[PHOTO: Harry How]
The first hole at Augusta National, Tea Olive, is not exactly a gentle opener. With a cumulative stroke average of 4.24, the par 4 ranks as the sixth-toughest in Masters history. But while there have been plenty of shaky starts there – Stuart Appleby’s double-bogey as the 54-hole leader in 2007 and Ernie Els’ six-putt in 2016 come to mind – no one had a rougher beginning than his fellow Aussie, Greg Chalmers.
Leading into this week’s event, the past PGA Tour winner shared an amazing story about his first – and only – Masters start in 2001. While the West Australian managed to make only a bogey, he nearly took out a pair of patrons with his first two shots.
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Chalmers also thinks he’s part of the reason why patrons are no longer allowed to walk down the left side of the hole. Anyway, here’s how he tells it.
You are not going to believe what happened the first time I played #themasters
It was in 2001 and my 1st round tee time was around 8:30 and I was a little nervous. I just watched Byron Nelson and Sam Snead hit off only a few minutes prior and the enormity of the event was… pic.twitter.com/pUdv7hyUr3
— Greg Chalmers (@GregChalmersPGA) April 9, 2024
“I’ve waited my entire life to play Augusta National,” Chalmers writes. “I’ve taken 2 swings and hit 2 patrons.” Poor guy. What a wild story.
Chalmers missed that cut that week, but as you can see by that photo of him and his dad caddieing for him at the Par 3 Contest, he still had a great week. Especially because he didn’t kill anyone.
