Spring is here. I know it not because the calendar tells me. And the fact that Easter was last Sunday is a pretty good indication, too. I even fired up the lawn mower the other day for the first time this year. And the grass is nice and green.
But the real indication that warmer weather is here is it is Masters weekend. The Masters is the world’s greatest golf tournament, bar none.
Ahh, the Masters. It’s beautiful to watch on television. The melodic music. The blooming azaleas. The whispered voices. And the drama.
It’s even more spectacular to see it in person. I had the good fortune of being able to attend several years ago. I’ve heard it said it’s the hardest ticket to come by in sports. When you leave the airport, you can’t help but notice all the private jets parked there.
To me, the course is a lot friendlier to the patrons than Merion. I attended both the 1971 and the 2013 U.S. Opens at Merion. I found it very difficult to see much action. I didn’t feel that way at Augusta National.
The people that organize the Masters should be commended. They run it like a machine. It seems like the only place left on earth (or at least in the United States) that has so many people and so little clutter. It’s almost like the workers catch people’s litter as it leaves their hands but before it hits the ground. They don’t allow cell phones either. Imagine that.
The employees who work the concession stands and in the gift areas couldn’t be any nicer. They are amazing. There’s nothing like good old fashioned Southern hospitality. And the pimento cheese sandwiches (about $2.50 each) even beat a hot dog at a baseball stadium.
The year I attended (2011) was the year Rory McIlroy had the meltdown on the back nine the last day of the event. A few months later he won the U.S. Open and has gone on to become the number one ranked golfer in the world.
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Every year since 1997, when he blew the rest of the field away, the big story has always been Tiger Woods. How will he do? Where will he finish? The story line this year is that we’re now seeing a softer, more relaxed Tiger. We’ll see how that plays out.
You have to be a great bunker player and a good putter to win the Masters.
I love the story of Seve Ballesteros, a two time Masters Champion, who once told his caddie Ian Wright that the apple Wright had given him was too soft. Wright said to him “What do you want Seve, a caddie or a greengrocer?”
Who will don the green jacket? Phil? Ricky? Rory? DJ? Tiger? Jordan? Time will tell.
Everything is greening up.
It’s Masters Weekend.
