The Masters Tournament Allure
The first major dominates early golf season, year after year
Although open for debate, more so than any other of golf's majors, The Masters garners the attention of the golfing world. There are several reasons for it's popularity.
Golf legend Bobby Jones envisioned a tournament that would host the best players from across the globe. In establishing what is today known as the Masters Tournament, his vision was realized.
Players and fans alike see the Masters as set apart from every other tournament. There are those who put the Open Championship (British Open) ahead of the Masters in terms of importance, but they are heavily outnumbered, at least on the western side of the Atlantic.
The competitors have deemed it a high honor to be extended an invitation to the tournament so closely tied to past champions like Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus, all immortal legends of the game. It is such an honor that some hold the prospect of winning so near to their hearts and ambition that they prevent themselves from doing so. Greg Norman, though he would never fully admit it, most likely falls into that category. Though bad luck occasionally kept him from a green jacket, he was also frequently his own worst enemy.
For golf fans, or Augusta patrons, the same sense of history drives them to Augusta in throngs every Spring. They come to see the splendor of Augusta National, the assemblage of golfing talent and fame, and to walk in some of the same footsteps as their legendary heroes. The Masters has attained such an iconic status that most fans can’t even get tickets to the practice rounds. The club has for several years been forced to resort to a lottery system for Masters practice round tickets to ensure a broad base of Masters patrons are served.
In recent years, television has dramatized and poeticized it’s coverage of the Masters. The flowering metaphoric words of Jim Nantz, combined with the flowering physical presence of Augusta National itself have enhanced the experience for many normally casual fans of the game. Although serious golf enthusiasts aren’t moved by Nantz’s musings, the expanded coverage in time and holes, holes that were previously "off-limits," has drawn them closer.
For whatever reason, be it fate, destiny, or luck, the Masters usually has a flare for the dramatic. It’s the tournament where fan-favorite Phil Mickelson finally earned his first major victory. It’s where Jack Nicklaus, in the twilight of his career, got his sixth green jacket in fantastic style. Even such lopsided victories as Tiger Woods’ 1997, though it was heart warming for a number of reasons, are made spectacular when put in the Augusta context.
It may not even be a stretch to say that in a time of such uncertainty and upheaval, the Masters Tournament and Augusta National provide a place for everyone to escape; a genteel landscape from a time sadly past in a pop-culture present.
Take a look at Masters Tournament Trivia for some interesting facts you may not know. Also, see Major Moments at the Masters for some of the greatest moments.
