From Jack’s tribute to Arnie to Bubba’s joke gone bad, here are the best quotes from the 2017 Masters.
“I adjusted his driver for him, because he’s trying to hit it longer than Gary Thursday morning.” - on helping Jack Nicklaus get ready for the ceremonial tee shot
"[The Masters] probably wouldn’t have been the best place for Tiger to start the year out after this most recent setback, and I think we should probably look, maybe something just after The Players Championship.” - on when Tiger Woods might return
“Oh, [the U.S. Open] a definite possibility. That’s probably the event that’s circled on his calendar, but he’s got to at least get one or two starts in before that to see where his body, where his game’s at and if he can hit the shots he wants to hit.”
“The Masters made Arnold in many ways ... But the other way around, I think Arnold made the Masters. Arnold put the Masters on the map, and with his rise and his popularity, the Masters rose the same.”
“You’re going to have to ask the next chairman ... I just don’t think it’s appropriate.” - on the possibility of patrons being allowed to use cell phones at Augusta
“I had the goosebumps thinking about Jack. He could barely see the golf ball, he was in tears, and when he hit his shot he still striped it right down the middle ... You could feel Jack Nicklaus’ love for Arnold Palmer in that moment.” – on watching the ceremonial first tee shot
“I want to play, more than anything. I just can’t swing the club. ... It sucks, I want to play.” - after withdrawing from the Masters with a back injury
“I love all journalists. Obviously I made a bad joke, just like I played bad golf this week.” - apologizing after telling a reporter golf is hard and writing articles is easy
“When I heard, ‘Fore, please, William McGirt now driving [from the first tee announcer],’ I almost shed a tear, but I realized I had to get up there and I had 40 seconds to hit it, so I better get it done quick.” - on playing his first Masters
“He’s day to day. He said, ‘Some days I have good days; some days I have bad days.’ [The pain] is pretty much in the same area in his lower back that he’s had the surgeries on. But he’s such a competitor that he can’t come out and play half of what he did.” - on Tiger Woods’ current health status
“Holy s***!” - on his reaction to Charley Hoffman’s first-round 65
“It was hard. It was windy. I’ve never seen it like this.” - on the conditions in Round 1
“I know a number of guys on Tour that are loose with how they mark the ball and have not been called on it ... I think that kind of stuff needs to stop. But I think it should be handled within the Tour.”
“I was a bit surprised at how loud the cheer was when my ball landed about 35 feet away from the hole. But I was relieved to see it down and on the green. I guess everybody else felt that maybe more than I did.” - on playing the par-3 12th for the first time in competition since his quadruple bogey last year
“She was kind of ready to slap me in the face because I was so negative with myself. And she was trying to get me, pick me up and give me a good boost. Which she did.” - on a peptalk he got from his wife, Ellie
“I guess the golf course was Tiger-proofed at one point. You can’t really Jordan-proof it. I don’t overpower it.”