What The Masters Means to Me

If you think back to the earliest stages of your life, what are the clearest moments that define it? What are the memories that for whatever reason you remember like it was yesterday? Isn’t it so funny how some moments you couldn’t shake from the deepest recesses of your mind even if you wanted to, and some things you can’t remember no matter how hard you try?

My oldest memories in life are centered around sports -- around golf. I grew up in a household with a father who was golf-OBSESSED; in a household where it was sacrilegious to not have golf on the screen every Sunday; where my life was centered around what I used to think was just a game – and it took me years to figure out what the obsession was truly all about. These moments that led me to understand this obsession firsthand all stem from a single golf tournament that is held in Augusta, Georgia once a year: The Masters. Let’s start with the good ones.

2005 Masters

“In your life have you seen anything like that?”

I will never forget as long as I live where I was and who I was with when those words were uttered. My dad had some buddies over for the 2005 masters, all watching this golfer who seemed to transcend the sport at the time. I’ve never seen a group of old men worship someone the way they were worshipping Tiger Woods that weekend. It seemed all but a certainty that Woods would slip on his fourth green jacket that week but a longshot by the name of Chris DiMarco had other ideas. Tiger sprays his shot on the par 3 16th on Sunday off the green to the left. The pin on 16 is in its iconic location. Tiger looks stymied.

Anyone who was watching that day remembers what happened next and exactly where they were for that moment -- a perfectly executed chip to the slope of the green that started to feed the ball down directly to the hole. The announcers themselves couldn’t believe the touch Tiger displayed. It almost appears that there is a magnet in the hole attracting the ball to come in. The ball stops on the edge, one roll away from perhaps the greatest golf shot you’ll ever see. And then it happens. One additional revolution and the ball drops into the hole. Tiger loses his mind and the tournament has seemingly shifted back directly into Tiger’s court. The gaggle of middle-aged men lost their minds and their drinks all over the carpet that my mom explicitly stated to not get dirty. Verne Lundquist has one of the greatest calls on the shot in any sports moment ever. The moment couldn’t have been scripted any better.

2013 Masters

“Come on Aussie!”

I truly think that the 2013 Masters is the most underrated of my lifetime. It is also my personal favorite Masters moment. Adam Scott is -8 and tied for the lead coming down 18 in the pouring rain with Angel Cabrera. A birdie seemingly ends the golf tournament. Adam Scott hits one to about 30 feet on 18. He hits a putt that is tracking directly to the hole. “There is no way,” I remember thinking as the ball crept towards the hole. The left edge of the hole grabs the ball and the putt drops. Pandemonium breaks out. Adam Scott screams at the top of his lungs “come on Aussie!”

Adam Scott has just won the Masters?! Not so fast. Angel Cabrera -- also coming down 18 -- needs a birdie to get into a playoff. The rain appears to be coming down even harder than it did when Adam Scott was playing the hole. Given the circumstances, the weather, the tournament, I think this is one of the best golf shots I’ve ever seen in my life. Angel rifles one at the hole, immediately starts barking at the ball; he must love it? The ball falls out of the sky into the green incredibly softly and trickles to 4 feet. There will be a playoff to decide the 2013 Masters.

The playoff goes to the 10th hole. Both golfers hit incredible shots into the green. Cabrera has about 25 feet below the hole. Adam Scott hits his to about 15 feet below the hole. Angel hits what appears to be a great putt that misses just to the right above the hole. The stage is set. Adam Scott has a putt to win the 2013 Masters. He takes his time over the putt. He and Stevie Williams are going back and forth on the line. As legend goes, Stevie Williams tells him he is certain of the line and to hit the ball on that path to take home the green jacket. The ball hits the putter face and tracks directly into the bottom of the hole. As is tradition, my father, my brother, and I are watching together, losing our minds as to what we just witnessed.

2019 Masters

“The Return to Glory”

It's hard not to put this one on my list. To my dad, Tiger was a hero. Tiger to me became just that because of my father. My dad is a pretty a blue-collar guy who calls it like he sees it. He is rarely caught up or taken aback by someone to the level he was with Tiger Woods. “There will never be another Tiger Woods,” my dad used to always say. So when Tiger “fell off” it was obviously something that we hated to see. For as high as the highs were with Tiger, the lows were equally as low. Tiger seemingly appeared to be back on his way up at least from a golf standpoint in 2019. I don’t know if I ever thought he would win a major but another thing my father always says is, “you never bet against Tiger Woods (or Tom Brady).”

Tiger, seemingly playing the most Tiger Woods golf of his career in a long time that week, is just so dialed in. Fairwaying and Greening the course to death. He hit seemingly everything to 15-20 feet that week. He was not going to make that monumental mistake that would cost him the tournament that week. Every day he seemed to pick up a little more confidence. The leaderboard come Sunday was jam-packed with the best golfers in the world (most of whom were significantly younger than Tiger). The back 9, things started to get even tighter; however, everyone who was in the mix seemed to make a massive mistake on 12. But Tiger goes up and hits it on the green to 30 feet and makes an easy par. The tournament is now in his control. Being the beast he is, Woods closes it out with some of the best “boring” golf you’ll ever watch. But his return to glory and 5th green jacket is one of the most unforgettable moments in the sports history.

The Tragedy

For as good as golf and the Masters has been to me, there’s one brief moment in my life that I need to touch on that has changed me more than any other individual moment I can remember. Sadly, this is one of those memories that I can’t shake from my head even if I wanted to. It is something I hate talking about. And it is something that I struggle to bring up. But for the sake of What the Masters Means to Me, I felt compelled to address it.

In March of 2023 an incredible tragedy struck one of our dearest family friends. An unexpected and heartbreaking call got me so choked up I had to leave the office in the middle of the day to get my thoughts together. A family friend -- one of my father’s weekly golfing partners -- tragically lost their son, who was a senior in college with an incredibly bright future. He was a golf lover in his own regard --like his father -- who I played with many times growing up. As sweet and as bright a kid as there comes. Our family and our friends were shaken to our core. That moment was truly among the saddest and most devastating things I’ve ever witnessed in my 30 years.

Heaven on Earth

This tragedy more than anything put into perspective the value of life. The value of appreciating every single day you wake up in the morning. The value of every single time you were able to hit golf balls with your dad and brother. The value of every single time you caddied for your dad in the 100-degree weather while grumbling that it was the worst 4 hours ever when really it was some of the best bonding moments we ever shared. The value of your dad telling you not to grip the club that hard and swing out of your shoes as he himself grips the club with the intent of killing and swings with the force of Gary Sheffield lusting after a hanging curveball. The value of all of those hours spent watching the Masters together on a yearly basis that seem so unimportant in the grand scheme of things but are truly some of the most meaningful moments of my life.

Two weeks after this tragedy I got a call from my dad and brother – maybe one of the best phone calls of my life. My brother and I had never been to Augusta before and it was a trip we always talking about making. My dad told us that he had 3 tickets to Augusta National on Wednesday. I and my brother dropped everything we were doing to work on getting to Hilton Head. In a matter of hours, we were both on our way to the biggest golf tournament in the world. A golf tournament that has been a part of our lives since birth – one that many aren’t lucky enough to even attend, and yet we were doing it together. A golf tournament in which my oldest memories are engraved. I will never forget pulling up to Augusta -- a true diamond in the rough.

Walking in I felt like a kid in a candy shop. A massive plot of land that was so well maintained it almost seemed fake. We got there at the crack of dawn and didn’t leave until we were kicked out. We spent hours in Amen Corner, enjoying the pure beauty those finishing stretch of holes had to offer. We re-lived some of the greatest shots and memories that we had together. It’s a day that I will never forget. It felt spiritual. It felt bigger than golf. It felt like heaven on earth. As each year comes and passes, the Masters has meant that much more to me because of the bonds and experiences I’ve been able to share with my family and friends. Golf is just a game but one that connects so many people worldwide. The Masters and Augusta National are the pinnacles of the sport. Being able to share these memories with my brother and father is more valuable to me than any possession I will ever own.

These memories will never be able to be taken from me. That is why I love sports. That is why I love golf. And that is what the Masters means to me.