JasonEvans
04-09-2007, 05:52 PM
A friend called me on Saturday with a question:
"Hey, you want 2 passes to the Master's tomorrow?"
I was so dumbfounded it took me a full second to say, "YES!"
It was awesome. We put our chairs down in the 6th row at 18, perfectly lined up with the pin, then we walked the course for a bit soaking in Amen corner and all the views. The Azaleas were not in bloom as much as I would like but it was still beautiful.
We then began watching some of the play. I got to see Singh and Singh tee off at 1 and watched Tiger practice his putting for about ten minutes. Then it was off to the #2 green to watch for birdies and eagles at this early par 5. One really cool thing is that you don't really know what is going on until scores get posted on the many scoreboards around the course. Everyone was eager to see if Phil could make a run. We knew he had been 6-over to start the round. There was an incredible groan from the crowd when the scorboard posted him at +9 after one. One guy yelled, "you've got the 6 upside down!!" to the scoreboard operator. We watched the final 12-15 pairs come through #2 finishingh with Tiger. When he birdied to go to 3-over, he had the lead (with about 6 other guys at +4) and everyone was convinced it was all over. He would run away with it. We ran off to #7 to catch the leaders come to that hole.
The green on #7 looks impossibly small when you stand right next to it. It is really elevated too, making shots into it all that much more tough. It also has so many little hills and undulations that I do not know how anyone makes a putt. The pin was placed so that if you missed the pin by even a foot or two to the left, your ball was rolling off the green. After seeing a ton of birdies and even a few eagles at 2, it was a very different story here. Everyone was pretty much playing for a par. After Tiger and Applebee were done, we ran off to the stands in between #11 and #12.
I was eager to see #12, which may be my favorite hole at Augusta, but I was bummed to find out that you really cannot get very close to the green there. We saw some nice shots and watched Applebee pretty much end his tournament by hitting it in the water, then we ran off to #18.
I was stunned that our chairs were still there just waiting for us to sit in them. We had to navigate our way through a massive crowd to reach the area where our chairs had been left. But once we got there, our view was amazing. Watching the scoreboard became a full-time occupation. The scoreboards are manual, not automated, and you can see when the operators are about to update someone's total. When they posted the "3" after Tiger eagled #13, the crowd went insane. People were jumping up and high fiving each other. It felt like we had witnessed it, even though we were doing nothing more than watching a big white sign with number on it. Sorta funny.
The ending was, as you all know, not all that dramatic. Once Zach Johnson made that really nice chip/putt to save his par, we knew it was all over. folks kept on saying that Tiger could hole-out his approach, but that would have been one-in-a-thousand. I was bummed, not because Tiger lost but because I was hoping for some pressure packed putts at 18 with me just 20 of so feet away. The prospect of a 3 or 4 way playoff at 18 was very real much of the day and I was salivating at that!!
Anyway, it was simply incredible. If you ever, ever, ever get the chance to visit Augusta National-- DO IT!!
--Jason "I bought a vest for $70 and a $25 hat, but the food was all 1970s prices and really cheap" Evans
"Hey, you want 2 passes to the Master's tomorrow?"
I was so dumbfounded it took me a full second to say, "YES!"
It was awesome. We put our chairs down in the 6th row at 18, perfectly lined up with the pin, then we walked the course for a bit soaking in Amen corner and all the views. The Azaleas were not in bloom as much as I would like but it was still beautiful.
We then began watching some of the play. I got to see Singh and Singh tee off at 1 and watched Tiger practice his putting for about ten minutes. Then it was off to the #2 green to watch for birdies and eagles at this early par 5. One really cool thing is that you don't really know what is going on until scores get posted on the many scoreboards around the course. Everyone was eager to see if Phil could make a run. We knew he had been 6-over to start the round. There was an incredible groan from the crowd when the scorboard posted him at +9 after one. One guy yelled, "you've got the 6 upside down!!" to the scoreboard operator. We watched the final 12-15 pairs come through #2 finishingh with Tiger. When he birdied to go to 3-over, he had the lead (with about 6 other guys at +4) and everyone was convinced it was all over. He would run away with it. We ran off to #7 to catch the leaders come to that hole.
The green on #7 looks impossibly small when you stand right next to it. It is really elevated too, making shots into it all that much more tough. It also has so many little hills and undulations that I do not know how anyone makes a putt. The pin was placed so that if you missed the pin by even a foot or two to the left, your ball was rolling off the green. After seeing a ton of birdies and even a few eagles at 2, it was a very different story here. Everyone was pretty much playing for a par. After Tiger and Applebee were done, we ran off to the stands in between #11 and #12.
I was eager to see #12, which may be my favorite hole at Augusta, but I was bummed to find out that you really cannot get very close to the green there. We saw some nice shots and watched Applebee pretty much end his tournament by hitting it in the water, then we ran off to #18.
I was stunned that our chairs were still there just waiting for us to sit in them. We had to navigate our way through a massive crowd to reach the area where our chairs had been left. But once we got there, our view was amazing. Watching the scoreboard became a full-time occupation. The scoreboards are manual, not automated, and you can see when the operators are about to update someone's total. When they posted the "3" after Tiger eagled #13, the crowd went insane. People were jumping up and high fiving each other. It felt like we had witnessed it, even though we were doing nothing more than watching a big white sign with number on it. Sorta funny.
The ending was, as you all know, not all that dramatic. Once Zach Johnson made that really nice chip/putt to save his par, we knew it was all over. folks kept on saying that Tiger could hole-out his approach, but that would have been one-in-a-thousand. I was bummed, not because Tiger lost but because I was hoping for some pressure packed putts at 18 with me just 20 of so feet away. The prospect of a 3 or 4 way playoff at 18 was very real much of the day and I was salivating at that!!
Anyway, it was simply incredible. If you ever, ever, ever get the chance to visit Augusta National-- DO IT!!
--Jason "I bought a vest for $70 and a $25 hat, but the food was all 1970s prices and really cheap" Evans