Oftentimes golfers give the impression that they are never satisfied. Friday at Augusta National exposed the frayed edges of a field of players taxed to the limit by a grueling examination of golf. The calamity of Jordan Spieth on the 15th hole Friday morning that resulted in a quadruple bogey 9 was the first of so many colossal blunders by the best players in the world. Viktor Hovland’s had a 3-inch back stab that effectively ended his week. Zach Johnson made a triple bogey on the 12th hole and the patrons, 150 yards away gave him a smattering of applause because they truly had no clue what he made on the hole and Johnson reflexively told them to F-off. Not a good look. Justin Thomas was at level par standing on the 15th tee and 75 minutes later he was 7 over par and headed back to Jupiter, Florida for the weekend a fractured golfer. The scoring was historically high, the winds were unrelenting and the path of play challenged daylight. But the beauty of an elite golf competition is that you sleep on it three nights.
I arrived at Augusta National on Saturday morning at 7:15 am. It was cool and serene with emerging light all around as I made my way from the press building to the area where patrons first step foot on the lush overseeded turf of this historic venue. I had never witnessed the procession of patrons being given entry just to the right of the first fairway and after the brief instructions which included “no running and have a fabulous day” the people were off to put their chairs down at various points only to wait hours before a competitive golf shot is struck at those locales. I proceeded up to the main entrance to the clubhouse and swiftly walked through the building and out the back door. I wanted to walk across the golf course and through all the crosswalks to see which memories would strike me first at each hole I walked across and through.
The 18th hole was on my left as I proceeded down the hill and there are a collage of moments that sprang to mind but I stopped at the big fairway bunker on the left side of the fairway to recall the bunker shot struck by Sandy Lyle in the 1988 Masters in the final round. From there I crossed at the front of the 8th tee and thought of the two-shot swing in the final round of the 2014 Masters. First-timer Jordan Spieth made bogey and Bubba Watson made birdie, his 3rd birdie in five holes. The players were then tied walking to 9 tee and Spieth would bogey the 9th to fall behind and never catch Watson again on that Sunday. The 2nd green was my next stop and Louis Oosthuizen’s albatross is front and center in my mind as I can see his ball drip into the hole in the final round of the 2012 Masters. The 4-iron from 253 yards would be one of the most famous shots of all time had he won the Masters, but Bubba produced his own miracle shot in the playoff to make the “2 on 2” a de facto footnote. The 3rd hole is one of my favorites and I always am reminded of Jack Nicklaus chipping in for birdie in the final round of the 1998 Masters at age 58. He would finish 6th, just another reminder of how well elders are treated at the Masters.
The 7th hole cross walk follows the 3rd hole and I have multiple Tiger memories from the 7th that sprang to mind. His hole out 2 in the final round in 2010 and his bullet tee shot in the final round in 2019 when he was teetering, and Francisco Molinari looked bulletproof. Molinari made bogey and Tiger made birdie and it was game on. I then walked behind the 6th green and the hole-in-one by Chris Dimarco in the first round of the 2004 Masters was first to mind. Chris almost made a one the following day as well and was agonizingly close to winning two Masters in back-to-back years. Making my way up the hill right of the 6th hole and to the left side of the 5th fairway, one of the hardest holes on the course, where few likely remember in 1995 Jack Nicklaus made 2 not once but twice on the hole known as Magnolia. I stopped to examine the 5th green closely as it was originally intended to be an homage to the road hole at St. Andrews and when you look at the front portion of the green you realize that green couldn’t be built today at almost anywhere.
Once I got to the long and steep flight of stairs that sits conspicuously behind the 6th tee and the 5th green, I sat down to look down at the 16th green. Who knows what might happen there this weekend but Tiger’s chip-in in 2005, Nicklaus’ long birdie putt in 1975, Jack’s almost hole-in-one in 1986 and Greg Norman’s rinsed tee shot in 1996 flooded my thoughts.
The activity on the golf course at 8:15 this morning is uncommon since there would not be any golfers reaching the far end of the golf course for hours. Augusta National is a severely tilted piece of the land from the top of the hill by the clubhouse down to Amen corner and the 12th green and it also disorients your mind because of all the moments we know of, witnessed in person, or saw on television for a lifetime. This place makes me emotional. It makes me miss my dad to the point that I am tearing up writing these words because all of my best firsts in golf were with him, including here. I am grateful to have these moments and the motivation to venture out on the golf course early on Saturday morning considering how compromised I was several years ago by my alcoholism. I have never taken being here for granted but now more than ever I am humbled to be given the time and filled with gratitude to seek the solitude that mornings like today can provide.
This afternoon will be tense, entertaining, stressful and filled with high drama, but I’ll remember my Saturday morning, walking alone, reliving great moments and being thankful for this precious time at this special place.