It is fascinating to walk in the place (I have been there once in 2014), to learn some of the history, and anticipate the ever changing story, from how well the defending champion will fare, to a new champion, to the committee, to the course and i's changes, to the field, and even the story about those who did not make the field.
This year, there is a story behind the history of the place, and it has to do with a former champion who made it there during this week, but who was not able to even pick up a club: Arnold Palmer, the man many of us known as "The King". But, even the The King is human, even The King is mortal. Yesterday afternoon, I saw a replay of the opening ceremony conducted by Billy Payne, Augusta National's chairman. Arnie was there, sitting on a chair and had to be helped up to his feet when Mr. Payne called his name and thanked him for his contributions to golf and the tournament. Arnold won The Masters four times ('58, '60, '62 & '64) and there is no other champion as popular as him, not even Jack Nicklaus who won the green jacket a record six times.
Arnold traditionally attended the Tuesday night Champions Dinner, played for his "Army" in the Par 3 Tournament on Wednesday, and hit the traditional opening tee shot with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus on Thursday.
Last year, he did the dinner and hit the ceremonial opening shot, but did not play the Par-3 Tournament, this year he he only attended the dinner. During the ceremonial opening tee shot, as he painfully stood up to acknowledge the crowd ("patrons"), you could almost feel his pain, his desperation to be there and not being able to hit that shot. With sunken eyes and a weak countenance, he did not appear to have even uttered a word. The King is weak, looks older than his 86 age, and looks very sick. He is mortal, he is human.
Arnie, as he is called by most people who play and have followed his career, has been "The Face" of the Masters since 1958, where fate put many things together to make him "King": it was the first of Arnie's four Masters wins (he came from behind); it was the birth of "Arnie's Army" (in his younger days he was in the Coast Guard, and The Masters gave any unused tickets to the cadets at Fort Gordon, so it was natural the the cadets cheered for a former enlisted man); it was the first time the Masters televised the last few holes, and therefore, watched Arnie come from behind and become a legend in front of millions; and it was a time when two men made a contract worth millions with a simple hand-shake, and they never signed an agreement... Mark McCormack and Arnie did it the right way: your word is valuable. No one knows if Mark made Arnie rich or the other way around. But Arnie, only did things one way: the right way, Arnie's Way.
People wanted a winner, a man who could take on everyone, and that man was Arnold Palmer.
Although Arnie knows he inspired many people, millions, he does not know I was one of them... but again, he probably knows. I have written three times to him to request a picture for someone else, and three times he obliged.
I first saw him play in 1967, and it was not on TV, but in person. This is another long story that I'll make short: it was during the World ("Canada") Cup in Mexico City which he and Jack Nicklaus won, Arnie winning the individual title as well. The details of the week are fuzzy now, but I do remember two things:
First, on hole #13 on Sunday, with the tournament on the line, both for the USA and for him individually, he had a birdie putt from the fringe of about 15 feet, and just about the time he was he players.about to putt, a 6 or 7 year old girl began crying on the other side of the green, right on Arnold's extended line of putt. He was distracted but smiled, walked across the green to that girl, whose parents were embarrassed for the distraction she was causing and who were trying, unsuccessfully to quiet her down, but the more they did, the worse she cried and felt threatened.
He approached with a big smile and said, "What's your name?", then said to her, "After I make this putt, you can have my ball". He went back, made the putt for birdie, picked up his ball, took a pen from his bag, signed the ball, walked across the green and gave it to the girl. The applause and appreciation was thunderous.
The other thing I remember is that I saw was how much fun they were having... it was not the "serious" game that I thought it was. They were respectfully quiet when other players were hitting, but in between shots, they were chatting with themselves and the gallery, smiling and laughing, all of that, without ropes so were very close to the players. I was "hooked" on golf forever. Golf could be fun!
In 2014, I had the pleasure of going to The Masters with Mona and several local members. I visited the grounds three consecutive days, Monday through Wednesday. On Wednesday I "parked" myself by the starting tee of the Par-3 course, where, at 2:30 p.m., Arnold, Jack and Gary would start their yearly journey around the short course, meeting people, signing autographs and giving a show to the patrons.
As always, I took hundreds of pictures, and I wanted to catch them together on the tee, but couldn't. While on the tee, from my angle, I could only catch them individually, but a little later, I caught that journey from the back as they walked to the first green. Arnie had hit first and spun the ball from the fringe to the fairway, Gary hit hole high right and Jack had hit it close prompting Gary to say, "another lucky shot from the big guy!"
At the time, I did not know it would most likely be the last time the Big Three played together, at least up to date (Arnie did not play the Par-3 Tournament in 2015 or 2016). If looks are not deceiving, he will not play this little nine hole tournament ever again, and, should that be the case (I actually hope I was not part of "history" in the sense of having watched them together for one last time), then, a picture I once named as "Thirty Four Major Memories" in reference to their combined thirty four major championships, may have to renamed, "One Last Journey".
Best wishes and get well Arnie!
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