A Tradition Unlike Any Other

April brings about many exciting things such as the start of spring, my birthday, and one of the greatest golf tournaments in the world, The Masters. The Masters takes place the weekend of the first full week in April at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Augusta National is a masterfully designed course that is as beautiful as it is challenging. The tournament was established in 1934 and maintains the notable tradition of awarding its champions with a green blazer that is now synonymous with the tournament. The Masters tournament has adopted the slogan “A Tradition Unlike Any Other” that is used in advertising the event to the public. This slogan signifies the amount of prestige that accompanies this tournament.

I always look forward to watching the Masters in April as a way to get excited for the upcoming golf season. I have played golf for many years and played briefly for my high school team. It is a sport that I have a lot of love and respect for. It is great to sit back and watch the Masters, and while it may be acceptable to take a nap here and there during the first 63 holes (I won’t tell anyone), the back nine on the final day of the tournament are not to be missed. The back nine holes never cease to amaze me and leave me on the edge of my seat. The back nine can make or break one’s streak, and this years back nine did not disappoint. There were eight separate leaders at different times throughout the back nine this past Sunday. The course is so advanced that it makes for a very unpredictable and fast changing round. Rory McIlroy, a 21 year old from Ireland, looked as though he would be the next to take home a green jacket going into Sunday’s back nine. McIlroy had played flawlessly for the first three days of the tournament, but a set back on hole 10 proved fatal. McIlroy gave up his three-day lead with a triple bogey, or three strokes over par, on hole 10 named Camelia. (All the holes at Augusta National are named.) Historically, Camelia is the toughest hole at Augusta National. As McIlroy hit a rough patch, Charl Schwartzel picked up his game. Schwartzel, a 26 year old from South Africa, ended up making birdie on the last four holes of the tournament. A birdie occurs when one completes a hole one stroke under par. Schwartzel went on to win the tournament and is one of the youngest to do so. Other young Master’s winners include Tiger Woods who was awarded the green jacket at 21 years of age in 1997. Additionally, Steve Ballestros and Jack Nicklaus were both just 23 years old when they won in 1980 and 1963 respectively. As the Masters 2011 came to an end, I was reminded of a phrase that is often quipped during the tournament: “drive for show, putt for dough.” Given the events that occurred on the back nine, I would say this adage proved true, at least for this year’s tournament at Augusta National.

Katherine McGraw
Class of 2011
Social Foundations of Coaching