AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Gary Player kicked his leg after his tee shot down the middle. Jack Nicklaus joked about the challenge in bending over to put his tee in the ground. Tom Watson outdrove them both with a swing that has held up over time.
Together, the three luminaries got the Masters underway Thursday as the traditional honorary starters.
One of the revered traditions of the Masters occurred just as the sun was rising over bucolic Augusta National. People watched from the clubhouse veranda, and the stately oak tree that serves as a popular meeting point on the course, as the three icons with their combined 11 green jackets striped their tee shots down Tea Olive, the scenic opening hole.