Tuesday At The Masters: The Full Skinny
Flashback
It’s Wednesday, March 28th, 2018, a week before Masters week. I’m Riggs, and I have no intention of going to Augusta for the Masters.
Then I get an email. The main theme? “You’ve been invited to spend Masters Week at the Black Knight House with Mr. Gary Player.” I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but knew I had to say yes.
I did, and Trent and I were all set to spend Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of Masters Week in Augusta with Mr. Gary Player.
This was Tuesday.
Beginnings
Interestingly enough, the first time I ever saw Augusta National was Tuesday’s practice round last year. It was sunny, hot, and magical. Today was also sunny, hot, and magical.
Trent and I arrived late Monday night, podcasted until about 2AM, then got up at 5:30 to meet Gary Player’s guy for our tickets and accommodations.
Full disclosure — I had the wrong address, and as we were driving around aimlessly north of Augusta, Georgia, there was a few minute stretch when I believed we had been pranked by a Stoolie. I believed there was no Gary Player hook up, and I actually said out loud to Trent, “the jig is up.”
Fortunately the jig had not even begun. We acquired our tickets, dropped off our bags, and Gary Player’s good family friend James drove us to the National.
Fireworks
We rolled up to Augusta at 8:30 AM and made our way past the practice range, past the new science center I mean pro shop, past the clubhouse, and down towards the 10th fairway just in time to catch Tiger, Phil, Freddie, and Pieters putting around on the green.
This was the first moment we’d ever seen Tiger Woods at Augusta National. He looked great.
We meandered our way down to Amen Corner and posted up on the ropes closest the 11th green. Those guys walked right by us and I got my first glimpse at Phil’s shirt.
Yikes.
As is tradition, there was a match within the foursome (Tiger and Phil crushed the other two, obviously) and the boys putted and chipped around for around 10 minutes on every green. It’s fun to watch; these guys are all wizards with their wedges.
The crowds were enormous. Overwhelming. It wasn’t even 9 AM yet at a practice round and it was 5-10 deep, shoulder to shoulder watching this group. We jumped over to the concession, the best and most efficient in the world, grabbed some blue sports drink, some pimento cheese sandwiches (all for like 4 bucks), and decided to get ahead of the group.
We posted up in the bleachers left of the 15th green figuring we could watch a few randos play up then watch the Tiger crew play 15 and 16. It was perfect.
A few minutes after we made our way over and sat down — it was quite comfy, and the security guard in charge of our section tested out several dad jokes he may or may not use during tournament play — we heard a massive roar from over near Amen Corner.
Found out later Tiger eagled 13.
Charl Schwartzel came strolling through. He laid up to the downslope, then hit a wedge to a tight left pin. A REAL tight left pin:
About 15 minutes before we expected the Tiger group, fans began pouring in. It is a legit storm surge of humans when this guy plays golf. There were no more than 15 people sitting with us for an hour before he showed up, but once he’s even close, it transforms into chaos. And it’s all awesome.
Tiger roasted a driver down the left center, at least 20 yards past anyone else, then threw a dart in there for eagle.
Everybody. Went. NUTS.
He obviously made the putt.
Afterwards, he walked over to Phil, who was chipping from behind the green, and pointed towards different targets for Phil to hit massive flops to. Eventually Tiger pointed to the hole, and Phil launched the ball sky high, it dropped barely on the green, trickled down towards the hole, and tumbled in on its last rotation.
Everybody. Went. NUTS.
Then the crew all hit skippers on 16 together. Very cute, this foursome really brought the heat today.
Oh yeah, Tiger birdied 16.
Tiger and Phil were of course the headline today. Besties. Here are some lines from the two of them after.
We spent a few more hours buzzing around to different sections of the course and ran into a million Stoolies and Playtrons along the way. All were incredibly nice and friendly. Love you guys.
We walked around, constantly falling in love with each hole and reapplying sunscreen, before eventually departing to meet for the first time Mr. Gary Player.
We were picked up and driven back to the Black Knight House.
The Legend
We first met Mr. Player in the kitchen of the Black Knight House. He was sitting at the breakfast counter, but stood up immediately when he saw us, stared Trent in the eyes and tried to do the same to me, and said, “Ahh the Barstool guys, Riggs and Trent, welcome.”
It was a surreal moment. My spine tingled. Gary Player has won 9 major championships, 3 Masters, and is the only person ever to win the career grand slam on both the regular and senior Tours. He’s an icon of the game. He’s a living legend.
And here we are, literally in his kitchen, chatting away.
Gary Player is as nice a guy as you’ll ever meet. He’s genuinely funny, witty, has a passion for life, and is not afraid to share his beliefs while fully respecting others’.
We shot the breeze for a half hour or so before Mr. Player had to get ready for the Champions Dinner. We were invited to drive with Mr. Player to the course, which we accepted.
We spent 45 minutes in the car on the way to Augusta hearing stories from Mr. Player about battling with Arnie, traveling with Jack, sitting at previous Champions Dinners next to Bobby Jones, and more. It was the coolest car ride of my life.
And it concluded with our first trip down Magnolia Lane. That trip is bucket list, and it’s infinitely cooler when you make it with Gary Player….. on his way to the Champions Dinner.
Here’s the Black Knight himself with his Champions squad.
While Mr. Player was at dinner, his son Marc hosted us and a few other friends and family at the house. We snagged a picture with one of Mr. Player’s green jackets. Which one? What’s the backstory? Is that thing authentic from Augusta? Don’t worry about it.
Mr. Player’s son Marc runs a lot of the business branches that’ve stemmed from the career and brand Gary Player’s built over his lifetime, and sharing dinner with him is fascinating beyond belief. His stories and interactions with the golf world and beyond blow your mind. He’s a wildly charismatic and funny guy, and his knowledge of the golf industry and nearly every damn business involved with it is appalling.
And he LOVES his dad, Gary Player, a common and powerful theme among the Player family.
As we were winding down, Mr. Player returned from the Champions Dinner and joined us. He told us how he’d spoken with several players about their games and sat next to Vijay Singh. He told how he’d brought several different items from his charity to be signed by Tiger Woods, and how Tiger had happily signed. He said that some told foul jokes, that Sergio served lobster, and that the new Augusta Chairman Fred Ridley made fine remarks.
You haven’t done Tuesday at the Masters until you’ve done it with Mr. Gary Player, post Champions Dinner.
The best week of the year rolls on. I’ll check back in soon with Wednesday From The Masters.