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Golf history and tradition define Masters Tournament's magical atmosphere

Published: 08 Apr. 2025, 15:06

Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on April 14, 2024. [GETTY IMAGES]

For all the layers of brilliance to the annual Masters Tournament, one thing stands out above all others.

More than any other week on the golf tournament, the festivities at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia cast a magical spell on not only the tens of thousands of patrons who are fortunate enough to attend, but on millions of fans across the globe who will be watching on TV or other digital platforms of choice.

Oh, and those skilled enough to compete in the Masters hold the tournament in high esteem, too.

“It’s a very electric atmosphere out there. This is the Masters. It’s got the beauty, it’s got the colour, it’s got the sound and the breezes. Everything together makes this place special.”

Those words were spoken by Sir Nick Faldo, who may be long retired not only from his competitive days but also from his TV commentary duties, and suggest how we’ll hear his name tied to the 2025 Masters. That’s because the dynamic Scottie Scheffler is going to attempt to match Masters feats that only a handful of the game’s greatest names have recorded, Faldo being one of them.

When he embarks upon his sixth Masters (April 10-13), Scheffler will be trying to become just the fourth player to successfully defend his title. He would match Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02).

Scheffler is also in position to become just the ninth player in history to win at least three Masters. And what could put Scheffler in even more rarified air is this — with Green Jackets in 2022, 2024 and 2025, he would match Nicklaus (1963, 1965, 1966) as the only winners of three Masters in a four-year window.

Scottie Scheffler poses with the winner's trophy as the 2024 Masters champion after the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on April 14, 2024. [GETTY IMAGES]

Remarkable stuff from the reigning FedExCup champion and World No. 1, and for what will be the most hyped story going into this year’s Masters. However, the 28-year-old often sidesteps the focus on his chase for history and explains just what it is about this April showcase that stirs the emotions.

“To be here on property every year is extremely special,” said Scheffler, who made his Masters debut in 2020 with a T9 finish. “I mean, it seems like it all stands out. Everything is done so well here. But mostly for me, it’s the golf course and the practice facilities and just getting to come out here and compete.

“The crowds always are wonderful and it’s just a joy to play this tournament.”

That Scheffler’s sentiments would likely be echoed by the majority of colleagues who’ve had the chance to play in the Masters speaks volumes for the aura of the tournament. Players appreciate the specialness of qualifying for the Masters, since the field is generally kept under 100 competitors, and golf fans who love the Masters would counter with their reasons why.

Start with the fact it’s the only professional major that is played on the same stage year after year, going back to 1934. That galvanizes a connection with the fan, who feels a kinship to a course he or she knows very well — from the wild slope of the green at the par-3 sixth to the right-to-left bend at the No. 9 fairway, to the iconic set of shots required at Amen Corner, to the incomparable par 5s on the back nine.

Augusta National isn’t the only revered golf course to name its holes, but likely many fans would win some money if challenged to call the par-3 12th by its name, Golden Bell. And if you were to quiz Masters patrons about “the shot heard ‘round the world” or who won the Green Jacket at the age of 46, chances are solidly in the majority that you’d receive correct answers — Gene Sarazen’s “double-eagle (albatross)” in 1935 and Jack Nicklaus in 1986.

Why? Because the tournament not only is dipped in history; it is dipped in history that viewers have studied. Players themselves feel it when they’re on the revered golf course. “You get the feeling that Bobby Jones (founder) is standing out there with you,” said two-time U.S. Open champion, Lee Janzen.

The charm of the Masters is felt when reports arrive in late winter about what will be new at Augusta National. This year, there were dispatches about wider walking areas for patrons and how efforts were prompt to address tree damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Scottie Scheffler shakes hands with Hideki Matsuyama after receiving the Green Jacket following his three stroke victory following the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on April 10, 2022. [GETTY IMAGES]

You can also measure intense fan passion for the Masters when they recite how manageable are the prices for concessions, to the severe challenge to two-putt these greens, to how cruel the golf gods can be when it comes to this April classic.

Patrons (as the fans as referred to as at the Masters) and players alike will concede that no one is owed anything at the event, no matter how deep the talent runs. That is why Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino and Tom Weiskopf never earned a Green Jacket and why Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele are currently a combined 0-for-32.

In other words, ownership of the Masters runs thick with players and patrons, and they are deeply invested in this tournament.

To spread the charm around, the caretakers of the Masters were clairvoyant when they started the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2009 and watched the 2010-11 winner, Hideki Matsuyama, morph into a Masters champion in 2021. So would it surprise anyone that the Latin American Amateur Championship, introduced in 2015, produced a winner — Joaquin Niemann — who could emerge with a Green Jacket? Certainly not.

That is the uncanny awe of the Masters, it connects us to global talents and teaches us that a unique style of play is required at Augusta National. It also leaves us with a sense of nostalgia for special anniversaries and so we know that key ones that will be celebrated in 2025 include: The 50th anniversary of arguably the greatest Masters played (Nicklaus’ win in 1975 over Miller and Weiskopf); The 20th anniversary of what just might be Woods’ most epic shot, the improbable chip from behind the 16th green that fueled his win over Chris DiMarco; And the 10th anniversary of that stirring win by 21-year-old Jordan Spieth in just his second appearance at Augusta National.

“To join Masters history and put my name on that trophy and to have this jacket forever, it’s something that I can’t fathom right now,” Spieth said the unforgettable April Sunday 10 years ago.

That his emotions have been deflated in years since (the painful T2 in ’16 and twice he’s been third) is a part of the journey the Masters takes us on. That a great many of us will eagerly await what he does in his 12th Masters start in April is part and parcel of our investment in this tournament.

BY JIM MCCABE [[email protected]]