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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > April > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USFew days in sports rival the Masters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Augusta — It started with Arnold Palmer drilling a ceremonial shot into the morning fog before a thick and nostalgic crowd. It ended in brilliant sunshine with Justin Rose doing what he often does. That is, he placed at least one of his arms in a green jacket by leading on the first day of a Masters or by sitting in the vicinity.
In between, with thousands of the calmest folks you’ll ever see gawking over nature’s beauty as much as the golfing talent everywhere, there were enough splendid moments Thursday at Augusta National to make you wonder if sporting life ever gets better than this.
It doesn’t. Not at Super Bowls, not at World Series games or Final Fours, Daytona 500s or anything else without an Amen Corner and Ike’s Pond.
Once again, the grass was the loveliest of green. Once again, the only thing more striking under the bright sky than the dogwoods and the Georgia pines were the azaleas. Once again, there was a bunch of Tiger Woods, too. After an afternoon of mediocrity on the front nine, he became worse than that. He had bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14. Then either Bobby Jones or Earl Woods reached from the clouds to help Tiger sink an uphill chip for an eagle on the 15th, and he gained instant momentum to keep his fifth Masters victory likelihood alive after finishing an even-par 72.
Still, for the longest time, the only thing missing to make this even more of a mid-April version of heaven on earth was a hole-in-one. Then, right below me, there was that sound and then that sight. First, I heard the crowd easing into a roar, and then I saw Ian Poulter’s tee shot ignore the water and the three bunkers around the frequently magical 16th green to land 25 feet from the pin. The ball eventually found its way to the bottom of the hole after a relatively slow but definitely persistent roll.
This was the hole that Palmer and Jack Nicklaus used to become even more famous with birdies along the way to Masters victories. Mostly, this was the hole that featured Woods’ twisting chip shot that finally sat on the lip of the cup forever during his fourth and last victory at Augusta National three years ago.
Others were more prominent than Woods on Thursday, but only on the leaderboard, where Rose and Trevor Immelman led everybody else with 4-under 68s. There also was your typical Masters guy out of nowhere. This time, his name was Brian Bateman, shooting a 69 to tease the ghosts of Hogan, Nelson and the rest before vanishing by Saturday afternoon. Then there was defending champion Zach Johnson, owner of a respectable 70 in his attempt to remove “fluke” from paragraphs mentioning his name and “Masters.”
Woods was the star of the Augusta National moments, though. In fact, he contributed heavily to the day’s mighty ambiance by just breathing. While Arnie had his Army, Woods has his version of the whole armed forces, along with the joint chiefs of staff. He inspired a growing collection of fans (a quiet mob, really) to follow him from shot to shot. Among those, you had a prominent Bulldog in Georgia athletics director Damon Evans, a prominent Gator-turned-Gamecock named Steve Spurrier and an appreciative 80-something-year-old retiree from Venice, Fla., named Steve Davis.
Davis was the most indicative of the masses. After he watched Woods close the afternoon with a par on the 18th green, Davis couldn’t hide his misty eyes above his widest of smiles as he walked away with his son, Andrew Davis. “This was part of his ‘Bucket List,’ ” said the younger Davis, referring to the movie featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman doing a wish list of things before they die.
The older Davis laughed, while glancing back at those still cheering Woods as he headed toward the clubhouse. Said Davis, still glancing and laughing, “I always wanted to go to the Masters, and I finally got this chance, but my wife is in rehab, and she even said, ‘Go.’ So here I am, and it’s all through now. You know, it’s like, ‘See Tiger, and then die.’”
Davis laughed some more, then he frowned before adding in a hurry, “Well, not quite.”
Comments
By Jerome
April 10, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this
I agree with Terrance and Furman B. There is no place more magical than Augusta National Golf Club. If you have never been, take a second mortgage on your house next year to make it happen. It will be the best money you have ever spent.
By william cranman
April 10, 2008 9:14 PM | Link to this
Great column Terrence.
By Augusta native
April 10, 2008 11:58 PM | Link to this
Regarding your column of a few days ago: Hank Aaron can have any opinion he wants, but the fact remains that Tiger is no better at his sport than any number of tennis players have been at theirs. The difference is that tennis players have significantly shorter careers. Compare Tiger’s results over the last 5 years to that of Roger Federer. Absolutely no question who has a better record.
As great as Woods is, and he is the most talented golfer EVER and will probably be considered the greatest player ever before he turns 40, he is not as infallible as you and others in the media think he is.
He is 13 of 44 in majors, which is less than a .300 average. Chipper Jones does better than that. He cherry picks his tournament schedule, avoiding courses he doesn’t especially care for that host non-majors. Ask him why he doesn’t play Riviera any more.
It’s pretty obvious that your knowledge of golf is limited to Tiger Woods and not a whole else. And probably not that much about Tiger. If you don’t want to ask him about Riviera, why not ask him how a player as great as he is lost 2 majors in a row last year after being handed the lead in the final round.
Just joshing. I know all you who worship at the temple of Tiger would never ask him something as tasteless as that. He might get offended and we all know the media does not want to offend the mighty Tiger.
By James Crumbley
April 11, 2008 5:23 AM | Link to this
Nothing beats the Masters for tradition, consistency and awe. The Super Bowl, despite the hype, is only as entertaining as the teams playing. The World Series ends a baseball season that seems to last forever and the games start too late to finish without a sleep (lack thereof)hangover. The Masters is about the course, the ghosts of past players and each golfer’s struggle. I love everything about Master’s…
By lakerat
April 11, 2008 7:21 AM | Link to this
I just don’t get it - all the hype and stupid reverence for The Masters and Augusta National - and you, Terence, of all people, I would, have never suspected of perpetuating the reverence (and did you really refer to the crowd around Tiger as a “mob”? Don’t you know that will probably get you banned from said “hallowed ground”? - or is that part of your plan?).
Yes, I have attended the tournament on several occasions, and, yes, the grounds are, without doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. But, c’mon, all the freakin’ solemn and sanctimonious attitudes of not only the club memebers and the corporate titans who bow down to their piety makes me wonder about the sanity of all who think this to be more than just another golf tournament.
By Dan Jenkins
April 11, 2008 7:32 AM | Link to this
Since when did Terence become a golf writer? Oh, I know…
By Chess
April 11, 2008 8:17 AM | Link to this
Terrance - Good article. Tradition. Players. Golf. Tiger.
By Lex Luthor
April 11, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
Yep, The Masters is real traditional. It goes all the way back to the 1930s.