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The journey to golf's greatest destination comes at the risk of its greatest heartache — and even golf's best know it all too well. READ
Jon Rahm wants you to know that he loved the PGA Tour. He has a lot of great memories from the years he spent playing there. He doesn’t have regrets, but he has … feelings. He’s not too proud to admit that. In the months leading up to the WM Phoenix Open, he would drive past the course fairly often, see the grandstands going up, and the weight of his decision to join LIV Golf would return to the forefront of his mind.
“Knowing that I wasn't going to be there was quite hard, right?” Rahm said Tuesday. “I still love the PGA TOUR, and I still hope everything [is for] the best, and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again.”
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Rory McIlroy gave what had to have been the shortest press conference in the long and tortured history of Rory McIlroy press conferences on Tuesday. It felt like a less-than-subtle attempt to cut down on distractions but still fulfill his press obligations, McIlroy arrived three minutes ahead of his 12:30 press conference, answered seven questions and was done by 12:33. At past Masters, he’s been willing to open a door to his brain and let everyone look around inside, and the results have been mixed, so perhaps this strategy will offer better returns. He did, as he often does, get briefly philosophical.
“If I cast my mind back to 18-year-old Rory and I'm driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time, how would I feel and I think, it's just always trying to go back to being grateful and feeling incredibly lucky that you can be a part of this tournament and you get to compete in it every year,” McIlroy said.
“Thankfully, I've improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I've got all the tools to do well this week. But, again, to bring those tools out, I think one of the most important things is to enjoy it and smell the — I guess not the roses, the azaleas along the way.”
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This is my fifth Masters, and every time I step on the property, I realize just how miserably addicted I am to my cell phone. There are some Masters traditions that I find a bit overwrought, but forcing people to actually be present and not have their face buried in a screen remains one of the best things about this place. The first hour you’re here, you feel minor waves of panic because you can’t resist patting your front and back pockets, looking for a phone you’re convinced you dropped or left behind somewhere. But eventually, it fades, and a bit of serenity washes over you. The urge to look up stats, or names, or take pictures of every little interaction disappears. You wonder why it’s so hard to untether yourself from online bullshit in your everyday life. A lot of cynics think this is the only sporting event where this would work, and maybe they’re right, maybe Masters tickets are so hard to get that people will agree to anything, but it sure does work here.
You can count Jordan Spieth as a fan. At least at the Masters.
“It's amazing,” Spieth said Tuesday. “But I also understand how advantageous cell phones are for the growth of our sport. So, it's nice for a week, but if it was every tournament, you know, we would -- our growth would be limited.
“But what's really cool about it is you just feel that everyone's very, very present. They're not focused on if they got the right shot that they're sending and maybe they don't even know where your ball went, right? And here the patrons are -- just like at the Open Championship, they're just highly educated, they're very involved, they're very present.
“So you end up having those kind of roars and stuff that may be similar but might not be, you know, with the phones out. It's very nice because you feel like everyone's there with you all the time.”
One thing about the Masters that always makes this week stand out is how much it means to every person involved. Player, family, caddie, patron, green jacket, media member, TV viewer.
My grandpa LOVED the Masters. I'm not sure we went a single Christmas without him telling stories from 1986, when he picked up a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus on the 10th tee and followed him all the way in. He loved telling me about where he was standing for each shot, and I pored over highlight films and footage over the years to try to get a glimpse of him. He always said the best chance to see him would be when he stood on top of an electrical box behind the 17th tee, just a few minutes before he poured in another birdie and Verne gave his iconic call. I never did find him in the footage, but I took a minute on Monday and stood behind the 17th tee and thought about him standing almost in that exact spot, witnessing history that he got to tell his grandkids about.
Many years later, he temporarily gave the badge to my mom with a note that read:
"If you go to the (Memorial) tournament, take my Masters badge, and IF you see Jack standing around with nothing to do... try to have him sign it. You can tell him I started following him on the 10th hole on that Sunday afternoon in 1986 and followed him all the way in. It was the greatest sporting thrill of my life. Tell him if he signs it, it will probably be on my lapel in my casket.. if some kid doesn't take it off...!"
It sat there on his lapel in his casket as we honored him in 2016. I couldn't help but softly giggle when my mom removed it before the casket closed.
We've still got the badge, and the memory.
“Oops, sorry.”
Stunned, Ludvig Aberg withdraws his hand from the microphone, grimacing at a room of twenty people watching him in the press room of Augusta National. He’s just hit his hand against it, deep into an explanation about the preparation for his very first Masters. He resumes his answer, and after many questions, is sure to forget those three seconds of a 20-minute press conference.
An hour before, another PGA Tour rookie can be found searching for answers, too. On Tuesday, Nick Dunlap is paired with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns once again for a practice round. It’s the first of many this season, and he’s managed to find comfort in the duo. Though he’s three months into his job, as he walks in unison beside Burns and Scheffer on the fairway of No. 3, Dunlap’s gaze toward both resembles someone who understands just how surreal the moment is.
“He's a guy that asks a lot of really good questions,” Scheffler says.
Half-joking, he adds: “He’s in a difficult spot where he should be in college right now. He should be going to class and instead he's playing in the Masters.”
Ludvig Aberg and Nick Dunlap’s journeys have run perpendicular, but their humility parallels. Aberg ended his amateur career as the best player in the world, but played a full collegiate career. Dunlap ended his amateur career as the best player in the world, but played nearly half of a collegiate career. One had a college career’s worth of accolades earn him a PGA Tour card. The other was the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on a PGA Tour exemption.
Life has changed a lot since college, but there’s a noticeable desire for most of it to remain the same.
“I think my life on the golf course has changed a lot over the last couple of months, but my life hasn't changed a ton off the golf course, which I think is really important. My personality is the same. I don't try to do anything different from what I did last year,” Aberg said.
Dunlap’s own hints are more specific to his week at Augusta National. Before his fateful victory in January, his invitation to Augusta was merited by his U.S. Amateur victory in 2023. Originally, he planned to vie for low amateur and stay in the Crow’s Nest. The 19-year-old is now a professional with changed expectations and new accommodations.
“Fortunately and unfortunately I'm in a new position and grateful to be here,” Dunlap said. “I wish they would let me pop in there for a second, but it is what it is.”
Playing in the Masters requires that they accept this brand new world; one they likely aren’t departing from any time soon.
Apple Podcasts: NLU Podcast, Episode 816: Masters Preview
Spotify: NLU Podcast, Episode 816: Masters Preview
Soly and KVV are back with another deep dive episode - this time we look at four specific Masters tournaments:
2011 - a year famous for Rory's collapse, Tiger's Sunday charge and Charl Schwartzel's closing run of birdies to win
1977 - Tom Watson holds off Jack Nicklaus to win the first of his two green jackets (59:40)
1980 - After winning the Open the year before, Seve Ballesteros goes wire to wire to win by four strokes (1:38:00)
1989 - Faldo emerges as the winner in a playoff after Scott Hoch's infamous missed two-foot putt on the first playoff hole (1:59:45)
If you prefer a video version, check it out here.
Spotify: NLU Podcast, Episode 816: Masters Preview
Apple Podcasts: NLU Podcast, Episode 816: Masters Preview
Soly, Tron and KVV fire up our preview pod for the 2024 Masters with a look at what we're most excited for this week at Augusta and offer some darkhorse picks to claim the green jacket on Sunday. We also go through some listener questions, data points for the week, our Who Won't Win picks, the odds sheet, course changes and a ton more.
If you prefer a video version, check it out on YouTube here.
Apple Podcasts: NLU Podcast, Episode 817: Augusta Happy Hour Preview
Spotify: NLU Podcast, Episode 817: Augusta Happy Hour Preview
We are back with the High Noon Happy Hour Preview show Augusta edition. We run down news and notes, pairings and featured groups, reaction from early week pressers and more. Plus our final picks at the end of the show on the eve of the first Major of the year!
Welcome BACK to the No Laying Up preview shows! We are excited to get these show going again for the biggest weeks in golf. New segments, same great fun! And it's spring in Augusta! Presented by FanDuel.
Kevin Van Valkenburg and @NoLayingUp ask, “What was your first Masters moment?”