano. It's rigged up.

"You can ask, 'Are the Lakers going to win the series?' and she'll start playing 'To dream the impossible dream . . .' It's just so much fun."

Magic was fun for Morrison, but so was golf. He played at UCLA but on the third team, a non-traveling squad.

After college, Morrison worked for 10 years as an engineer and heard about some college friends who were making money on minitours such as the Ben Hogan Tour, which became the Nike Tour and is now the Nationwide Tour. In the mid-1980s, he played on the minitours and in the late '80s, he gave it up to work as a club pro in Hawaii, which is how he earned his PGA card.

"Then when I got to be about 47, I thought, 'Well, shoot, I've got to start working on my game if I'm going to do anything when I'm 50,' " he said.

He played in the US Senior Open last year but missed the cut. In November, he was in the top 30 at the Champions Tour Qualifying Tournament, which got him into Monday qualifiers. Morrison made the Bank of America field by shooting 69 in the Monday qualifier.

Morrison showed flashes of magic in yesterday's first round.

On the par-5 fifth, Morrison's drive landed in the rough, beneath the low-hanging branches of a pine tree. His second shot tipped a branch and landed on a hill behind the green. His 25-foot chip landed a foot from the cup for a par-save.

"See, I chop it all over the place, then make par," he said after putting out. "It's all smoke and mirrors."

But after walking off the green on the par-4 15th, which he bogeyed, he said "even the smoke and mirrors aren't working anymore."

After it was all said and done, his 79 puts him in 76th place. Only two players - Jim Colbert and Wayne Levi, who shot 80 - are behind him.

When Morrison saw the leaderboard, he said, "Oh, two people shot 80. I'm not the worst."

He had a nice laugh on 17, when his drive landed in the first row of the left grandstands, hitting a man in the stomach, then bouncing off a woman's back. Morrison took a drop and made his sixth of seven bogeys. Alas, he didn't make a birdie, either.

"We needed some magic," said Morrison's caddie, John "Shampoo" Emmel, whose nickname is attributed to his "nicely quaffed do," Morrison said.

After the round, Morrison walked to the players' dining hall and, as it started to rain, he reached for a deck of cards from a shelf.

"Pick a card, any card," he said.

He quickly transformed from golfer to entertainer. He is charming as he snaps his fingers, taps the deck, and shuffles quickly.

Morrison began with a Chicago opener. You pick a card, put it back into the deck, and it "magically" rises to the top. Morrison did it again, saying, "I cheated, I knew you were going to pick that card." So another card is picked and that floats to the top of the deck as well.

He snaps of fingers when the tricks are done.

"How good is that?" Morrison said.

"Man, I've got to watch you on the golf course," said an observer.

"It's a nice, fast-paced starter," Morrison said.

The magician wasn't fast paced yesterday, and if he wants to abracadabra his way into contention, Morrison better have some tricks up his sleeve.