04/09/26 08:05:00
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04/09 08:03 CDT A wild hook and a big leg kick as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player
and Tom Watson open the Masters
A wild hook and a big leg kick as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson
open the Masters
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) --- The Masters got started beneath whispy white clouds and a
bright blue spring sky Thursday when Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson
once again struck the ceremonial tee shots down the first fairway at Augusta
National.
Well, mostly down the first fairway.
After the 90-year-old Player hit his shot down the middle, and celebrated with
a big leg kick, the 86-year-old Nicklaus stepped up. His son, Jackie, placed
his ball on the tee, and the Golden Bear offered a tongue-in-cheek warning to
the patrons lining the tee box --- "Oh, boy, watch out," Nicklaus said, "and I
don't mean that facetiously" --- and proceeded to hit a low hook right at them.
"I said, ?Spread out on both sides because I don't want to kill anybody,'" he
relayed afterward. "If it'd been a little closer I might have."
The ball cleared the heads of the patrons down the left side by a couple of
feet.
Last up was the 76-year-old Watson, who used the tee Nicklaus had left stuck in
the ground. "May I use your tee," Watson asked? "It's why I left it," the
six-time Masters champion replied, and Watson proceeded to strike his drive
right down the middle.
With that, the 90th edition of the Masters was underway.
The honorary starter has been a tradition at Augusta National since 1963, when
Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod hit their opening shots of the tournament. The
idea had come to club founder Bobby Jones years earlier, and over time, it has
become a treasured part of the Masters mystique, with 11 dignitaries and past
champions having served in the role.
Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead were the longest-serving, performing
the duty throughout most of the 1980s and '90s, while Arnold Palmer was joined
by Nicklaus and Player for many years. When the King died in 2016, it left just
Nicklaus and Player in a twosome, so Watson was asked to join them, and the
trio continues to this day.
"When I first played the Masters as an amateur in 1970, I teed off early in the
morning, playing with Doug Ford. I went to the honorary starters, and it was
very special," Watson said. "I remember seeing Gene Sarazen tee off. Sam Snead,
Arnold Palmer, Jack and Gary. It's something very special. I thought it was
just part of the aura of the tournament, and I wanted to witness it."
How much longer Player, Nicklaus and Watson take part is a big question
surrounding the Masters these days.
So is who might take on the role next.
"I was a little worried. I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago,
and I was worried about being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt
somebody," Nicklaus said. "I'm fortunate that I got it over somebody's head. I
didn't hit it very well, but I got it over their heads and didn't hurt anybody.
As long as I can still hit the golf ball."
Nicklaus said he doesn't really play anymore. He did once all of last year, and
once more this past February.
"But it's such a nice ceremony, and it's a real honor to be invited," he said.
"I hope to be able to do it as long as I can not kill anybody."
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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