AS MASTERS WEEK NEARS
This time of year is a rebirth and reset for so many as Easter approaches, spring arrives, and the golf season kicks into another gear when the oh-so-recognizable Masters theme song is played.
Photo Credit: Geoff Shackelford
For me it’s also a walk down memory lane. When I was a teenager, I took babysitting jobs on Thursday and Friday nights of Masters week just so I could watch the late night highlights on CBS. Truth is I wasn’t a much of a fan of babysitting—but lights out was early in my house, so this was the best way I knew to be assured of being able to catch up on the first two days!
It also takes me back to 1987 and my first trip to Augusta National as a senior at Furman. I had won the Lady Paladin on Saturday of Masters week, breaking 70 for the first time in tournament competition in the final round. That weekend got even better when I said “Oh, heck, yes!” to an offer of final round tickets from a long-time Furman golf supporter.
A teammate and I made the 120 mile trip from Greenville to Augusta with virtually no money in our pockets and no idea where we were going to park. Armed with only my Curtis Cup Players Pin and gold medal from being the low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open three years earlier, I managed to talk ourselves in through the Magnolia Lane gate and directly into Player Parking. Quite sure that will never be happening again!
Of course, Larry Mize would win the Green Jacket that year by chipping in on the second playoff hole to break Greg Norman’s heart. What many people forget is that Seve Ballesteros was the third player in that playoff and was eliminated on the 10th hole. We were standing on the 12th tee—in the first row!—thinking we had the best seat in the house. Not so fast…
Speaking of Larry Mize, this will be the Augusta native’s 40th straight Masters and final time to play in the tournament. On the first hole of that magical Sunday in 1987, Larry got the ball up and in from hole-high right with the flag cut back right—a nearly impossible shot that he bumped into the bank to tap-in distance. In hindsight, that shot set the stage for the winning chip at 11 because had he made five at the first, he’s not in the playoff at all. And we saw it live!
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus also made a run that final day in ’87. And what they say about the Nicklaus roars being different (like the Tiger roars today) is all true. What’s also true is that you can most definitely follow the sound of a charging player through the golf course. The flow of the course, the trees and elevation changes make sound travel at Augusta National like no other golf course I have been on.
For the fourth straight year, I will again be the lone walking reporter at the Masters for all four rounds. It is an enormous honor to be in that role, and a week I look forward to unlike any other—partly because of such special memories in my past and the anticipation of what magic may unfold in just a few days.
Cue the music. That week is almost here.
