Honorary starters – Syndication Server

Jack Nicklaus on his swing at the Honorary Starter Ceremony for the 2023 Masters: ‘I did it’

Nantz, who has covered the Masters since 1989, calls the honorary starter ceremony, “my favorite moment in golf.”

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

“I did it.”

And he did so without help. As the Golden Bear stepped toward No. 1 tee box for the Honorary Starter Ceremony, Steve Ethun — the Masters Chief Tournament Officer — placed a tee in the ground for Jack.

Nicklaus, however, removed the pre-placed tee and the six-time champion dug his own into the Augusta dirt.

Following his shot, which landed neatly in the fairway, Nicklaus turned to fellow honorary starter Tom Watson.

Watson applauded and gave Jack a thumbs up.

“I have so many amazing memories at Augusta National, so to add this to the list is amazing,” said 2008 winner Trevor Immelman, who attended the ceremony for the first time.

Photos: Honorary Starters ceremony at the 2023 Masters

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Also in attendance were Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Nantz, who has covered the Masters since 1989, calls the honorary starter ceremony, “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. For me, I’ve been fortunate to get to know them on a personal level — especially Jack. But every year, this ceremony is a moment of reflection.”

Immelman spoke of the significance of watching fellow South African Gary Player.

Player, 87, was wearing a bandage on his wrist, which Immelman said was caused by a horse riding accident.

“To see a fellow countryman crush it down the middle was amazing,” Immelman said. “That was special to see.”

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Photos: Honorary Starters ceremony at the 2023 Masters

It never gets old watching Jack, Gary and Tom hit the opening tee shots of the Masters.

The 2023 Masters tournament is officially underway.

Those are the words Chairman Fred Ridley said at the conclusion of the Honorary Starters ceremony, one of the best traditions of Masters week at Augusta National Golf Club. The tournament always gets underway with legends of the game striking the first tee shots.

87-year-old Gary Player went first, followed by 83-year-old Jack Nicklaus and then 73-year-old Tom Watson hit the final shot. Player kicked his leg after hitting his tee shot, Nicklaus joked with the crowd how putting the tee in the ground was the most difficult part and then Watson made fun of himself for injuring his shoulder late last year in a go-kart accident.

Masters 2023 leaderboard: Get the latest news from Augusta

The Honorary Starters hitting tee shots will never get old. Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the special moment on the first tee to kick off the 87th Masters.

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As Tom Watson joins Augusta National’s list of honorary starters, how did it all start?

It was nearly three decades before the ceremony was introduced at the 1963 Masters.

Golf has never been shy about celebrating its long-ago greats. During Masters week at Augusta National, that reverence is always on display.

The Tuesday night Champions Dinner is a big nod to the past, but it’s a private affair, which leaves the ceremonial Thursday morning tee time as the most public display of adulation for the game’s most historic figures.

This year, Tom Watson, an eight-time major champion (including two Masters), joins Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as an honorary starter for the 2022 Masters Tournament, which is scheduled to officially tee off shortly thereafter.

It has become such a familiar ritual, it’s easy to assume it’s forever been among the Masters traditions. But it hasn’t. It was nearly three decades before the ceremony was introduced at the 1963 Masters, and since then there have been a pair of four-year gaps without any honorary starters.

A course worker places the nameplates of honorary starters Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus at the first tee during the first round of the 2014 The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

How’d it all start? Well, let’s begin with a piece of trivia.

Today, the Senior PGA Championship is a traditional major tournament on the PGA Tour’s 50-and-up Champions circuit. It began in the late 1930s and the first two installments were played at Augusta National Golf Club.

The first two winners were Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the second and final Senior PGA at Augusta, Masters host Bobby Jones invited Hutchison (then 79) and McLeod (80) to do the honors. They continued the tradition together through 1973, then McLeod did it alone for three years following Hutchison’s death.

Following McLeod’s death, there was no opening tee-shot ceremony until 1981, when it became the domain of golfing giants — Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson were the first two, later joined by Sam Snead.

Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod (file photo)

In more recent times, the chore belonged to Arnold Palmer, who was later joined by Jack Nicklaus, and then Gary Player to round out the Big Three from the ’60s. Since Palmer’s death in 2016, Nicklaus and Player have started each Masters as a ceremonial twosome, though Lee Elder joined them last year to be honored — health limitations kept him from hitting a shot.

And now Watson, at a relatively young 72, joins Nicklaus (82) and Player (86), on a first tee that will be weighed down by 35 professional major championships, including 11 Masters.

Honorary Masters starters

1934-1962 — No honorary starters
1963-73 — Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod
1974-76 — Fred McLeod
1977-80 — No honorary starters
1981-82 — Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson
1983 — Gene Sarazen and Ken Venturi (subbing for Nelson)
1984-1999 — Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead
2000-2001 — Byron Nelson and Sam Snead
2002 — Sam Snead
2003-2006 — No honorary starters
2007-2009 — Arnold Palmer
2010-2011 — Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus
2012-2016 — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player
2016-2019 — Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player
2020 — No honorary starters
2021 — Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Elder
2022 — Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson

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