Anthony Cotton looks at the run-up to the Masters:
Colt Knost, the 2007 U.S. Amateur and Public Links champion, insists he doesn’t regret his decision to turn pro, thereby passing up the opportunity to play in the 2008 Masters, but one wonders if there will be the slightest pang this morning when starter Arnold Palmer opens the 70th edition of the tournament. For 20 others, the most first-time qualifiers since 1990, playing in the Masters may turn out to be one of the highlights of their golf careers. “I was watching on television and watching my heroes win the tournament. I just wanted to see if what you see on television is for real,” Ernie Els said of his experience in 1994, his first time at Augusta National Golf Club. As play begins in the first major championship of 2008, some players shared thoughts of their initial experience at the Masters:
The winner
Only three men have ever won the Masters in their initial appearance, the last being Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. This week marks Zoeller’s 30th appearance in the tournament.
“I don’t know if my first time here was any different from the young kids coming here today. It’s something special going down Magnolia Lane, being here at the old clubhouse, and playing on the golf course. To think that there’s nothing major here, like an ocean — this is just pure beauty. Mother Nature couldn’t have provided a better piece of property.
It’s kind of crazy that I’m the last guy to win in his first time here, especially with all the talent that’s gone through here. . . . I think where the young guys are making a mistake is by not using local caddies, the guys who are here every week — they see the greens every week, they know how they break.”
The reluctant golfer
Boo Weekley often says he’d rather go hunting or fishing than play golf — even if it’s the Masters. A native of Milton, Fla., Weekley qualified by winning the 2007 Verizon Heritage Classic.
“It’s been very hectic, if you want to know the truth. Trying to get around. . . . I mean, the crowds out here are real good, but everybody’s hollering, wanting this and wanting that, and then when you try to leave they got all the crowds out there trying to leave and everybody’s driving off and trying to get out — it’s all very hectic. I’m staying only 6 miles away and it takes me 45 minutes to get here, that’s crazy.
But it’s just another tournament. I think that, and I’m going to keep thinking that. It’s like me going down to Lake Okeechobee (in Florida) and fishing in the largest bass pond in the U.S. and then going out to Texas and fishing in another pond — it’s just another pond, that’s it.”
The Amateur
Drew Weaver earned his initial trip to Augusta by winning the 2007 British Amateur, the first American to do so since 1979.
“This is the biggest event in golf. If you could only play in one tournament, it would be the Masters. To be a part of it at age 20 is phenomenal, I can’t even imagine . . . it’s just amazing.
I’ve played so many rounds out here, I guess 15 or 16, that I know quite a bit about the golf course, I guess I took advantage of the opportunity to play here.
I’ll probably be a little less comfortable on the first tee on Thursday. But it hit me on Nos. 13 and 14 during Wednesday’s practice round — I was at ease, totally at peace.”
The 20-year-old senior at Virginia Tech was on campus last April when 32 people were killed in a shooting spree.
The last man in
Johnson Wagner was the last man into this year’s field, gaining entry by winning the Shell Houston Open, the last PGA Tour event prior to the Masters.
“When the putt dropped (in Houston), the first thought was, ‘Oh, my gosh, I just won on the PGA Tour.’ But immediately after that, I said, ‘Holy cow, I’m in the Masters.’ It’s just been crazy. . . .
I played here four or five years ago, my grandmother’s brother is a member here. I stayed right off the first hole in the Eisenhower Cabin.
I didn’t sleep that night, either. This is such a special place for me as a golf fan and as a player and it’s hard to sleep around here. It’s not just close, it is the best reward for winning. Kapalua (the winners-only season opener in 2009) is nice, $1 million (the first-place share from Houston) is nice, two-year exemption, everything that goes along with winning on the PGA Tour is incredible. But being able to come to a place like this, it’s beyond belief. It’s just a dream come true to be here.”
