Matt Kuchar Had a Front Row Seat for Tiger’s Return to Golf
April 13, 2010 – 9:00 am by Chris FedorJim Nantz has always said that he thinks the Masters is a “tradition unlike any other” and last Wednesday and Thursday I got to see that for myself. I have been watching the Masters for about 15 years on T.V. but last week, I had the honor of seeing the beauty of Augusta National in person. I can tell you from my experience that the course itself is far more beautiful, far hillier, and far more difficult in person than I could’ve ever imagined. The guys on T.V. do the best job they can of capturing the ambiance of Augusta National, but you will never really get the actual feel for just how pristine and amazing it really is until you see it in person.
On Wednesday, my father and I walked the entire course and got to take some amazing pictures. Then on Thursday we arrived early for the tee shots of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to signal the beginning of the tournament. Of course, Thursday was also the day that Tiger Woods was making his return to competitive golf after a five month hiatus. Just like his playing partners Matt Kuchar and K.J. Choi, I too had a front row seat to watch his walk to the first tee, his opening tee shot, and his walk from the first fairway to the first green. I proceeded to follow him for about half of his round and I was amazed at how polite, respectful, and warm the gallery was to Tiger Woods. Just like in recent years, it was Tiger who got the loudest ovations and the biggest applause for any positive thing that he did. The Masters truly is a once in a lifetime experience and despite my feet being sore from climbing the hills at Augusta national and despite how little sleep I got because of how early we arrived at the course every day, I would never, ever utter a single complaint because I got to live a dream and I can tell you that it is not overblown when Jim Nantz calls it “a tradition unlike any other.”
Matt Kuchar joined 790 the Zone in Atlanta on Mayhem in the A.M. to talk about his experience playing with Tiger Woods in the first round, whether or not he was surprised with the support Tiger got, and what he and Tiger talked about during the rounds together.
On when he found out that he would be playing with Tiger Woods for the first two rounds of the Masters:
“It was funny I was playing a practice round Tuesday. Stewart Cink and I were playing against Lucas Glover and Steve Marino and Fred Riddley is a USGA guy that’s also an Augusta National member. As I’m walking off the first tee, Fred pulls me aside and goes ‘Matt, Matt, I gotta tell ya, you’re paired with Tiger Woods and the tee times are about to come out to the press and I’m sure you’re gonna have some people curious to know your thoughts and I just wanted to let you know first.’ Initially I’m thinking ‘oh, this is a bummer.’ Here I get a chance to be back in the Masters and I figure it’s just gonna be a zoo and be tough to play some good golf, but it was great to be a part off. I figure Augusta National must think of me pretty highly if they think I can handle it. It takes kind of a certain person to handle that kind of pairing. They stuck me and K.J. Choi with Tiger. I was amazed with the warm reception that Tiger Woods got. Everybody that I came across and every hole we walked up to, people were yelling out positive things. It was a great reception and I think K.J. and I were able to feed off it a little bit. They were excited to see Tiger and some people say ‘hey it’s Matt Kuchar playing with him and it’s good to have you back Matt.”
On how he thought Tiger played under the circumstances:
“It was interesting. I was thinking back to his dilemma and as a player, I was guessing ‘alright if he’s gonna come back, he’s not gonna come back to the Masters as his first tournament.’ I was thinking he’s gotta play Bay Hill or he’s gotta play something. Just if he really wants to do well at the Masters, he’s not gonna make that his first competitive start. I was wrong on that assumption and he played some darn good golf. There was a little bit of rust. I think had he played a tournament or two prior, he might’ve been a little bit sharper. There were a few things. A few chips shots that didn’t look Tigeresque and a few putts that didn’t look Tigeresque, but as far as the golf game, he did some amazing things. I think in round one he had two eagles. He can hit some amazing shots, particularly recovery shots. He’d find himself in a few wayward positions off the tee and some of the recovery shots were mind-boggling. Going ‘that’s only one guy that’s pulling a shot off like that.”
On what he talked to Tiger Woods about during their time playing together:
“Before we played, the first tee was the first time we said hello. It was something where I had two days to think about, gosh what do I say to this guy when I first see him? The first thing to come to mind was just nice to have you back playing golf. On the course it was awkward. There are a number of things that you kinda talk about or chit chat about. The standard things you couldn’t say to Tiger. I had things running through my head like, ‘you have a bunch of family with you this week?’ That’s how most people treat the Masters. I had all sorts of family and I think most people are like that. Family comes out of the woodwork if you get an invite to the Matsers. Can’t ask Tiger if he’s got his family with him this week. You go to the next one. ‘Where you staying this week.’ Well that’s private so I can’t ask him that one. I kinda went through the gamut of questions before we just talked about sports. He’s a Stanford Cardinal and the ladies had quite the basketball run.”
On how difficult the course is and what the differences are in the course on T.V. as opposed to in person:
“It’s amazing how much more difficult the course gets every day. Fortunately we had very good weather so they could make the conditions to their liking. Thursday the course was playing where the pin placements were in pretty moderate positions. I think Tiger made a comment Thursday afternoon how the pins were relatively easy and I don’t think the folks at Augusta National ever think much of that. So Friday, they made the pins incredibly difficult. It didn’t seem like there was a single pin where you could really have a great birdie attempt at. I think scores that day were the highest I think in 40 years. The greens get so fast and each day, the greens get faster, firmer, and more challenging. The nice thing that the folks at Augusta National have learned is that they didn’t want to make the Masters another U.S. Open. It seemed to be the way it was going for a couple of years. Nobody was making birdies on the back nine and they were just grinding away pars. I think Billy Payne has taken it back to putting some pins in more reasonable positions on Sunday where you can make some birdies, some eagles, and have some excitement. I think everybody got a great dose of that on Sunday with an exciting finish. (There were) A bunch of eagles coming in on 13 and 15 and made for a really exciting tournament.”
Listen to Matt Kuchar on 790 the Zone in Atlanta here
Tags: 2010 Masters, 790 the Zone in Atlanta, Golf, Matt Kuchar, Matt Kuchar Paired with Tiger Woods for the first two rounds of the 2010 Masters
