Fire Drill 003: Stories From Augusta

the water. Okay. So that answers the question about I wish you stupid because it would be fun to win, right And what a basical crystal to have on your show, And like someone's gonna do it one day? Put another log on the fire nobody hears. Get the time? All right? Here we go Episode three of The Fire Drill. What a week already. It feels like it's been a long week.

And it's Wednesday. It always does that. Everyone gets so wrapped up on Monday really for this or Sunday even so, and the target stories ben a big one, so that's kept everyone excited. That's like a press room is, um, we can't wait to get to Augusta and I can't wait to leave you know, He's like, it's a fun week, but it's definitely a grind and that's part of the fun though. All the off course things like tonight's the Golf Writer's Dinner. There's various parties and gatherings all week

long for for media but also for players. I'm kind of wondering, Jeff, like, do you have any fun stories away from the golf course from your master's about just things that happened around town or in the rental houses or any I don't know about fun stories. But everyone gets a house and you're all usually with your management or somebody staying with a few people because the houses are all pretty big and expensive, so you split it. But then you have parties at your house and people

are coming through to pick up tickets. It's a pretty chaotic week. Actually, the master's to stay away from the fry. Really impossible to go out to dinner because if you pock a tournament carried any of the restaurants, everybody sort of to keep picking in and so he's eating in there to not um. Yeah, it's an interesting town. You just gotta it's you lay low, and I hope your house isn't one of the really active ones, you know, because some of these houses are active all week. You

mentioned Tiger. I mean just obviously there's gonna be plenty of time and everybody has spoken, but maybe just top level thoughts obviously on the idea that Tiger is here and Phil is not here. That's amazing. He wouldn't have picked that ten months ago, would you at all? No chance he would have got good aunts on that. Yeah, nuts, amazing. I mean, he's a he's a freak tiger. He keeps coming back. He looks really good, he looks fine, done it.

He looks you wouldn't even know really when you see his swing, you can he seems to be walking fine, and he looks up in about He's been playing every day, so I mean there would be a massive ass to see him play really well. But like you wouldn't put it past him to put a good round or two, you know. I mean, he's already won the Masters with

five different golf swings and five different bodies. Like it's you just I thought, you know, when he was at his Nadier like fifteen sixteen seventy, with the chippyps and the surgeries and telling people he thought he was done. I mean, I said, if he comes back and wins like a Bob Hope, it's going to be one of the greatest achievements of his career. If you can even

get to that level, and not like that. Of course, he won the Masters, he was the best player in the world at Royal Melbourne, maybe the best golf course in the world. Like he climbed the ultimate mountain, and it's incredible. He's gonna try and do it again. Like just the determination and the will. And we were talking yesterday about how hard is to organize your life at this point when you have kids and you have all these business interests and um that want and that that

that grind. That's what's amazing. I mean, if if he can, if he can play like he can, he can be a threat. Like he he'll find a way to get the golf club at the back of the ball right no matter what. Like he's just an all time golfing genius. So whatever his body will or will not let him do, like, he's gonna find a way to deliver the club. And then you know, obviously competitive rust but who knows, it's amazing. It's he needs no, he doesn't need this, but he

gets so much out of the comeback thing. You know, I can't do it in my back is bad. I can't do it. I love the u s open, my leg's broken. I've got to prove I need it. Obviously. He needs obstacles almost, you know, like in a way he's not doing any on purpose, but he's better when he's got obstacles almost. You know. He loves to debat the challenge, you know, slay the dragon. He's done it like three or four times. As she said, he keeps coming back from these things that you can't come back from,

and he just keeps coming back. It's not amazing, he said it. I mean, and I think we all know it. But you don't get to eighty two and fifteen without this undeniable urge to compete. He said, I'd love to compete period. That could be that that is the tiger story, and that that's the only way you get to be that far superior to your peers. Is robotic, sort of void of human element aspect of part of what he is as a as a person is just a founding

to this. To see what he's doing right now is it's yet another point in which we're surprised not to be surprised over the fact that he's doing something that we should all be surprised at. I wonder how much Charlie's a factor now like that desire to be able to play with him, and you know, when it's Charli Wood's gonna get his first sponsors invite like a Tiger at his at sixteen, Charlie's probably ahead of where Tiger

was at thirteen. Like you know, I'm sure he's thinking when if he's gonna play the LA Open in two thousand six, I want to walk down the first Ferry Rid with him, you know, Like I think that's something that helps get him out of bed. Like Lebron James is talking about you, he wants to play with Brawny in the NBA, uh Tiger, competing with Charlie on the PGA Tour is a lot more attainable and in certain ways just the physicality of the game and all that.

So I think that's helped him, you know, to get him out of bed every day like that. I think that fire is always going to be there, But if you needed any more motivation, like now that that's on the horizon, I could see that being something that pushes him forward. I think he'd be bored unless he was growning at golf. You know, it just seems to be his thing. You know, it's said to be had a sty wife for very long. He just loves it done.

He loves He had a firepit on with Ken Gifford Griffy Jr. On the idea that he and his dad hit back to back home runs as Seattle Mariners. You could see Tiger and Charlie doing something, you know of that nature. You know, there's been a lot of father's sons who have played professional golf. There's brother but I mean, what what's what's the potential of Tiger and Charlie Woods

could be something? Really who knows a little more star power other than Bill and Jay Hass or anyone else you can name anyway, Yeah, and then they're probably they're probably the best father's son duo right as far as achievements. So um, yeah, it's it's interesting to think about. We're talking about, you know, multigeneration. So it's just what's Wednesay

afternoon here in Augusta. They just put a delay on the Part three tournament because the weather we were watching it before, so Jeff, I have to have to get

your take on how the part three's evolved from. You know, for me, when I came here in the mid nineties, it was awesome to watch because it was a really spionny balls and you know, all the wedge Maestro was like tom Kaite and you'd go out there and the way the control they had over the golf ball was just mesmerizing, and it was one of my favorite parts of the week. And now you've got the wives and the kids and the photo ops excuse me, the girlfriends, and um, it's lost a little bit of its appeal

for me. But of course I've never been out there between the ropes with my kids, and I'm sure it's a special thing. So what does your take on on the part three? Uh, both sides actually unlocked. They all when I first started applaying it was, I mean, girlfriends about Caddy and parents and it's like the opportunities always be an oportunity to get your friend and he's got a ticket or somebody yet they're cadding for you. Um. But it was quiet and it was quicker, and it

was fun. It was massive, but that was pretty tell. I think that's that's Prairie television past three and post I think and Pray to It was definitely different. I mean it was really really cool, really loud. I mean I was out there when like Jack, Gary and Armild were playing like two a couple of groups in front of them, and that was just experiences that are better than almost on the course, you know, those three playing

in front of everyone. It was just nuts and one of them had a holy one a few years ago Jack maybe somewhere. It was just crazy, like it was unbelievable, and that's really special. But then there's the other side of it. It has seemed to have got out of since it's been put on TV, and it's a different style of it now. Now it's more visual. So I guess it's kind of cool that the kids are run out there. They have such a good time, they're so happy, and when they get in all their little white their

little jumpsuits and stuff. I mean, it's different now, you know, I don't know, like it's part of the masters. It's like slowly over the last thirty years showed us a

lot more. We used to get two hours on the weekend, maybe three hours, you get it back nine Now we get the whole week, you get what is it, four hours every day, maybe you get the whole coverage and you get the Path three and you get the whole thing, and it's like you actually kind of get led into the Masters on the broadcasting that which you never did before.

So I don't know things evolved. I kind of like the old just the just the players out there in a sense of like trying kind of showing off on a pat three course. But it's I don't know, it's kind of fun there and the old guys play, like as I said, when when Jack Garranol we're out there and Watson and Crencher on that, I mean, the people, the respect and that the guest standing ovation for two hours. You know, it's pretty amazing, but it makes it tough

if you trying to win the golf tournament. You get out there late and it's really slow. It can be had a couple of years out. I didn't play it because it just kind of did have a tedium do it if you got up the back of the field and it took three hours to play what the first group plays in forty five minutes? You know? Um so yeah, but it's an amazing thing. It's nuts. Anyone who hasn't. Actually, if you come to the Master's Wednesday maybe one of the better days because you get a good spot on that.

It's pretty good to watching it. I mean it is like atmosphere is crazy. Yeah, I mean the people are actually almost sitting on the green. Like the intimacy of it is pretty incredible but scary. There's a couple of holes there where we're hitting like full nine ones and they're sitting there about three yards on the side from the pin and they're sitting there like and I can't move because it's deep. So they're both coming at them

and just hits them. But that they haven't the best time in their live because they're on the edge of the green. So yeah, and you're when you're putting and you're writing your pots that you're almost touching them when you're scoring them and they have wrought there. That's nuts,

I Laird Shepherd. Just as an update as subject of our podcast number two of the Fire Drill, Laird Shepherd got to play a practice round or played at least nine holes with Rory McRoy and Harry Higgs today, which apparently was very engaging and probably super beneficial for Laird, but I loved the point that you made to him, which is, don't sleep on the part three as an opportunity to utilize those greens, green complexes to hit pots

that you might you know. My seeing out there this week, I thought that was that was inside almost made me look at the part three a little different. I just love it as a fairly new dad seeing you know, sort of seeing the interaction between the kids thinking about being a kid, you know, the drive chip and put.

Obviously I have mixed emotions on that whole concept, but I think if you really, you know, have kids seeing other kids in that situation with their parents, I mean, you can't help but appreciate that whole scene for what it is. And at the end of the day, no one really actually wants to win because of the the jinks of being able to win it, so it's become

just this hit and giggle and fun exhibition. So it is what it is, and it's a nice little pressure release prior to what is for you know, potentially for pretty tight days. So it's kind of nice to see these guys out there smiling and laughing and enjoying the good stuff. If you got invited to play in the

Masters next year for whatever reason. And you're in the part three and you were tied the lead in the last hole and you had an eight footer for Bertie just have to win some crystal, win the whole thing. Would you would you make it? Or would you would you three? Put no. I usually never got to the non because if I was ever doing well, I just

hit it out of the back on the I the water. Okay, So that answers the question about I was just stupid because it would be fun to win, right and what a basic crystal to have on your show, and like someone's gonna do it one day. So you did buy into the whole Jinx thing for a while. A little bit, A little bit, that's the Masters. He got a little bit. He hit it over the green men a tempt fight. Yeah. Interesting. So yeah, talking, So you know, Laird had to work

really hard to get that practice around with Rory. I'm just curious, like, what was the best practice around pairing you ever talked your way into out here? Um? I don't know. I had a few, like non halls are Tommy Aaron once, which was pretty fun. Um that's how you know that, Like he's a real golf purist. If Tommy Aaron is like, um, grand show up and I think I played a few holes Freddy. I loved playing

with Freddy around here. I applaied a bunch of practic friends with Freddie and like Scottie, Um, yeah, Tommy Iron is a memorable one. I don't know because I didn't. I've never played with him before. Like he was from a past general and you know, was he telling stories? Was he chatty? What was that? He was great? We chatted all the way around. I can't remember for the

life of maybe what we talked about, but it was interesting. Yeah, a link to you know, since she, you know, played played with Bobby, Like what a cool thing to have as a connection point to someone who played with the guy, you know. I mean, this week is just nuts because it's like the who's who have golf who are still alive are all in that building sometimes you know, or

up at the clubhouse, or they're playing in the tournament. Still, Like it's crazy, Like if you've got the inside ticket at the Masters and you get in there, it's it's outrageous. Who's here and everybody's here, almost everybody who's ever played golf at an unbelievable level who's still alive somehow seems to be at the Masters every and it's just cool

to be around those sort of people, you know. Yeah, I mean Crenshaw told me that for the Tuesday night dinner that he's now the host the m c of he always gets the old timers talking about their their great moments at this tournament, so as a way to have that history passed down. So Doug Ford tell us about that Birdie man the last hole, and you know, by now the Tiger and Phil have heard that story a lot of times, but you know, Dustin and Hideki

they may have never heard it. So it's kind of a cool way, Like it's like this oral history of the Masters and from from the people who lived it, which I think is pretty amazing. Oh yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, it's just just when you have a golf tournament at the same place, especially a place that's so like this one is non too years or something, you get stories. Right. When you move it around all the time, you don't get the stories. But when you're at the same place

for so long, it's pretty cool. For me. You know, my first Masters was the ninety seven Masters. I showed up as a photo editor for Sports Illustrated. I got my dad and my uncle in as photo assistance back when you could you could actually add a little leeway with the badges, and neither one of them could carry a camera obviously those are like cameras, But so we had to then hire other people as photo assistants. But they got an opportunity to to be here and see

the grounds. And I think of first impressions and how blown away are by the visuals here right when walk through. If if this doesn't if you're if you're a if the game means something to you, if this doesn't hit you in the heart and the soul, then you might not have a pulse. But um and I did things like higher photographs to shoot out of airplanes over the nine eight Masters and Marc Omyre's win in which you know,

I think got me in some hot water. But we ran it as a full spread image in Sports Illustrated that week with long shadows and no, you're not doing the story justice. So like you could actually hear this

airplane on the telecast. It was buzzing so low over augustin. Yeah, but like you sneaking in the Butler cabin as ascribe our jobs, and especially at Sports Illustrated, where you know, we're talking about top gun of of journalism and relevancy at the time in the nineties, the mandate from my boss was to get photographers in places that you know, in theory, they're not supposed to be get angles that

nobody else has. So we had a guy named Jim Gunn who we would hire on a regular basis to shoot sporting events from the open door of an airplane with a high wing so they could he could strap in and shoot out the plane. And this is before drones exist. This is a human drone. Yeah, so and the idea was all right, well for the last hour and a half. As so they go through sort of the second nine will say, uh, you know, shoot the

hell out of the action. Meanwhile, we had four or five guys down on the ground leap frogging each other trying to cover the tournament because they don't get inside the ropes. This is actually harder to cover than every

other tournament as a as a photographer. And uh so we called him air Gundo goes up and you know, I'm back now I've left SI on Saturday with the bags of film because it was still film film back then, dropped him up the time, inc building for for for processing, editing days worth of film on a Sunday morning, leaning into the you know, get to the final final nine of the Masters and here come the broadcast on here and all all you can hear in the you know,

over the broadcast Jim Nance's I was like, oh my god, that's are playing. Oh my god, we're disrupting the whole broadcast of the Masters and they you know, at that time, I couldn't even I couldn't even send him a text. It was it was the page or days where you'd have to page and then hopefully they'd call you back, you know, and I couldn't. It was we're at the mercy of the the the sound at that point anyway, O'Mara makes the pot. You know, everybody go crazy. Beautiful

incredible image. Got a call from Glenn Greenspan at Augusta, you know, that week as the magazine came out. It was like, is that your guys is playing up there on eighteen Uh? Yes, it was beautiful image, amazing, you know, would love some copies of that for the clubhouse. And the office is here as many as you can send

sixteen by twenty. Great, great on it, Glenn, no problem, And if you ever do something like that again, we'll pull your badge for life, you know that second second time, I've got that call from Glenn Green's man by the way, and uh and after that, they essentially closed the airspace over Augusta, Nashually there's I tried. I've tried to hire planes since over you know, from different airports, anything in any way to try to get a up angle. And yeah,

it's not happening anymore. So that was the last of its kind. But that you know, having you know, you you're talking about having friends on your bag at Part three's or or getting you know, being able to have opportunities to get relatives and getting you know, my dad's and uncles in the in the tournament, getting being able to see film make that put In two thousand and four and watch people cry as he wins the Masters

or obviously Tigers, you know forty thirty. I mean, do you have sort of special moments or memories of certain things, obviously birding five in a row. I mean, I don't know all of it really. First time, something like you said The best thing is how excited all your friends are when you get your first invite, right because they're all lining up for get the tickets. How many tickets you get? You get eight, and I think you can buy you can pay sticker price for the for more.

I think, I think it's the deal. So you get eight sort of for the whole week, plus your family or your wife, kids and stuff, so you get it's quite generous, but it's the same for everybody, and everybody gets the same because everybody gets the max that they can get. Usually. Yeah, that's parents first obviously in siblings, and then friends and then every year because they're not everyone comes every year. You could have if you play for a while, it's good. You get to share it

amongst your friends. It's good. Yeah, yeah, I wrote my mom and my dad they're so happy. They have the best week. It's just incredible how happy people are when they come to the Master's for the first time. In it you said every year, it's like just like it's like kids at disney Land, grown ups. It's amazing. I have a funny story. So my mom came in ninety seven, which is obviously a momentous year, and I had that like nineties. In the fall of nineties, I was actually

covering college football. Put me on the college football be for s I. So I had not seen Tiger Wood take a golf shot in person until the ninety seven Masters and first round. I can't remember what we were doing. We got there lates. We ran down to the back nine and he was in the middle of that rally on fourteen. He clipped a tree with his drive and so he's way back. He's sent a firn in and I was on that hill above, and the sound of the strike and just the trajectory and the grace of

the fall. It was the first time I ever saw swinging club and it's like burned in my brain. And so then we you know, of course he birdies that one, and he hits his drive down the right side of fifteen and back then there's those big mounds and you could to slingshot off those mounds, and um, so we ran down the right side, and of course he spins that wedge in close makes eagle. You know my mom was she was she would have fitted in the silent. She was pretty sneaky. So somehow she had smuggled a

camera in her purse onto the grounds. You know that security was not as as uptight in the nineties is now he know, no metal detectors whatever, and so and everyone runs down the green to watch Tiger putt. And so I have a picture of my mom pointing at Tigers div it and I just found that picture a few weeks ago. I was going through some old albums and this is a classic. Like we were right there, and you know, that was the whole the whole history

of golf. Flip on that back nine, you know when he won and and just kept going and one that thing. But don't as a momentous as that week was for for Tiger and for the game. Like my strongest memory is is this goofy picture of my mom pointing at the divt and uh so, yeah, there's there's a personal element to all these things that more than anywhere else

because no one ever asked. You know, in our world they might but if it's if you know, it's a pebble beach, I'll have people ask me to go to the US Open because but no one said, hey, I want to open at Oakmont or Marion or whatever. It's just not on the radar screen. The way the Masters is, it's just something different about this place. Toodnight before Christmas. Right now, it's start on the subject of photos. One last one, but two thousand one of my last Masters

I covered for Sports Illustrated as the photo editor. We

had just coordinated efforts with UM Golf magazine. We were actually sharing some sort of Sports Illustrating Golf Magazine had kind of come together for a concerted effort of photo you know, photo synchronicity in terms of as a photo and I had now access to guys like Fred Botch, so we would send the typical Sports Illustrated photographers, the best of the best, plus Fred Us who came in with this really amazing team like mentality, humble attitude, incredible talent.

And it was come Sunday that final round two thousand one and Tiger and Phil actually we're paired together that that round and Tiger was winning by I mean, he had a comfortable lead, I believe at the time, you know, coming up that the last few holes and it was all about, you know, again leap frogging photographers. And it came down to if you have five guys, one guy's at the tea, one guy's at the green. The next

guys at the tea and next guy has green. We have a leap frog system in place, but we had this fifth photographer, Fred Botch's access and was like, what are you going to do differently on Sunday during the final and everyone wants to run up and be near the green so you can surround that green and get the shot of the react, the pod or the thing. Fred Voish we talked about hanging back and he said, what if I go medium format silent shutter in the photo tower behind the tea to try to get something

a little different of Tiger. I think he practiced it on Saturday. It looked amazing. If you get the timing just right, could be an incredible image. Again, willingness to not go up to the green, stay back because if you're back at that tea in that booth, you're not getting up to the green. And Fred, which volunteered to go back, shot medium format. I get the role of film and sports those after it gets process timing, building comes down to the light table. I roll it out.

There's two frames on the whole on the whole roll of film. One is Michelson right at the top of his backs being time to perfectly, which is not easy to do. And then Tiger top of his back swing in a perfect sort of as I recall, shaded area where the light is sort of shining in on the ball on the t Tiger perfect top of his back swing,

down that shoot from behind. And you know, this was the quote masterpiece cover for Sports Illustrated on the way Out, and they used that one frame Fred bois being selfless. There was no react to the green tissue and that's you know, teams were like in the dream and the credit to which is attitude and energy. And that was the and that was my last Masters I covered for s I and then I went to digest and go for a book. In the lobby of the Sports Ulsted

building in Manhattan, they had that blown up. It was about ten ft wide and the detail was just it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I wanted to steal that's so bad, but I couldn't have too heavy. Well, the masterpiece worked on I've got one up in my office. The masterpiece work worked on both levels, not only as

tigers performance but the image itself. It's a it's pretty cool this, I mean, this is it's so funny that that you're as like we all span Like when I was an intern at Sportshill Straight the Olympics was at Lilla Hammer in Norway. There was there were no flights, and the magazine hired a large it to fly to and from Little Hammer in New York just to bring back bags of film because that was the only way

to get in the magazine. Really, I mean people would jump on the flight too, but the whole reason was just to get the film because things would happen on the weekend and they have to go in the magazine, and the literally the only way to do it. We're running. I I served as a photo editor slash film runner on countless occasions, including the involved around the Ryder Cut, in which I had to carry the film back from Spain.

Slept through my flight, you know, like I mean, you know the stories are and the back of the day it was just light. The idea of light tables and running film is just you know where is opposed to just you know, sending a digital image now is just like a drug mule. Yeah, yeah, that's stressful if you lose that film minus the things in awkward places, But yes, drug mell yeah, exactly, more more memories, Jeff, what do

you got? Well, I'm wondering about this, like all the build up you get here, whatever, Sunday, money, Tuesday, Wednesday, you said the night before Christmas? Like, how how do you go to sleep on Wednesday night before the Masters when you're in the field and you know, if your first one or maybe you're a favorite, or like, how did you do that? I don't know. Sometimes you probably didn't. Sometimes it was fine, and I don't know. First time, I'm sure I was pretty nervous and probably didn't sleep

very well. But then you get used to it, and you can remember we do this every week, Like I know, the Masters, it's not the only tournament we play all year. It's the eightieth tournament we've played in the last three years, you know, Like so we used to sleeping in a new bed, going to bed on some sort of knowing that golf is happening tomorrow, and then the other may

just keep you up a little bit. I mean the first time, I think I was probably pretty rough, but up for a while, I think, and you get so tired as a tiring week because you just want to be out there, especially when you're first coming here, you want to be out there all day Monday, all day Tuesday, all day Wednesday. Um, I don't know, you just work it out your glasses later in the career a class of red or a couple of years, mate. But no, never, it wasn't never a big problem because it's like what

we do, you know. I mean it's a it's a bigger version and a better version of what we do, but it's still what we do, you know. So I think every now and then it's hard, Like the lead having a lead here would be a hard one to sleep on. Leads are hard to sleep on anywhere, but here would because it would be especially hard course to go out with a lead on, because such crazy stuff can happen, right, And the two times at two forty like yeah to Sprutal and all you want to do.

You can sleep till ten whenever you want, when you're that, when you're young. But all of a sudden you wake up at seven that day for some annoying reason. You play having heard what you said about Greg Norman and how the whole country sort of wait was waiting for him to win one what what was? What was your memories and reflections on on his on his collapse. Ninety six is s brutal. Yeah, I mean because we've had

eighty seven. He got hold out on Larry Myers chipped in and that was the very major after Bob had to hold out on him from the bunk. The two majors in a row, someone would hold out on him to like walk off beat him, you know. So, I mean we were just all about that. And then he was in it every year, it seemed like, and then he kind of hadn't been there I don't think for a couple of years. And then ninety sixty three in the first round. I think he was leaving a whole week. Um,

I think he shod sixty three in the first round. Anyway, it's what six in front, and it was Fouldo made that big part on seventeen on Saturday, and it was kind of this, I'm going to sign because those two Voudo would kind of had his number a little bit. When they head to head it over like tournament wins and stuff. Norman beat him all the time, but when they actually head to head it Fouldo had looked hard for Norman to work out, and yeah, we turned it on.

That was back in the days when the footage came came on, the telecast came on, and he was playing the ninth. He used to see the second shot of eight, remember that period, second shot to eight, and then the music would come and nance would get on his thing and then you'd start watching nine, right, and that was when you started, and we started, and Ventur he was just saying, don't hit it. He could do anything he wants to hear, but don't hit it short on nine.

Don't hit it short or nine, don't and he spins it off the front or nine, and right then it's like, this is not going to go really well. I don't know. I just felt from there it felt scary, you know, for an Australian Norman fan. And then it was pretty hard to watch PTSD, like literally did that like that that? But I mean that that mattered. I mean that was yeah, it was hard to watch. And then I don't know, um, I practiced hard of that day. I went straight to

the golf course and practiced all day. And I know if I got a plenty of friends who did the same, because they were just like, I don't know, That's all I could think to do was to just go practice. It was a sad day in Australia though, and I'm sure that there would have been one of those microeconomic downturns that day, because everyone would have liked that struggled to get to work or been down and flat at work.

Like it was a dark day for Australia for sure, because it would have It would have been a Monday Monday morning. Yeah, yeah, because we watch it. Yeah, we watch it and everyone's late to work on Monday. Oh, light to the one. I'd like to school because you'd get in too much trouble, but like you would, uh yeah, everyone's light. It finishes about nine o'clock in the morning and everyone scoots into walk at work and talks about

the Masters. I guess on Monday. You know, it was always like great Greg, Greg, can he win in this ship? And he went this year? And yeah, it was pretty sad. I was walking around out there and it was still the eeriest feeling on a golf course because just a slow unraveling and they got down to Amen corner and he just didn't No one knew how to react. And there's there's a few shots are burning in my brain.

One of them is foulto on thirteen that second shot, because I was right by the ropes and I had just that quintessential view through the trees and the golden sun and just sort of the daffled light, and he smashed that two iron, and you know, Gregg had driven up into the pines for I had to lay up, and so now Fault that was hitting and he puts in the creek like Norman's back in it, but he just hit this absolute laser and again the sound of that one I remember that was like, guy, this is it.

I mean, this guy's not going to go backwards. And um yeah. I bumped into to David Ledbetter out there and it was just this it felt like almost like this funeral is too strong a word, but it was really extreme heaviness in the Dogwoods and never been in a tournament like that. I mean usually maybe it's also because you know fall It was a great champion, but

he was kind of a prickly character. So you know, if if he would if it was Fred who was going to beat Norman, the people still be really excited because it was Fred, whereas Fault that they didn't know how to feel. And god, it was that was that was the weirdest Sunday ever I think around here that I've experienced. He was on a label about that when he felt there the last round might just he was as good as we have a soul dove Taga crazy.

I think that was transition to because that was pretty Tagataga was obviously that was probably the second one, third one, Yes, Amateure, yeah, yeah, and then everything Giants. It was kind of the end of Fellow Norman to really want to and they had a few good stuff after that, but Taga turned up after that and that was all anyone so off for the next twenty years, you know, and they were number

one and two for so long. Yeah. I ended a lot of media media nights at the Media Center shoulder to shoulder with Tim rose Afford and goes Worth mentioning you know that I was watching live from can't help but miss tim rose Afford's reporting in presence. He's just been such a mainstay and and a rock to all all of golf reporting and storytelling, but especially at a

place like the Masters. Do you have any did you have any reflections or thoughts on Tim Rosefort Did you have any run ins or or or experiences with Tim, lots of experiences I mean, non memorable, just because I saw him every week for years. You know, it was just the guy you could say anything you wanted to and you would never you knew he was safe. You know, there some out there that you know are safe to

be open with. You know, they'll only print what's fair and the something that you don't, and he was one of that. He was fantastic, was wise, interested more in the deepest story, not that just he played well today, you know, it was always after that, the interesting stuff. He was good, great team, very respected. The players loved him. I think he loved really to be respected and be loved by both sides well and not only these readers,

but but the players end his peers. It's pretty hard to do, I mean, because you've got to write some strong opinions every now and then and it's going to annoy people. But he just did it in a way that was professional and classy. You know, you can't remember people's names, you know, you paid attention. You know, he was good. Yeah, So it's sad. It's really sad because it's a there is there is important to the tournament, like the great journalists are is important to these tournaments

as the golf is wrong. So that's how everyone always used to write about him, and that's how we hear about it all the stuff. So that's always been my feeling anyway, Alan, I mean they talk about you know that this one, especially your shoulder, shoulder, all in the media. Everybody's scrambling. It's harder to cover this to this tournament more than any And yet I've also you know, Trunky the great the great stories of Rosaford and always reporting.

But you know, you get lauded for your your reporting and being able to get where other people don't get. What's your what's your what? What was your strategy to this week? And what continues to be your strategies weaken in an effort to try to get something that nobody else has. Yeah, it gets harder and harder. Um, But as far as far as Rosie goes, I can remember being a lot of Augusta press rooms and starts getting lonely. At ten o'clock, people start filing out. You get to eleven,

it gets gets thin. You get to midnight, there's about ten left. I mean, me and Rosie were sometimes the last you guys in there, and um, you just had that gry and you know, and that that was part of the fun. I think he always wanted me to leave first. It's like it's like, I'm gonna wait this guy out. And that was just part of his his you know, that fullback personality that we've talked about a lot. But um, you know, and it's worth mentioning to especially

this week, like, uh, it's very generous. We just say that, you know, the reporters are as important as the players in the history of Augusta National. I mean, that's true. Like grantland Rice is a big reason why August and Nashally even got formed and in the thirties because he was he was this great honk for the tournament and the club and he was an original member and he

helped recruit people. And then you have you know, Herbert Warren Win is one who came up with the term Amen corner, and Dan Jenkins, you know, coined the phrase doesn't matter doesn't begin to the back night on Sunday, Like the legend of of the Masters, the reporters have been really important, so more than any other tournament, which

is just kind of interesting. At the same time, you know, they they don't really like the reporters out much anymore, as as August has embraced making their own content and the stuff they put out as beautiful, like they've further marginalized the rest of the press because they would rather have even going to Masters dot com. And so it's they've they've restricted more and more where we can go, how we can talk to people. It's accelerated oer COVID.

So it's a challenge. You know, I could probably get back into bother cabin, but at this point I probably shouldn't, you know, So Unfortunately, like I've closed off a few avenues for myself. Um. But the one good thing is, as you're talking about Jeff, like, everyone has a lot of family and friends here. So if you go out and walk and you follow people, you can find the

college buddies and the girlfriend and the parents. And there's a lot of reporting that can be done outside the ropes where many other tournaments they're not there at all, and so there's still that opportunity. And in a big crowd, it's not necessarily easy to find them, especially if it's a young up and comer, but you can usually tell, especially girlfriends stand out right like there's there's a type um and uh so that's kind of a fun challenge,

is just picking out the faces in the crowd. And there is you know that a lot of turn mints. The players are kind of under siege after their round and they're they're trying to get away from the fans, but because of the no autograph policy here, there's a

lot more lingering. And so after the players signed their car, they'll often stand in the tree with their family and that's how you can pick people out and um and then maybe the next day you can find them on the course, or it used to be when they're waiting for their cars in front of the clubhouse, you could you could chat people up on the veranda there. But you know, I got busted for that now because Billy Paine doesn't he doesn't want reporters on that side of

the clubhouse any marks. We were not allowed to go to the front and did a million interviews in that parking lot um over the years, but we can't go over there anymore. So lots of little some of the institutional knowledge has been forfeited because they are they're always changing the rules and not for the better. But if you hustle, and then you have instincts you can you can still you can still get your work done, but

it's definitely harder than it used to be. So you'll be craping around in the crowd looking for girlfriends and yeah, somebody's gotta do it job and um, well, I mean this week not as much because they have other people, but like for twenty years, I've got out there and walk and usually the girlfriends are the wives are by themselves, are actually happy. I want to talk to you, like you get a lot of reporting done that way, and you go into your your deep like your so fun

message voice. Hello, Well, you know what's really funny? He just jogged in memory. So I was sitting next to Roosaford in the press room and it was it Augusta I'll never forget. And he was working the phones on some story. I was a kind of minor consequence. It wasn't a big deal, but you're making phone call after phone call, and you and it's kind of like making you know, It's like it's like when you scrambling eggs. You're always working around the edges and then you kind

of get to the middle. Like he's always he was getting more and more information than he would go to the next person said, well, so this guy told me this, but I want to fact check it and like, and he was just just going through the whole process and it was fun. It was fun to listen to. I was. I feel like that was nineties. I think that was nineties or seven. It's one of my first masters. And and then when he's when he's done, he's like, he's

turned because he was aware. You know, I wasn't like a staring on, but I was clearly kind of tuned into it. And he says to me, you know, it's kind of like picking up a woman, you other, there's some seduction there and you gotta share a little bit. And ye I'm like, wow, that's Steve. You know. Thanks to him, I was like, you telling Lair don't sleep

on the path through. Yeah, I was like, God, I thought it was just basically exchanging of data, but no, there's a whole other human element to it that and Rose Fork passed it on. Yeah, I know. I think he made some allusion to some old Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader that you dated, just to finish the annecdote. But yeah, good for Rosie. What prognostication doesn't seem like it's it's your favorite thing in terms of picking winners. But do you have do you have someone that you have your

eye on or you don't bet on golf? You don't, you know, you're not You're not one of these guys. If I would, I think dust would be hard to sleep on Dustin. I think, I mean he's just he's under the right as he's ever been. I mean remember a few yars ago he was on one when he was falling over in the garage on on all the stairs and it was like the novel. He was the

story of the week. Yeah, he's not that. There's like stories all over the top of him this week, especially with Tiger so and he played unbelievable at the match play. He's perfect for this course, especially if it plays long. He would be hard to beat if he if he plays well, if he really hard debate, I think, yeah, I took Dustin days ago with with with Las on his podcast. But yeah, I mean it's gonna it's it's been raining today. I mean the fairies are going to

be soft. I mean it's gonna, as we talked about with suba of the greens, can they confirm them up to a large degree. But soft fairways, I mean it's it's going to be a long golf course. So that's a tough combo, right, soft fairways and hard greens. Yeah, I mean, look, they're all pretty long. But Dustin does it easy, don'ty, And it's he's just extra long, you know. And he's one here that's a fifteenth club this week. If you've already got a green jacket, maybe even a

sixteenth club, like it's you can't be. They just always carry an air of and they're not as nervous. They don't they've already done it. They are in the Champions dinner forever, right, So they're just putting cream on top the other guys like Rory, I mean he's carrying way more than Dustin come down the stretch, right, So Kim Smith when the players and I mean the guy is this. Is this as solid as it gets right now? Is that possible? Yeah? Absolutely, it'd be hard to see him

liked to argue against him. I mean, unbelievable in it was it capital with this year, unbelievable a soul grass like unbelievable s grass. So yeah, I mean, anyone who puts that good would be great to same win Australia will be like riding him in Leash Scotty pretty hard. I would have thought pays good here. Yeah, Leash don't sleep unleash Um. He's it's whatever. Regardless of his form, when he gets the big tournaments, he usually sort of shows up, don't he And he's got a good game here.

He loves it. He's been up there a few times, so he knows what to expect. I like Luke List and Lucas Glover is a couple of little sleepers, guys who are wells List. I mean he's pounds it like he's with stats lately. But he's definitely one of the best drivers out here. So that makes him dangerous, especially this week. Any other guys out No, I mean I haven't been picking j T. That's like seems like consensus pick.

But I don't know. He's he seems to jump you out there, like that triple bow he made on on thirteen last year, you know, from the middle of Fairway, like there's I think you know. Johnny Miller talked about this a lot, how Augusta just gets in guy's heads. He was one of them. Obviously, Greg was another Ernie Trevino. I mean, Rory, you take that those are those are five of the best, you know, twenty golfers ever probably and they don't have a single jacket between them. White's cough.

I mean, some guys just wanted too much. And there there is a mental aspect here that seems like it's different than anywhere else. And so um so he hasn't has heartbroken here like Rory has quite as much. But I don't know, I just feel he's already fallen into that category. So he's got that mean, he's got the game. He can win anywhere, anytime. But I don't see that it's easier for me to talk to myself out of

pick than it is to make one. He's got bones now, that helps, And and he's got the Tiger, the Tiger inner circle, you know, info which I'm sure can't hurt, can't hurt If it's not this year, you would think, I mean, you would say he will definitely win one. But we said that about Rory eight years ago, and I've said that about a lot of players through the years. So there's something confounding about Augusta Nashville that's what makes it such a It's just part of the week. You know,

there's there's a lot of heartbreak out there. There's there's a lot of a lot of blood on those greens too. I mean we remember the triumphs, but you know, go back to kenventor you name it. I mean there's there's a lot of guys would have expected to win here who just never did. And those shadows. That's that's part of the tournament there. It is. Boys. Tomorrow we wake up to golf. I like it. I'm so excited. It's

so at this point, it's I'm so ready. I mean, it's a long preamble, it's it's let's tee it up. Thanks for listening. More tomorrow, Yeah, yeah, I think you know the plan is Jeff and I at least we'll we'll do something tomorrow and Friday, and obviously we'll be talking a lot about Tiger tomorrow. No matter what you shoots, he's the story. Like, crowds are going to be just unreal, um and you know that that's all. I mean, that's

also something worth mentioning. Throughout the week, there's different crowds on different days, and like Monday through Wednesday, it's a lot of people feel like it's our first time here, and um, you know, those are the busiest days in the merchandise tent. You get to the tournament rounds and it's more of the longtime badge holders and and whatever. But um, I feel like I feel like there's something in the air where people are aware that it's fleeting

with Tiger. If you want to watch Tiger Woods playing in person, you better get on it because nothing is guaranteed. By the way his back, I mean, one forgets like he was recovering from back sturgery when he wrecked his car. Like we haven't even talked about his back. That's an ongoing issue. It's got a few spine you know whatever. So every swing is precious. So I feel like there's

this this need to memorialize it. You know, if if you've been if you've been a little complacent for for a while now, it's like, Okay, I better take my son or my nephew or or my dad or whomever and get out there and watch him to do it. So I think it'll be some of the biggest Thursday crowds ever around one player, and that's just gonna be all part of the show. Colard Shepherd, that shepherd, all right, it's a rap. It's a rap. Put another log on the fire. Nobody hears. Get the time