Tag: Augusta National Golf Club

Why a ‘sweet woman’ bought Max Homa’s Chick-fil-A on the way to the RBC Heritage

“I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — One day after finishing tied for third at the Masters and cashing a check for more than $1 million, Max Homa had a fan pay for his Chick-fil-A at the drive-thru.

“It was kind,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 RBC Heritage. “I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf. I feel very fortunate for that.”

Homa drove from Augusta, Georgia, where he shot a final-round 73 to record his best finish at a major. On Sunday night, he celebrated his wife Lacey’s upcoming birthday early and on Monday he made the three-hour drive to Harbour Town Golf Links for this week’s 69-man, no-cut signature event, and stopped along the way for a bite to eat.

“I absolutely demolished Chick-fil-A on my way down,” Homa said. “I was in the drive-thru by myself and I went to order and the person taking the order told me that the woman in the row next to me had paid for whatever I was going to get. She said that her son is 3 or 4 and I’m his favorite golfer, so it was pretty cool. I don’t know, those kinds of things I still pinch myself.”

Homa added that it was the typical busy two-line drive-thru set-up that runs like clockwork. Somehow, she managed to recognize Homa, who climbed into the top 10 in the world (No. 9) with his strong performance at the Masters. That three-way tie for third earned him $1.04 million for his 72-hole total of 4-under 284, matching Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood.

“She paid for it, I rolled my window down, we chatted for a minute or so, and then I ate it,” Homa said.

Homa deserved a treat after a memorable week. His record in the majors before the Masters was abysmal. It was an important week for the former Cal product to prove to the golf world – and himself – he can perform at golf’s biggest events, too.

“It was fun to wake up for a couple days and think, there’s a pretty decent chance I might be wearing a green jacket on Sunday and to still excel and feel good about my golf,” he said. “It reinforces that my golf game is good enough. I think most anybody who plays a major, it is. But until you get to feel that, you don’t know.”

He added: “Maybe a little bit of the monkey is off the back. I know I can, and the work I’m doing is right. It just comes down to the mental for me. I didn’t change anything about my golf game last week. I just really changed my head and got out of my own way and just played some golf.”

Homa is scheduled to tee on Thursday at 10:50 a.m. ET, in a pairing with Fleetwood.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

Only three rookies have ever won the Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 being the last

First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

They are expected to show up, perhaps make the 36-hole cut and go quietly about their business. To get into contention would be a bonus.

To actually win is virtually unheard of, Ben Curtis and Keegan Bradley being the exceptions. Their victories in the 2003 British Open and 2011 PGA, respectively, were their first starts in major championships.

Frank Urban Zoeller, affectionately known as Fuzzy by his peers, paid little attention to the conventional wisdom at the Masters.

The native of New Albany, Indiana, got into contention in 1979, hung around to the end and won a historic playoff in his first visit to Augusta National Golf Club.

Zoeller joined Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen as the only men to win the Masters in their first attempts. Smith won the inaugural event in 1934, and Sarazen, already one of the game’s established stars, won a year later with his famous double eagle on the 15th hole.

Ed Sneed, who was only slightly better known than Zoeller coming into the 1979 Masters, appeared to be on his way to his first major title. His first three rounds of 68, 67 and 69 put him five shots clear of the field heading into Sunday.

And for 15 holes, Sneed appeared to be a good bet to slip on a green jacket. Despite charges by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Sneed still had a three-stroke lead with three holes to play.

A three-putt for bogey cost Sneed a shot at the 16th, then he missed a short par putt on the 17th. Suddenly, his lead was down to one.

Sneed hit the fairway on the 18th, but his approach finished next to the greenside bunker. He chipped to about eight feet below the hole, then watched in disbelief as his putt hung on the lip, refusing to drop for par and the win.

Zoeller, meanwhile, had finished with 70 to join Watson and Sneed in the Masters’ first sudden-death playoff.

Like Sarazen 44 years before, Zoeller took a risk on the 15th hole to help force the playoff. He went for the green in two, even though the shot was longer than the distance he normally hit his 3-wood.

“Now, I’ll tell you exactly how far I can hit a 3-wood. I can hit it 235 yards without any wind,” Zoeller later told reporters. “I don’t know how it got there.”

The playoff began on the 10th hole, and all three men made par to advance to the 11th.

Zoeller hit the biggest drive, then watched as Sneed’s approach flew into the back bunker and Watson’s came up wide right. The Masters rookie then calmly hit his iron shot to inside 10 feet.

“Two balls right and don’t leave it short,” was caddie Jariah Beard’s advice for Zoeller, according to Ward Clayton’s book Men on the Bag, which chronicles the stories of Augusta National caddies.

After watching Sneed and Watson play, Zoeller coolly rolled his birdie putt into the cup and earned his place in history. He flung his putter into the air and jumped for joy with outstretched arms.

“I’m on cloud nine, and I guess I’ll be up there for three or four weeks,” Zoeller said afterward.

He had extra motivation for making the birdie to end the playoff on the 11th hole.

“I said if I don’t make it, we have to play No. 12, which I don’t want to do,” Zoeller told the media corps. “I’m 3-over-par there this week.”

Zoeller, who retired from Masters competition in 2009, thinks someone will come along and join him, Smith and Sarazen as Masters winners in their Augusta debut. In 2014, Jordan Spieth almost joined the club after sharing the lead going into the final round.

“You never say never,” Zoeller said. “It is amazing when you think about all the talent that has walked through from that practice range to that first tee and it hasn’t happened.

“Can I explain why? No. Will it happen again? Somebody will do it.”

Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson want ‘best outcome’ of PGA Tour-LIV dispute

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson want to see the PGA Tour-LIV Golf dispute get settled.

Speaking during a joint press conference after the three legends hit the ceremonial tee shots to the 88th edition of the Masters, Watson shared a special moment during the Champions Dinner, which brought together 33 of the past winners – seven of them members of LIV – in their Green Jackets and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley, on Tuesday evening.

“We were sitting down and we were having great stories about Seve Ballesteros and people were laughing and talking. I said to Mr. Ridley, I said, ‘Do you mind if I say something about being here together with everybody?’ He said, ‘Please do.’

“And I got up and I said – I’m looking around the room, and I’m seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having. They are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing. I said, ‘Ain’t it good to be together again?’ ” Watson recalled.

He added that he hoped the players would take it upon themselves to reach a resolution, sooner rather than later.

“We have to do something,” Watson said. “We all know it’s a difficult situation for professional golf right now. The players really kind of have control I think in a sense. What do they want to do? We’ll see where it goes. We don’t have the information or the answers. I don’t think the PGA Tour or the LIV Tour really have an answer right now. But I think in this room, I know the three of us want to get together. We want to get together like we were at that Champions Dinner, happy, the best players playing against each other. The bottom line: that’s what we want in professional golf, and right now, we don’t have it.”

Nicklaus echoed that sentiment and placed his trust in PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to lead the way.

“The best outcome is the best players play against each other all the time. That’s what I feel about it. And how it’s going, I don’t know, I don’t want to be privy to it,” Nicklaus said. “I talked to Jay not very long ago, and I said, ‘Jay, don’t tell me what’s going on because I don’t want to have to lie to the press and people that ask me questions.’ I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘We’re doing fine.’ I said, “OK, that’s all I want to know.’ If Jay thinks we’re doing fine, we’ll get there, I think we’ll get there. And I certainly hope that happens, the sooner the better.”

Player touched on how that division in golf and attention on the greed in the game has turned off the public. But he also noted that the players who had stayed loyal to the PGA Tour needed to be compensated in some way (which they will be through the infusion of capital into the Tour’s new for-profit arm from private equity investment.)

“Anytime in any business whatsoever, not only in the golf business, there’s confrontation, it’s unhealthy. You’ve got to get together and come to a solution. If you cannot, it’s not good. The public don’t like it, and we as professionals don’t like it, either,” Player said. “But it’s a big problem because they paid all these guys to join the LIV Tour fortunes, I mean, beyond one’s comprehension and the players that were loyal, three of us and others. Now these guys come back and play, I really believe the players, that if they are loyal, should be compensated in some way or another. Otherwise, there’s going to be dissension.”

Wise words from three of the all-time greats, who still care deeply about the state of professional golf.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=451191917]

Avert your eyes: Sergio Garcia’s outfit for the first round of the 2024 Masters is something

What a look from Garcia.

Sergio Garcia is one of 13 players representing LIV Golf this week at the 2024 Masters, and trust us, it’s going to be hard to miss him at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.

Garcia, the 2017 Masters champ, debuted his look — which matches with his wife, Angela — on social media before teeing off for the opening round of the year’s first major championship.

There’s a lot we could say about this fit. Is he now sponsored by Starry? Is he attempting some sort of camouflage? Or has he had this outfit laid out in his closet for the last few months?

Tough to know, but it sure is interesting.

After a birdie on No. 4, Garcia was 1 under through four holes during the first round.

[lawrence-related id=778450861,778450061,778449285]

Jack Nicklaus had a sweet flag bag during the Masters 2024 Honorary Starters ceremony

What a flex.

The Honorary Starters ceremony is one of the best parts of Masters week.

The event is steeped in tradition, and when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson take to the tee, thousands show up and surround the first tee box at Augusta National Golf Club to watch the legends kick off the Masters annually.

This year, the trio again striped their tee shots after a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, but the 88th Masters is underway.

However, one of the coolest parts of the Honorary Starters ceremony was Nicklaus’ bag. The 18-time major champion and six-time winner at Augusta had a sick flag bag. The bag was made with different flags from around the country, including a Masters one and St. Andrews flag.

Flag bags are common in certain parts of the country, but seeing arguably the greatest golfer of all-time using one to begin the Masters was pretty cool. What a flex.

Honorary Starter ceremony kicks off 88th Masters Tournament: ‘I did it’

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jack Nicklaus lifted both hands into the Georgia air and said three words.

“I did it.”

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

The annual Honorary Starter ceremony was delayed two hours Thursday morning by weather, but at 10:10 a.m. local time, Nicklaus, along with Gary Player and Tom Watson, walked from the clubhouse to No. 1 tee.

First to hit was Player, who planted his tee in the ground and told his audience, “Not so easy to put the ball on a tee anymore.”

Nicklaus countered with, “Put mine in too.”

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

After Player found the short grass, Jack took his turn.

“Watch out to the left and right,” Nicklaus said.

There was no need.

The six-time Masters winner striped his ball down the left side of No. 1, and then gave way to Tom Watson.

“Just one thing,” said Watson, as he prepared to strike his shot. “Jack, you’ve never hit a hook off this tee in your life.”

Nicklaus, laughing, said, “That was a neck pull.”

On hand for the ceremony were former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, and current head man Jay Monahan.

Also in attendance were past Masters champions Nick Faldo and Tommy Aaron, as well as CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Nantz, who has covered the Masters since 1989, calls the annual tradition, “My favorite moment in golf.”

“It’s such a rich moment of nostalgia,” Nantz said. “It’s a passage of time. You look at these champions — these iconic figures who you looked up to so much in your youth. Every year, this ceremony is a moment of reflection.”

Photos: Masters 2024 honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson

Three legends of the game have officially started the 2024 Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It was pushed back a couple of hours but Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson took to the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club to be the honorary starters once again ahead of the 2024 Masters Tournament.

It’s a time-honored tradition at Augusta National, with the three legends of the game taking to the first tee to officially start the tournament each year. Due to some inclement overnight and early morning weather, the threesome were on the tee box at 10:10 a.m., with Gary Player getting the honors. Jack Nicklaus, a six-time Masters Green Jacket winner, going second, with Tom Watson, the newest addition to the starters bringing up the rear.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

Take a look at some photos from the 2024 ceremonial tee shot at the Masters Tournament.

Photos: Masters 2024 Thursday first round at Augusta National Golf Club

Check out some of the best photos from the first round of the 2024 Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Overnight rain put a damper, but only ever so slightly, on the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament.

The first round, originally set for 8 a.m., saw tee times slide back to 10:30 a.m. ET at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.

The honorary starters ceremony, in which Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, all hit the ceremonial first tee shot at 10:10 a.m., officially starting the tournament for 2024.

That pushed defending champion Jon Rahm’s start time back to 1 p.m. ET.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

Check out some of the best photos from the first round of the 2024 Masters.

Peter Malnati Masters 2024 rookie diary: Winning crystal at the Par 3 Contest on the best ‘golf day of the year’

I’d chalk up the Par 3 Contest as a laborious nine holes chasing around my kids and trying to keep up.

Editor’s Note: Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters by winning the Valspar Championship last month. The 36-year-old veteran hadn’t won in nearly nine years on the PGA Tour. He’s sharing a first-person account of his experience daily only at Golfweek.com.

AUGUSTA,  Ga. — Webb Simpson, who is someone that I really look up to and have become close with, calls Wednesday at the Masters his favorite golf day of the year without a close second and I can totally see why.

The family involvement at the annual Par 3 Contest is really cool. My two sons, Hatcher, the eldest, and Dash were both suited up in their little caddie bibs. Hatcher had a little green bag and clubs. Dash was picking up golf balls. It’s a pretty cool site to see your 4-year-old hitting balls in the tournament practice area at Augusta National.

Parenthood is a labor of love and as much fun as I had, I’d chalk up the Par 3 Contest as a laborious nine holes chasing around my kids and trying to keep up.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

The Par-3 course was set up with a bunch of funnel pins. I think five of my nine shots felt like they had a chance to go in at one point. I hit to kick in range four times, made one long putt, hit one wedge that looked like it was going to spin into the hole. I’m counting five birdies – I’m giving myself birdie at the last hole despite my wife, Alicia, missing the putt. But I hit it in there pretty close. She’s good at a lot of things so I will let it slide. I kid. She’s the rock and the reason we are able to do everything we do so she’s forgiven for missing a 2 footer. In her defense, it did break sharply from left to right. I could’ve left her a straighter putt.

We played with a couple of other Masters rookies in Adam Schenk and Stephan Jaeger. They are both parents, too, but don’t have the 4½-year-old like we do but they have younger kids in the 1-1½ range so it was similar family dynamics at play.

One last cool thing about the Par 3 Contest: My shot at the second hole to 16 inches held on as the closest of the day, which means I get a crystal trophy that will make for a cool souvenir.

Peter Malnati lifts his wife Alicia on the No. 9 tee during the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Network

Prior to the Par 3 Contest, I did a morning workout and was one of the first players out on the front nine.

Do I know all the nuances of Augusta National? Have I seen it in different conditions and directions? Of course not. But I feel like I have a pretty good map of the course in my mind. I have a pretty good idea of where the hole locations are just from historical information. I did a lot of the practice around the greens and on the greens to different locations. I have a good sense of the strategy I want to use after my prep work. But I think none of it is going to come down to whether or not I have the right information to form the right plan. It’s just going to come down to execution. That’s the question every week and I do feel ready to do that too.

I guess there’s inclement weather in the forecast for Thursday that could throw a wrench in the starting times. We’ll have to see how that affects the course and the way it plays and what time we get to play and all that. Regardless. I’ll be ready for it and I’m thankful we got here early. I got to play all 18 holes on Sunday. I definitely feel like we’ve been here a full tournament week already. I’m ready to get the action started. I think I did a relatively good job of pacing my prep work. I don’t feel like I’ve overdone it. From an energy standpoint, I should be ready to go.

Whatever time it is when I get to peg it on the first tee on Thursday, I’m sure I will feel some nerves. I’ve felt those nerves at just about every PGA Tour event I’ve played and I don’t think tomorrow will be any different. Maybe it will be a little more intense in terms of the nerves but whatever I feel, I’ve done the work, I have the support system around me, and I’m ready for it. I’m excited to get this started.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=451189886]

Want to go to the 2025 Masters? Here’s how to get tickets to Augusta National

You can go to the Masters next year. Yeah, you.

You can go to the Masters next year. Yeah, you.

The Masters Tournament is one of the hottest tickets to get in sports, but it’s also one of the hardest to get your hands on. That’s because Augusta National Golf Club holds a selection process every year for the Masters, Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.

The applications for tickets to all three events generally opens around the first week of June. The first step is as easy as creating an account on the Masters, ANWA and DCP websites (it’s one account, but you’ll need to visit each individual site and log in to apply for tickets to each event).

Hopeful patrons can apply for multiple days at each event but are only eligible to secure tickets for one day. Applications are also limited to one per household.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

Prices fluctuate, but the 2024 ticket cost was $100 for practice rounds and $140 for tournaments rounds. For the final round of the ANWA, it was $100; the DCP National Finals tickets were $25.

Hard to beat that value.

The only way to pay for tickets is through the website. Augusta National will inform those who have been selected in late July.

More information can be found on the official Masters website, which includes this message for anyone thinking about reselling tickets:

As a reminder, Augusta National, Inc. is the only authorized source/seller of Masters® Tickets. The resale of any Masters Ticket is strictly prohibited. Holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament.

[fanpower_carousel id=”178″]