The Masters awards crystal for players who make an eagle. What about a hole-in-one?
Brett Quigley entered his first and only Masters Tournament in 2007 with two goals: make the cut and record an eagle.
An eagle, Quigley knew, meant a reward from Augusta National — a Masters keepsake that would cause the Gnome-maniacs to quiver with jealousy.
For every eagle a player makes during the Masters tournament, Augusta National sends them a pair of crystal highball glasses etched with the Masters logo and one word: Eagle.
And the mementos don’t stop there. The player who finishes with the low score of the day scores a crystal vase. A double eagle — which includes a hole-in-one — earns players a large crystal bowl. If you play well enough at Augusta National, you might receive enough crystal to open a fine China shop.
The Masters began the gifts in 1954 and says on its website the crystal is among “additional awards for outstanding feats.”
“I wanted to get a crystal,” Quigley said. “That’s all I ever heard about growing up following Brad Faxon.”
Just days after his first child was born, Quigley came in right above the cut line. Mission accomplished. Problem was: As he turned onto the back nine Sunday, an eagle was eluding him — well, actually, they were eluding everyone. It was freezing. Red numbers were about as rare as a weed out there.
But then came par-5 13th. He whacked a 3-iron into the back of the green, leaving a downhill 40-footer for eagle. Putting on a sheet of ice might have been easier, but Quigley told himself to strike it like the hole was six feet away. Even then, he knew he blasted it. If it wasn’t on line, it might have rolled into the water.
“It hit dead center of the hole, jumped up and went right in,” Quigley said. “The place went nuts.”
Now, 19 years later, Quigley still goes to his kitchen at least twice a week, pulls out his two crystal glasses and thinks about his 40-foot putt as he sips on margaritas.
Some Masters participants — especially those playing for the first time — are not aware that Augusta National hands out more than just green jackets. After all, it’s not like the official Masters invitation includes any mention of crystal.
“This is the first I’m hearing of this,” Masters rookie Ryan Gerard said when asked about the crystal. “Not really on my radar. But if I make an eagle, I’ll be stoked.”
Brian Campbell, who’s entering his second Masters still without any crystal, was thinking along the same wave length.
“I would take no bogeys over an eagle for sure,” he said. “But an eagle would be great.”
Others are well aware of the keepsakes — perhaps too well aware.
During a Friday round in 2021, Mackenzie Hughes had an eagle putt on No. 15. It looked so, so good. So sure that it was going in, Hughes raised his putter to the sky as his ball was still rolling.
“I kind of pictured a crystal coming from Augusta National,” he said.
When it lipped out, he couldn’t help but realize the putt cost him more than just a stroke.
Last year, when amateur Noah Kent stepped up to the 13th tee box with no chance of making the cut, he turned to his caddie.
“Well,” Kent said. “We can go for crystal now.”
On his second shot, Kent blasted a 4-iron that settled about a foot from the pin. He tapped in for two highball glasses.
Sepp Straka, who’s entering his fifth Masters, has a crystal vase for his hole-in-one during the Par-3 contest, a memento that sits empty in his formal dining room. What might go to more use would be some highball glasses ... if only he had a pair.
“I’ve never made an eagle,” Straka said Monday. “Maybe this will be my year.”
Certainly though, he said, guys think about it.
“You definitely think about it a little bit,” he said. “Either before the day starts, (or if) you see a pin that you like or something. Or after you make the eagle, you definitely think about that little gift that you’re going to get.”
But when a player gets that “little gift” in the mail, what do they actually do with it? Surely not everyone is like Quigley and puts them to good use.
“I’m sure my wife does,” said Sam Burns, who’s logged two eagles in four Masters appearances. “I let her be in charge of all the nice and important stuff.”
“I just keep them in my house, just to flex on my buddies whenever they come over,” said Viktor Hovland. “I don’t spend a whole lot of time in my kitchen, but they’re in there somewhere.”
In his six Masters appearances, Hovland has carded five eagles — meaning, well, there could be some awkwardness if 11 friends showed up at his house. More realistically, one could understand the hesitancy of actually using something so valuable.
Think: How often does fine china get used? Like, what if it breaks?
“I would just have to make more eagles,” Hovland said.
