AUGUSTA, Ga. – The ceremonial first tee shot at the Masters remains serious business for Gary Player, who was on the practice tee at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
“I wasn’t even out of bed yet,” quipped Jack Nicklaus.
It was a light moment during an otherwise emotional start to the 81st Masters, the first since 1954 without four-time champion Arnold Palmer. Every patron who entered the gates Thursday received a commemorative “I am a member of Arnie’s Army” badge.
Augusta National chairman Billy Payne escorted Palmer’s widow, Kit, down to the first tee. Then Payne draped Palmer’s green jacket over the back of a chair and asked for a moment of silence. Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, amateur Brad Dalke and Butch Harmon were among those who watched the ceremony in person.
“It is a wonderful, but in one respect, difficult day,” Payne said.
