Arnold Palmer at Augusta: King's presence keys emotional ceremony in 2016
(Note: This story originally appeared on Golfweek.com on April 7, 2016)
AUGUSTA, Ga. — He stood on a carpet of morning dew, a chill in the air and a joy in his heart. And, OK, there was probably some moisture in his eyes, too, but Ben Crenshaw wasn't alone.
Tears flowed as easily as the cheers rose into the Augusta air Thursday just after 8 a.m. as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player moved onto the first tee to officially open the 80th Masters.
"They are our giants," said Crenshaw, watching the festivities in his resplendent green jacket. "Not only to (Augusta National) but to many places around the world."
Crenshaw wasn't the only Masters invitee who made it out to watch the iconic "Big Three" — so, too, did Rickie Fowler and amateur Bryson DeChambeau arrive to offer their support. But those young men weren't seeing what Crenshaw was seeing as he looked at Palmer, Nicklaus and Player.
"Watching them, my mind went right back to Fred McLeod and Jock Hutchison," Crenshaw said of the men who served as honorary starters in 1972 and 1973 when he was low amateur in each of his first two Masters starts.
That is, of course, how it is favored here at Augusta National, where time is supposed to stand still and remembrances are revered. So once again, it sweetened the senses to see "The Big Three" assembled on the first tee, no matter that Palmer, 86, arrived in a golf cart and didn't take a swing.
Slowed by a sore hip and bothersome knee, but fueled by a relentless spirit, Palmer gave a "thumbs up" to the crowd of patrons and media folks who ringed the first tee. Introduced first, Palmer acknowledged the crowd, then sat and watched as Player, 80, and Nicklaus, 76, delivered their tee shots.
"Gary won his tournament this year," Nicklaus said. "I hit a pop-up."
Combined, they won 13 Masters, but that doesn't begin to tell the real story, Crenshaw said.
"They are the threads to history," said Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champ, and he waxed romantically about how Palmer connected to Walter Hagen, then Bobby Jones, and later to a kid from Texas. Crenshaw first met Palmer in 1970 at a Texas-Oklahoma junior golf tournament, when The King — and oh, my, was he truly The King back then — stopped in from the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
Crenshaw, then 18, played nine holes with Palmer.
"Amazing, just to think about that," Crenshaw said.
Having played in his 50th and final Masters in 2004, Palmer accepted the role of honorary starter in 2007. He did it solo for three years, then in 2010 he was joined by Nicklaus in 2010-11. Player was added in 2012 and in each of the last four Aprils they have hit the opening tee shots.
This year, only two shots were made, but it was one man who stood tallest.
"I think that everybody was happy to see Arnold out on the tee," Nicklaus said. "I think Arnold was happy to be on the tee."
Clearly, Crenshaw embraced the entire scene.
"What they've meant to so many people and what they've done to promote the game. It's remarkable," Crenshaw said. "They're so indelibly etched to the place, but (also) to so many other people's lives."
A day earlier, Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, was asked if there was a chance Tom Watson might join Nicklaus and Player for the honorary tee shots.
A little premature, Payne indicated, since Watson is just 66, and only this is ending his competitive career at Augusta.
"We are looking forward to having Arnold not (just) tomorrow, but for many, many years to come," Payne said. "We will deal with (another honorary starter) when the time comes."
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A look at the history of the honorary starters at the Masters:
1963-1973: Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod
1974-1976: McLeod
1977-1980: None
1981-1982: Gene Sarazan and Byron Nelson
1983: Nelson and Ken Venturi
1984-1999: Sarazen, Nelson and Sam Snead
2000-01: Nelson and Snead
2002: Snead
2003-2006: None
2007-09: Arnold Palmer
2010-2011: Palmer and Jack Nicklaus
2012-15: Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player
2016: Nicklaus and Gary Player
