How Ted Scott’s kids helped him shift from retirement to caddying for another Masters champ

“Conversations with Champions, presented by Sentry” catches up with Ted Scott, caddie for Scottie Scheffler, at the Masters.

“Conversations with Champions, presented by Sentry” is a new weekly series from Golfweek that is a collaboration with the Caddie Network. Each week, we’ll take you behind the scenes in a chat with the winning caddie from the most recent PGA Tour event. This week: Scottie Scheffler and Ted Scott from the 86th Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Ted Scott walked off the 18th green at Augusta National well ahead of his boss, Scottie Scheffler. With his hat pushed up off his forehead and the staff bag slung over his right shoulder, Scott carried the flagstick – his trophy – down toward scoring.

Six months ago, Scott thought he was done caddying after a 15-year stint with Bubba Watson that included two Masters victories, came to an end. Now he’s working for Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, and, as a team, they’ve won four of nine starts together. His Masters flag collection has now swelled to three.

“It’s very surreal,” said Scott. “It’s pretty crazy, actually.”

2022 Masters
Ted Scott, caddie for Scottie Scheffler, gives high-fives to patrons after Scheffler won the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Adam Cairns-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Sports)

The humble Scott won’t take any credit for Scheffler’s three-shot victory over Rory McIlroy. He teared up when talking about Steve Kling, the local caddie he stayed with during Masters week who answered question after question. Scott is quick to point out that he has yet to hit a shot here.

Last fall, Scott planned to retire from caddying and teach golf, something he’s been doing for years anyway. But when Scheffler called, Scott decided to put what happens next in the hands of his family.

“I had my kids and my wife pray about it,” said Scott. “They took a week and came back and said ‘Dad, we think you ought to do it.’ ”

Scott told them to pray about it another week. The answer came back the same.

Watson, Scott and Scheffler are tied together by their Christian faith. All three men are active in the PGA Tour’s Bible study group. After his round on Sunday, Watson was asked if he had any regrets about not having Scott on the bag. Watson said no, calling it a mutual split. In fact, he’s happy that another young player will benefit from Scott’s leadership.

“That’s why I hired Teddy years ago in ’06, and now Teddy being on the bag with Scottie,” said Watson. “All three of us are trying to do the same things. We’re trying to be the best husband we can be, trying to be the best parent we can be. Scottie is not a parent yet, but he will be at some point. We’re trying to do the same goals in life, and then golf just gets in the way. If you get your life somewhat in order, maybe a few more putts will go in.”

Scott wiped away tears as he videoed Scheffler’s green jacket ceremony on the practice green. Scheffler told the crowd there were times on Sunday that he felt like he should’ve been carrying the bag because he was blindly following Scott’s lead.

2022 Masters
Scott Scheffler celebrates with his caddie Ted Scott after winning the 2022 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

Phillip Allen of the Twenty First Group did the math on the difference in Scheffler’s bottom line since having Scott on the bag and the numbers are striking. In 62 starts on the PGA Tour pre-Scott, Scheffler had zero wins and made $8.56 million. With Scott, he has four victories in nine starts, for $9.04 million ($1 million per start).

Scheffler’s admiration for Scott, however, extends well beyond his ability to caddie.

“I can’t say enough about him,” said Scheffler. “You know, the qualities you look for in a person, Ted embodies pretty much all of them. He’s humble. He’s hard-working. He’s honest. He’s a good time to be around. I even, he’s just — he’s an amazing guy. To be able to have him on the bag is so special.”

Winning caddies at the Masters can write a letter to request their iconic white jumpsuits. Like many, Scott has grand plans for his memorabilia. He plans to eventually display everything in the building where he instructs.

But like everything with these two, it’s what’s inside that matters most. Before the round began on Sunday, Scott unzipped his jumpsuit to show Scheffler what was written on his green T-shirt: “God is in control.”

He might want to save that one for the display wall, too.

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak contributed to this article.

The equipment

A complete list of the golf equipment Scottie Scheffler used to win the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club:

DRIVER: TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Stealth 3HL (16.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

IRONS: Srixon ZU85 (3), with Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X, Srixon ZX7 (4), TaylorMade P-7TW (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts.

PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tour prototype

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

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Say what? Masters champion Scottie Scheffler ‘cried like a baby’ just hours before claiming his first major at Augusta National

“I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scottie Scheffler “cried like a baby,” just hours before his victory at the 86th Masters.

Scheffler — the picture of calm, cool and collected was anything — but in the hours leading to the final round at Augusta National Golf Club. Scheffler held a three-stroke lead heading into the final round, but had a lot of time to kill before his 2:50 p.m. ET tee time in the final group.

“Last night was pretty easy. I was tired. We went and got some food. I spilled my dinner in the car on the way home, and that was extraordinarily frustrating,” said Scheffler, noting that his wife, Meredith was still laughing about it in the back of the auditorium where her husband was conducting his winner’s press conference. “She thought it was the funniest thing ever; I didn’t think it was so funny at the time.”

This morning, Scheffler said, was a totally different story.

“I cried like a baby this morning. I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. I was sitting there telling Meredith, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff, and I just felt overwhelmed,’ ” Scheffler recounted. “She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?’ And so what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time. And if I shot 82 today, you know, somehow I was going to use it for His glory. Gosh, it was a long morning. It was long.”

Scheffler said it was the first time he’s ever responded emotionally.

“It’s definitely different with it being a lead and different being a major, especially the Masters. This golf course and this tournament is just different. I think because it’s the Masters. I dreamed of having a chance to play in this golf tournament. I teared up the first time I got my invitation in the mail. We were fortunate enough to play here in college, and I love this place. I love this golf course.

“If you’re going to choose a golf tournament to win, this would be the tournament I would want to win. You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get. And so having a chance, you know, I think I had a five-shot lead on Friday and then a three-shot lead going into today, I don’t know if you get better opportunities than that. You don’t want to waste them. The human condition is to make things bigger than they really are. And years from now I would say people may not remember me as a champion, and that’s fine. But in the moment, you think it’s a lot bigger deal than it really is.”

How did Scheffler settle down?

“I think when (Meredith) made me some more food, had a big breakfast. My stomach has been hurting for two days straight. I would say I calmed down when I got to the course. Right when I got to the training room and started working with (my trainer), I was pretty calm,” he said.

At the end of Scheffler’s Green Jacket ceremony, CBS’s Jim Nantz noted, “There was emotion in there after all. He just has a great way of hiding it, doesn’t he?”

Indeed, he does. Who knew he had been suffering from stomach pains and crying uncontrollably in the lead up to the final round of the Masters.

“Maybe I should play more poker or something,” he joked. “Truly I felt peace when I’m on the golf course. I think the hardest stuff is off golf course. When I’m out there and once we get into the round, pretty much after parring the first hole I was settled in. I felt good.”

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Golf fans crushed Nick Faldo for spoiling Rory McIlroy’s amazing birdie on 18 at the Masters

McIlroy made an incredible birdie on the 18th hole when he holed out from the greenside bunker. When he did that CBS was showing Cam Smith.

Nick Faldo has long been the main analyst for CBS Sports’ golf coverage, much to the dismay of many fans who rightfully complain about his work during just about every tournament he calls.

Well, he was calling the Masters this week and early Sunday evening he completely botched a huge moment for Rory McIlroy and the tournament when he basically spoiled what happened before the viewers could see it.

Here’s what happened: McIlroy made an incredible birdie on the 18th hole when he holed out from the greenside bunker. When he did that CBS was showing Cam Smith lining up a putt on 13. Faldo then started saying he couldn’t believe what he just saw (he and Jim Nantz are sitting in the tower behind the 18th green) and that it was a huge moment that is going to amaze people and be big for the tournament.

A few moments later CBS cut to McIlroy’s shot but we all knew what was going to happen because Faldo SPOILED it.

Here’s the shot:

Just a horrible, horrible job by Faldo.

Golf Twitter was furious, and rightfully so:

How much money each golfer won at the 2022 Masters at Augusta National

It pays to play well, especially at Augusta National.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Drinks are on Scottie Scheffler for the foreseeable future.

The 25-year-old Texan claimed his first major title on Sunday at the 86th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, earning a green jacket and a cool $2.7 million for his three-shot victory over runner-up Rory McIlroy, who will take home $1.62 million.

This year’s event set a pair of records in regards to prize money, with a $15 million purse, up from $11.5 million in 2021. Not only that, Scheffler’s payday is slightly up from the $2.07 million Hideki Matsuyama earned last year. Professionals that failed to make the cut – like Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau – earned $10,000.

Check out how much money each player earned below.

Masters prize money

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Scottie Scheffler -10 $2,700,000
2 Rory McIlroy -7 $1,620,000
T3 Shane Lowry -5 $870,000
T3 Cameron Smith -5 $870,000
5 Collin Morikawa -4 $600,000
T6 Will Zalatoris -3 $521,250
T6 Corey Conners -3 $521,250
T8 Justin Thomas -1 $450,000
T8 Sungjae Im -1 $450,000
T10 Cameron Champ E $390,000
T10 Charl Schwartzel E $390,000
T12 Dustin Johnson 1 $330,000
T12 Danny Willett 1 $330,000
T14 Kevin Na 2 $225,333
T14 Matt Fitzpatrick 2 $225,333
T14 Min Woo Lee 2 $225,333
T14 Harry Higgs 2 $225,333
T14 Lee Westwood 2 $225,333
T14 Talor Gooch 2 $225,333
T14 Hideki Matsuyama 2 $225,333
T14 Jason Kokrak 2 $225,333
T14 Tommy Fleetwood 2 $225,333
T23 Robert MacIntyre 3 $138,000
T23 Harold Varner III 3 $138,000
T23 Sergio Garcia 3 $138,000
T23 J.J. Spaun 3 $138,000
T27 Jon Rahm 4 $111,000
T27 Seamus Power 4 $111,000
T27 Viktor Hovland 4 $111,000
T30 Russell Henley 5 $93,150
T30 Sepp Straka 5 $93,150
T30 Lucas Glover 5 $93,150
T30 Hudson Swafford 5 $93,150
T30 Marc Leishman 5 $93,150
T35 Joaquin Niemann 6 $75,562
T35 Tony Finau 6 $75,562
T35 Patrick Reed 6 $75,562
T35 Webb Simpson 6 $75,562
T39 Patrick Cantlay 7 $63,000
T39 Bubba Watson 7 $63,000
T39 Tom Hoge 7 $63,000
T39 Si Woo Kim 7 $63,000
43 Billy Horschel 8 $55,500
T44 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 9 $51,000
T44 Kevin Kisner 9 $51,000
46 Cam Davis 12 $46,500
47 Tiger Woods 13 $43,500
T48 Adam Scott 14 $40,050
T48 Max Homa 14 $40,050
T50 Mackenzie Hughes 15 $37,350
T50 Daniel Berger 15 $37,350
52 Tyrrell Hatton 17 $36,000

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Why Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre left it all out there on Sunday at his favorite major, the Masters

Last year, in his Masters debut, MacIntyre tied for 12th to earn a spot in the 2022 field.

AUGUSTA, Georgia – The Old Course at St. Andrews may host the British Open this summer, but top Scot Robert MacIntyre has only one goal in mind: get back to Augusta.

“You play it once and you’re just like, it’s the most special place I‘ve ever been in my life,” said MacIntyre after a closing 3-under 69 at the 86th Masters.

“They say The Open is beautiful, but I think Augusta National beats it.”

Last year, in his Masters debut, MacIntyre tied for 12th to earn a spot in the 2022 field. On Sunday, the 25-year-old thought he might be able to secure a return invitation after he birdied the 14th hole to move to 4 under on the day and oh-so-close to the top 12. But the lefty watched his second shot ricochet back to him from the trees on the par-5 15th and the ensuing bogey stifled his run.

“That was the only bad shot I hit all day,” said MacIntyre. “That was just a cardinal sin.”

MacIntyre finished 3-over 291 for the tournament in a share of 23rd, two shots out of the top 12.

He has now competed in eight major championships and made the cut in each, posting a top-10 finish in his last two British Open starts.

MacIntyre and his team have worked on keeping a clear mind inside the ropes and getting away from technique. His goal this week was to just go play. The creativity that’s required at a place like Augusta National makes that goal easier to execute.

Since he first started coming to the U.S. to compete, MacIntyre said his game is “night and day” when he considers how much better he can control the golf ball.

“I can draw the driver, which is massive,” he said. “I can fade it. I can do absolutely anything with the driver. If I drive it well, nine times out of 10 it’s going to be a good tournament.”

Hiring Stuart Morgan as a performance coach has been key to this year, said MacIntyre, who found himself slacking off in the practice department last season. He no longer beats balls on the range for an hour and then wonders what to do next. There’s structure.

“It’s the most productive practice I’ve ever had in my life,” he said.

MacIntyre’s best world ranking to date is 42nd, but he has slipped down to his current position of 74. A top-50 ranking by year’s end would qualify him for next year’s Masters.

“If I’m going to be honest with you, my goal is to get back to Augusta National in 2023,” he said on Sunday.

“That’s the only goal I really have in my mind right now. There’s golf tournaments in the world that I feel I can win, and this is one of them.”

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Lynch: For Tiger Woods, a walk off 18 at Augusta thankful he even reached the starting line

Tiger Woods was granted an opportunity to produce the finest solo 47th place finish in golf history.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — There was a time when Tiger Woods would have been disdainful of a lowly finish at the Masters, when his demeanor between the 18th green and the scorer’s office would have betrayed only a flinty dourness, when keyboard jockeys would have bemoaned wall-to-wall coverage of a player so distant from the top of the leaderboard. Sunday was not one of those days, and it’s unlikely any of Woods’s tomorrows will be either.

Success in professional golf is reflected in strictly numerical form, and the digits posted by Woods during the 86th Masters would not, on paper, suggest a memorable week: 13-over-par total, roughly a couple dozen strokes back of the winner; a brace of 78s on the weekend, his worst scores ever at Augusta National; six 3-putts on greens he knows as intimately as the contours of his children’s faces. The Masters doesn’t provide the granular Strokes Gained statistics that add insight on the PGA Tour, but even if it did those metrics would be woefully inadequate to explain the grandeur of a solo 47th finish by a five-time champion. Because there are no Strokes Gained measurements for heart, for determination, for sheer, bloody-minded willpower, or for gratitude.

There was evident discomfort in Woods’s gait on the walk from the 18th green to sign his scorecard, but there was a distinct pep too, one that hinted at pride in what he had just accomplished, and optimism that better days lie ahead. He was asked if the week ranked among his finest career achievements, a seemingly audacious question for a man who has enjoyed several legendary moments on this very property.

“For not winning an event, yes. Yes, without a doubt,” he replied. “To go from where I was to get to this point.”

Getting anywhere is a triumph when your starting point is the mangled wreckage of a car in a suburban Los Angeles ravine. Fourteen months ago, Woods almost lost his right leg (and damned nearly his life too), so he had no reason to believe he would be granted an opportunity to produce the finest solo 47th place finish in golf history.

“I don’t think words can really describe where I was a little over a year ago and what my prospects were at that time to end up here and be able to play in all four rounds,” he said, finally displaying—after 15 major victories and 82 PGA Tour wins—a sense of being awed by his own accomplishments. “Even a month ago I didn’t know if I could pull this off.”

We have witnessed a number of iconic walks off Augusta National’s 18th green by Woods—into a bear hug from his father, Earl, in 1997, and into the arms of his children, Sam and Charlie, in 2019. The first felt ordained, the latter improbable. He was alone on the walk this time, and that too was symbolic in its way. It’s been a lonely road back from that California ditch, through surgeries, intensive physical therapy and an exhausting regimen of ice baths to relieve aches that became more evident as the week wore on. When asked how much pain he was in, his answer revealed a great deal while saying nothing: “Uh-huh.”

A quarter-century ago, Woods announced himself with a 12-shot victory at the Masters, but his distant finish in ’22 was scarcely less impressive. In the end, we saw more than we had any right to expect—four rounds completed, a few highlights, a few too many lowlights, his every gingerly-placed footstep punctuated by thunderous appreciation from spectators.

“I wasn’t exactly playing my best, but just to have the support out there and the appreciation from all the fans,” he said, seeming genuinely touched in a manner different from the roars he heard on those many Masters Sundays when he slipped into a green jacket.

More than any other sporting event, the Masters embraces ritual and tradition, unyielding to popular whims (though this year’s Dude Perfect romp around Amen Corner with hockey sticks and tennis racquets was a nod toward a demographic for whom remote controls are alien). For four days at Augusta National, all seemed as once it was in the world of golf. Woods was again making noise at Augusta National, and the sport’s Saudi hijackers didn’t exist (except when Gary Player continued a family tradition of besmirching the honorary starter ceremony by prominently wearing a Golf Saudi logo, a year after his shiftless offspring used a wheelchair-bound Lee Elder as a prop for marketing golf balls).

Most great sports stories involve athletes crossing the finish line, but sometimes it’s no less compelling to see them simply get to the starting line. Having watched Woods almost lose it all, lose so much more than a mere career, the 86th Masters has been marked by sincere gratitude for his simple presence. “Thankful,” Woods said at the end. “I keep saying it, but I am. I really am. I truly am.”

Us too, Tiger. Us too.

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Scottie Scheffler wins 2022 Masters at Augusta National for first major championship

Scheffler backed up his title of world No. 1 with his first major championship.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler entered the final round of the 86th Masters with a three-shot lead and walked off the course with a three-shot victory.

The world No. 1 backed up his new title with an impressive performance at Augusta National Golf Club, winning the green jacket at 10 under for his first major championship and fourth victory in his last six starts. The 25-year-old Texan shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to hold off a charging Rory McIlroy, who signed his name to the lone bogey-free round of the week, an 8-under 64 aided by a hole-out from the bunker on the 18th green.

Scheffler is just the fifth player to win the Masters while ranked No. 1, joining the likes of Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples (1992), Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002) and Dustin Johnson (2020).

Cameron Smith, winner of the 2022 Players Championship, entered the final round in second place at 6 under but struggled to keep up the pace, shooting a 1-over 73 to finish T-3 with Shane Lowry at 5 under.

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama finished T-14.

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Watch: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa hole-out from same bunker on 18 for incredible Masters moment

The Masters never disappoints.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Every year something happens at the Masters Tournament that leaves golf fans speechless.

This year at the 86th playing of the first men’s major of the year, it seemed like Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf would take the crown.

And then Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa approached the 18th green.

Both players found the back-right bunker behind Augusta National Golf Club’s final hole and both proceeded to hole-out on consecutive shots, sending the patrons into an absolute frenzy of cheers and chants of “Rory! Rory!” and “Collin! Collin!”

The sand-save earned McIlroy the week’s first bogey-free round as he shot up the leaderboard on the final day to post a 8-under 64 and put up a number at 7 under for the tournament, just three shots behind 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler at the time.

The Masters never disappoints.

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Tiger Woods gave us a glimpse at what is to come in his latest recovery at 2022 Masters

Only time will tell but if we learned anything this week, it’s that we haven’t heard the last from Tiger Woods.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – They put Humpty Dumpty back together.

It took all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, but Tiger Woods played four rounds this week at Augusta National.

“Humpty Dumpty is glued and hopefully good enough,” he cracked to Golf Channel on the eve of the tournament.

Woods shot a pair of 78s over the weekend, his highest score in the Masters, limping to the finish line, but smiling to the end.

Nearly 14 months after being involved in a gruesome, high-speed single-vehicle accident, Woods did the unthinkable. He thanked his surgeons, his physios and physical therapists, his team as he collectively called them. It was so remarkable when he flew to Augusta to play 18 holes (plus the par-3 course) with son Charlie and test his surgically repaired leg that he nearly broke the Internet.

Then he termed himself a ‘game-time decision,’ but there he was on Monday of tournament week to play a practice round with pals Fred Couples and Justin Thomas. Seemingly every patron with a badge on the grounds at Augusta National had to see it for themselves. They were jammed 10 deep, children on the shoulders of parents, and adults craning their necks to see, if they were lucky, the top of his backswing. It was real and it was spectacular.

How much pain he’s endured, we’ll never know for sure.

“The people who are close to me understand. They’ve seen it,” Woods said. “Some of the players who are close to me have seen it and have seen some of the pictures and the things that I have had to endure. They appreciate it probably more than anyone else because they know what it takes to do this out here at this level.”

2022 Masters
Tiger Woods lines up his putt on the 18th green during the final round of the 2022 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

Thomas, one of the few to see behind the curtain, was asked to describe his reaction to seeing Tiger’s leg. “Horrified,” Thomas said.

And yet, Tiger opened with 71 in the first round.

“Even a month ago I didn’t know if I could pull this off,” Woods said.

On Friday, when he opened with four bogeys in the first five holes, a round in the 80s felt like a distinct possibility. But it wasn’t time to fuel Air Tiger for the flight back to Florida. Just when you thought the Tiger Woods story couldn’t get more epic, he made the cut at the Masters 14 months after almost losing a leg.

“I fight each and every day,” he said on Saturday. “Each and every day is a challenge. Each and every day presents its own different challenges for all of us. I wake up and start the fight all over again.”

In the third round, a wintry chill provided another obstacle for Woods to overcome. His limp became more pronounced as the day went along and by the time he walked off from his press conference he winced in pain and didn’t even try to disguise it. Yet his ball striking remained strong; it was his putter that showed rust as he took four 3-putts and a 4 putt. He ranked 51st of 52 players in the field in total putts on Saturday with 36.

“I just could not get a feel for getting comfortable with the ball. Posture, feel, my right hand, my release,” he said. “I just couldn’t find it.”

Given that Woods, who won his first of 15 majors here 25 years ago, said he came here with the goal to win a sixth Green Jacket, you almost wanted him to withdraw and save going through all the pre- and post-round rituals necessary to play. “Hopping in those ice baths, doing those a number of times a day, those do really suck, but it works,” he said.

Walking Augusta National is the equivalent of setting a StairMaster on a vertical setting of 11. Why do it? Why endure it again? Was it worth it, he was asked.

“This tournament has meant so much to me and my family,” he explained.

2022 Masters
A group of friends from Palm City, Florida, are dressed in red while following Tiger Woods during the final round of the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Adam Cairns-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Sports)

Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw may have explained it even better than Tiger could have, saying simply, “He’s doing what he loves.”

On Sunday, Tiger made just one birdie – at the second – hit a pitch left handed at 13 and made a double at 17 en route to a 72-hole total of 13-over 301. But the final tally was immaterial. He already won just by making it to the starting line. He alternated between using his driver and putter as a cane of sorts near the end of his weekend rounds. When asked how much pain he was in, he smiled wanly and said, “Uh-huh.”  Earlier in the week, Woods compared his team that worked on his body between rounds to a NASCAR pit crew.

“I go ahead and break it out there, they go ahead and repair it at night,” he said. “I’m good at breaking it. They’re good at fixing it.”

During an explanation of what changes to his swing he’s had to make to compensate for his myriad injuries, Woods gave his most revealing answer as to the challenges he faces in this latest comeback:

“The ankle is not going to move. I got rods and plates and pins and screws and a bunch of different things in there. It’s never going to move like it used to,” he said. “The more important thing is the ankle is always going to be an issue, but more importantly, if I play golf ballistically, it’s going to be the back. It’s fused. So it’s the levels above and below that are going to take the brunt of it.

“If I can’t push off, I can’t rotate as well, and fortunately, I’m still generating enough speed. My ball speed is at 175-ish when I hit it good, so that puts shearing on the back. I already had back issues going into this, and now this kind of just compounds it a little bit.”

On Sunday, Charlie and daughter Sam were in his gallery along with mom, Kultida, and his girlfriend, Erica Herman. Nike’s founder Phil Knight wore red and black, too. Former U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who missed the cut, and amateur Aaron Jarvis, the Latin American Amateur champion, were among the throngs of patrons who cheered Tiger on as if he were shooting 68 not 78.

“I think it was a positive, and I’ve got some work to do and looking forward to it,” Woods summarized of the week that was, during which he had us believing in the impossible again. That’s what Tiger does. Bubba Watson called it “the inspiration of Tiger.”

“Watching him walk, gosh, I cry on a paper cut,” Watson said. “For him to be able to walk and make the cut is pretty spectacular.”

If Tiger can play again at the highest level and not just in ‘hit-n-giggles,’ something that seemed far-fetched when he was lying in a hospital bed for months, then how far-fetched is it to believe that he can win an 83rd title or –gasp – another major.

“I’ve seen enough this week that we should be really excited about the summer ahead,” Golf Channel analyst Paul McGinley said. “We’ve got three major championships coming up and you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be competitive in at least one of them.”

Next up is the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May. Tiger was non-committal about teeing it up in Tulsa, where he won in 2007, but he said he would be at the 150th British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews. Does he need rest or reps? Only time will tell but if we learned anything this week it is that we haven’t heard the last from Tiger, the golfer.

“We’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” he said. “I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.”

The glue has dried and Tiger is ready to climb back atop the wall.

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A college student who helped make the famous Pimento Cheese sandwich for the 2022 Masters reveals how they’re made

Pimento Cheese, the Master tournament’s most famous sandwich, is also the hardest to make.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — To hear them talk, Masters Tournament patrons can never get enough of the tasty sandwiches sold in the concession stands around Augusta National Golf Club each year.

But if you’re making them all night, as Dougie Milne did for the first time during the 2022 Masters, you can get too much of a good thing.

“I’ve seen so much of those sandwiches in the last week I probably couldn’t eat any of them,” said Milne, a junior at Florida State who is from Jacksonville, Florida.

That includes the Masters Club, which he says was “delicious” until he had too many of them.

The Masters Club is one of the six offerings that come in the famous green wrappers at the concession stands. The others are the Pimento Cheese sandwich, Egg Salad sandwich, Ham and Cheese on Rye sandwich, Chicken Salad on Brioche and the Classic Chicken sandwich.

Pimento Cheese, the tournament’s most famous sandwich, is also the hardest to make, Milne discovered.

“It’s hard because after they make (the pimento cheese), it sits in a freezer and if it isn’t thawed out enough, it gets tough and thick,” he said. “Sometimes you have wait for it to thaw out and get a little softer. Because if it’s too thick when you scoop it, it can rip the bread.”

To ensure that each sandwich is fairly uniform, they are weighed, he said.

“The entire sandwich is supposed to weigh about 4.25 ounces, but sometimes that bread is a little thicker and it’s going to weigh more,” he said. “Normally, I don’t exceed 4.5 ounces and I won’t go anything less than 4 ounces. Sometimes you get too big a scoop and have to cut some of it off.

“At this point,” he said, “it’s not too challenging to make them; it’s the quantity we have to make.”

Milne worked in tournament operations, making sandwiches starting Thursday night through Sunday morning. The sandwich-making operation is housed in a shopping center on Washington Road. It had been anchored by a Food Lion grocery store, and included shops and restaurants. Now, it has been gutted, and blinds hide the work going on inside.

2022 Masters
A patron holds a pimento cheese sandwich along with a beverage at the 2022 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

“It’s one big building; it kind of looks like a Publix,” Milne said. “Half of it is just for sandwiches and a couple of big coolers to keep the food. There is a big kitchen and a dining area.”

On Sunday, Augusta National would not disclose where the sandwiches are made.

“I’m sorry, we would not comment on that,” said Regina O’Brien, the club’s Director of Marketing and Communication.

Milne said he worked at one of 40 tables, each consisting of seven workers making sandwiches. He estimates his table produced “six or seven thousand” sandwiches each night. He didn’t work the practice-round days.

Starting with his shift Thursday night for Friday’s second round of the Masters, he said the operation made “probably well over 100,000 sandwiches” per night.

To ensure freshness of the sandwiches, Milne and the other workers started at 7 p.m. and worked until about 7 a.m.

“They don’t really tell you when to leave,” Milne said. “If you get loopy (because of the predawn hours) and you can’t work, then you can leave. Or if you have a ride, you can leave. A couple of nights people got off early and I worked from 7 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. (to cover for them).”

Milne said he never left early, and working 12 hours straight – and overnight – was a shock to his system.

“Maybe it’s just me because I’m a college student, but it’s been challenging working for 12 hours straight, especially overnight. I’ve met some people who have been doing this for the last 20 years.

“I’m glad I pushed myself,” Milne said. “There have been some days I get back home and wake up and I’m exhausted and know it’s going to be a long night (coming up). I bought a big case of Red Bull to power me through the night.

“Honestly, it’s been an amazing experience,” he said. “I’ve met so many great people that worked for the Masters for years on end.”

It even ended on a high note. It didn’t look like Milne was going to be able to attend the tournament, but at the last minute he got a ticket.

“One of my good friends in Tallahassee has an aunt and uncle who love the Masters and always go on the weekend,” Milne said. “They were unable to go on Sunday so they offered him their two passes and he texted me and said ‘Hey, I know you’re out there working hard, and my aunt said you can use her pass.’ So he drove up from Tallahassee.”

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