With the Masters, it’s all about the memories

Masters Week starts Sunday with no Masters, at least not for a while. A curse called the coronavirus is engulfing the globe and officials properly postponed one of the great rites of spring.

The year’s first major golf championship is on hold until November.

That leaves a void on these early days of another April. Fortunately, the Masters is about memories moreso than any other golf tournament, and those abound — from Gene Sarazen’s double eagle in 1935, the second of these April extravaganzas, to Woods’ donning the Green Jacket a year ago, the 83rd.

Simply, the Masters endures.

The stage matters; there is nothing like Augusta National every year. Other majors hopscotch from venue to venue, ceding the opportunity to compare yesterday and today to the Masters.

The Masters is where Arnie’s Army first marched and where Jack Nicklaus won at age 23 and 46 — and four times in between. This is where Tiger Woods backed up the hype with a record-smashing performance in 1997, where he became the only golfer to hold all four major titles simultaneously in 2001 and where he came back from multiple surgeries to win a year ago.

Ben Hogan made his last stand over Augusta National’s emerald acres, climbing into contention one last time with a 6-under 66 in 1967’s third round. Ben Crenshaw’s victory in 1995, a few days after burying his mentor, reduced the champion to tears. Nicklaus’ outdueling Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf in 1975 remains one for the ages alongside Nicklaus’ triumph in ’86.

Shots? Sarazen’s double-eagle 2 on No. 15 will ne’er be forgotten. Then, there is Tiger’s impossible chip-in on No. 16 in 2005, Larry Mize’s 140-foot pitch to break Greg Norman’s heart in a 1987 playoff, Palmer finishing birdie-birdie in 1960 to win the second of his four titles and Phil Mickelson’s 6-iron off the pine straw and out of the trees on No. 13 in 2010.

Don’t forget Bubba. In a playoff for the 2012 championship with Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson’s drive on No. 10 went through the fairway and into the trees.

He had no shot, right? Gotta chip out and hope to get up and down, right?

“We have a saying, ‘If Bubba has a swing, Bubba has a shot,’” caddie Ted Scott said afterward in recounting the scenario. “Perfect lie, perfect distance (145 yards).”

Watson hooked his 52-degree wedge about 40 yards from that predicament onto the green and soon donned the Green Jacket.

Alas, all the memorable shots are not good ones, and often the par-3 12th — a short iron for the game’s best — is the scene. Ask Palmer, whose triple-bogey 6 opened the door for Art Wall in 1959. Ask Jordan Spieth, who found the water twice and blew a three-shot lead in 2016’s final round. Ask Weiskopf, who posted a 13 in 1980.

Just look back to last year. Three contenders — Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Francesco Molinari — all dunked shots into Rae’s Creek. Another contender — Tiger — did not, and he would soon earn his fifth championship.

Moments for 2020? Those must wait ... until perhaps October or even until next April. Whenever, the memories will be worth keeping.

Chip shots. The World Long Drive competition, originally scheduled for May at Fort Jackson Golf Club and Par Tee Golf Center, has been moved to June 25-26 at Par Tee and June 28-30 at FJGC. . . . This year’s Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying has been cancelled. Qualifiers for the 2020 national finals will be invited to compete in the same age division on the eve of the 2021 Masters at Augusta National GC. . . . USC’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Furman’s Natalie Srinivasan are among 10 on Golfweek’s final Annika Award watch list, presented annually to the college golf’s top women’s player. . . . The Women’s South Carolina Golf Association is accepting applications for an internship. Details are online at www.wscga.org.

This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 1:28 PM.