What makes the Master’s special?

 

            There are some special events during the week, such as the past champions’ dinner on the Tuesday night. Only the past champions and the chairman of the club are invited, and the reigning champion pays for the dinner. It is always a very special evening and great to dine with Jack, Arnie, Byron Nelson, Tiger Woods and all the other great champions. There used also to be a foreign players’ dinner. There are two separate locker rooms, one for champions and one for others. All these things make the Masters a bit special.

            When you play in a tournament you usually get free tickets for your family and friends. At the Masters, up until a few years ago you had to buy tickets. If you are a Masters champion you are invited back to play in the tournament every year for the rest of your life. For the other majors it is only ten years.

                        Another unique feature of the Masters is the par-three competition. This is part of the tradition. It is great fun for the spectators but, in all honesty, pretty meaningless for the players. The par-three course is a wonderful piece of property with flowers, trees and lakes. The greens are as good as on the main course and the atmosphere is amazing. It is like a zoo; there are so many people standing on top of each other around the holes!

            Apparently, the winner of the par-three competition has never won the Masters. So if you are superstitious, you don’t want to win the par-three competition in case that means you can’t win the main tournament. I am not superstitious but I always look at it as a time to have fun rather than as a tournament to win. It is more about entertaining the crowd. For example, the three players might tee off at the same time so that there are three balls in the air at the same time. When I get to the green I might ask a little kid to take my putt and make his day, without worrying if it goes in or not.

            As I said earlier, as a Masters champion I get an invite for life. Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen have sometimes teed off and even played a few holes. With my back, somehow I don’t think that I will be playing in the Masters when I am ninety!

           

Taken from Bernhard Langer. My Autobiography. Hodder, London 2002,