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The Masters is built on lore. The heroic shots of Sunday afternoons. The tragic failures. It is the glory of the game set against the backdrop of azaleas, a falling spring sun and (warning: cliche alert) a cathedral of pines.
Monday, the day after the Masters, is also filled with heroic shots and tragic failures. Alright, mostly tragic failures. Plus flailing swings, disposable cameras, cheap golf shoes and, oh yeah, all that stuff about the azaleas. It's the day when a few members of the media, chosen by lottery, are allowed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play Augusta National Golf Club. It's a day when divots die ugly ... and often.
It was 1994 and Boston Herald golf writer Joe Gordon went for the par-5 15th green in two and missed it just right of the bunker. He faced a delicate chip shot over the trap and watched his trickling shot hit the pin and drop for an eagle 3.
"I'm prancing all over, really putting on the act," Gordon said. "I say, 'Nobody but Gene Sarazen has ever beaten me on this hole!' It was quite a display."
After he teed off at 16 (where he air-mailed the green after being mis-clubbed by his caddie) and walked past the 15th green, Gordon heard a roar and shouts of celebration from the 15th fairway. Another player had just holed out from the fairway, apparently for a double eagle 2.
"I told my group to go on ahead, I've got to do a column on this guy," Gordon said. "While I watched him approach, I got angrier by the minute. I thought, am I a golfer or a journalist? Today, I decided, I'm a golfer. I finally decided, screw the story. This guy just topped my 3 with a 2, so screw him, too. I left and never got his name."
Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune hadn't played golf all year and hadn't made a par when he reached the 12th hole on his manic Masters Monday. A lefty, Sherman hit a beautiful, drawing 5-iron shot over the bunker to within four feet of the cup. "It was the best shot I've ever hit," said Sherman, who made the putt despite literally shaking. "I checked the stats; there were only four birdies there Sunday. Sure, I made birdie without the pressure of Sunday at the Masters, but those guys didn't make birdie with my swing. I own that hole. And I'll be saying that until I'm 80."
Golfweek's Jeff Rude, playing the ninth hole one year, noticed ABC broadcaster Mike Tirico coming up the adjacent first hole. He watched Tirico's caddie, walking 50 yards ahead through the pine straw in the left rough, arrive at Tirico's ball and kick it from behind a tree into a better lie with an open shot to the green. "The caddie looked up, saw me watching and we locked eyes," Rude said. "Then he put his finger to his lips and goes, shhhhhh! The next time I saw Tirico, I asked him how his lie was on the first hole at Augusta. Mike said, 'Great, why do you ask?' I didn't tell him."
Hank Gola of the New York Daily News is an inveterate golfer. "I remember my round at Augusta shot by shot," he said. "Every time I go out on the course to watch the tournament, I remember where I hit it. I remember four-putting the first hole. From that point on, I didn't want to pull the trigger on any putts."
He shot 42 on the front nine, then parred his way through Amen Corner. "That was the thrill of my life," he said. "Even after the four-group, 45-minute wait on the 12th tee."
