Imagine you have a friend with more than 10 tickets to the Masters Tournament. Would you ask for one? Maybe more than one? Maybe even buy one from him? Golf fans like us would certainly try to exert some influence to get at least one of those tickets into our hands.
Well, the opposite is true for each and every one of the players who make up the field for the Masters Tournament. Each of them has at least eight tickets to give away, and I can only imagine how many requests they must be getting for each of them.
The players who make up The Masters field receive eight complimentary tickets, but they can purchase up to four additional ones so that their family and friends can join them during the tournament.
Of course, on more than a few occasions, they get into big trouble trying to distribute these tickets to as many people as possible. Some of their stories are hilarious. Adam Schupak of Golfweek talked to several stars about their experiences with Masters tickets, and these are some of the stories he got:
Collin Morikawa forgets to leave the tickets
Just like that, Morikawa committed to some friends and forgot to leave them the tickets. I think we’d better leave it to good old Collin to win the tournaments and let someone else take care of the organizational side of things.
“Last year I had two friends come in on Thursday night. I completely forgot to leave their tickets at Will Call. I was teeing off in five minutes and took one last look at my phone. The tickets were still in my bedroom in a backpack. I gave them the code to our rental, they had to drive there, find them and I didn’t see them until the 15th hole.”
Gary Player gives even his own badge
If Morikawa forgot to leave the tickets, Mr. Player went to the other extreme and gave up his own:
“My church minister from South African, who was touring America, asked me for a ticket. I made the mistake of giving him my own badge. When he came to the gates, the security guards grabbed him to question how he obtained Gary Player’s badge. Fortunately, the chairman at the time, Bill Lane from Texas who was the ultimate gentleman, took care of the matter.”
Stewart Cink and the ticket for the baby
If you think your baby is getting a free pass, forget it:
“Our friends showed up from many states away and they brought their newborn baby. They were asked for a ticket for the baby. No forgiveness.”
Will Zalatoris keeps a list
It seems that Zalatoris leaves nothing to chance:
“I keep a spreadsheet because I have one friend coming in Monday-Tuesday and another for Tuesday-Wednesday. I need it to keep track of everything.”
Zach Johnson has faced some overcommitments
Having more commitments than tickets must be a common problem for many players. It certainly was for Zach Johnson:
“I have over-committed and had members save me. I’m a little OCD. We are given eight, I buy the max of four. I make a spreadsheet and I keep it in my wallet.”
Kevin Streelman made somebody’s day
I swear I dream of meeting a Kevin Streelman one day:
“I get picked up from Palm Springs by a really nice volunteer one year and we get to talking and he says it’s his dream to go to Augusta and take his son. I said, ‘I’ve got some tickets for this year.’ The way he looked at me was everything. We stayed in contact and I got him tickets for Monday and Tuesday practice rounds.”
Padraig Harrington gets the job done
A strong Irish accent and the good fortune to run into “Paddy” may be all you need to get a trip inside Augusta National:
“I always say turn up and we will find you a ticket. It’s difficult to promise someone a ticket but someone who makes the effort to come from Ireland, I always found a way to get them in.”
“One year, I hit it straight through the 14th fairway and I’m in the crowd. This guy who I’d given a ticket to has broken free from the ring of people standing by my ball and is beside my caddie asking him what I have left? He got so excited. One of my other ticketed friends leaned over the crowd and grabbed him by the collar to bring him back in. I had one guy completely lose their mind in the excitement and another who was well aware to bring him back down to earth.”
Rickie Fowler, the tickets and the reality check
Yeas Rickie, The Masters is the most special event also for the fans:
“One time I had a couple tickets that came available and I offered them to a buddy of mine who is a professional wakeboarder in Orlando. He dropped everything and rented a car and drove up. It was a reality check and made me appreciate how special it is either to play in it or to go and watch it.”
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