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Tom Shaw, Vanderbilt’s Head Men’s Golf Coach, is caddying for Michael Thompson at the 2008 Masters. Thompson played for Shaw at Tulane before transferring to the University of Alabama prior to last season. He earned a spot in this week’s event by finishing second at the 2007 U.S. Amateur. Shaw will be contributing exclusive content from Augusta to vucommodores.com all week.
THURSDAY, APRIL 10
The Real Deal
What a difference a day makes. Things took on a more serious tone today at The Masters. No spectator cameras, no chit-chat among players… it was somewhat ominous.
The tournament spectators are much different than the practice-round spectators. These folks are Masters veterans and know a good shot from a bad shot. They are less into celebrity-watching and more interested in watching good golf. It is amazing how quiet a thousand people can become in an instant – very respectful of the traditions of the game.
There was a fog delay for about an hour, but that did not prevent the ceremonial starter Arnold Palmer from hitting the opening shot of the 2008 Masters. Mr. Palmer is celebrating his 50th Masters appearance and, based on the patrons’ reaction, still is the “King.” As Michael did not tee off for another couple of hours, I went up to the first tee to watch. Wearing the white caddie jumpsuit has its privileges, as people tend to part ways as I walk up. Maybe that is unrelated to the jumpsuit… hmmmm.
Michael warmed up on the far end of the range, near Justin Leonard and his coach Randy Smith. Randy is the head professional at Royal Oaks C.C. in Dallas and was instrumental in giving our team at Tulane a place to play during our stay in Dallas after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Classy guy. Michael and I have come a long way since that time.
I could tell Michael was nervous as he said little during the warm-up time. I suggested that he take the picture of him and Phil Mickelson (that was in the local paper), frame it and send it to Phil with the inscribed – “Nice playing with you Phil – hope your career works out. You have potential. Your friend, Michael.” That seemed to get a good laugh out of him, although I was laughing more, which is common with many of my jokes.
As we approached the first tee from the practice putting green, you have to go through a gauntlet of people for about 50 yards. It is very intimidating, as the people are pressed three to four deep in close proximity to you as you walk. It was slightly suffocating, actually, when added to the pressure of what you are about to do. After the short walk, you arrive on the tee which opens up a view of a beautiful vista of the par-4 first hole, albeit lined with about 1,000 spectators.
Nothing to do now but breathe deep, swing slow, and let ‘er rip. I was very anxious, so I can’t imagine what was going through Michael’s head. Would he succumb to the pressure? No! Michael laced his opening tee shot down the middle, flying his competitors by about 20 yards. He was really jacked up. The problem was that he was still jacked up on his second shot, which he flew right over the flag and over the green to make bogey on his first hole. But true to his ability, he birdied the second and played a solid round of golf from that point on.
I won’t bore you with the play-by-play, but Michael held up beautifully and hit some quality golf shots for an opening 73 which was good for 34th place. His only hiccup was when he went for the par-5 13th in two, only to overshoot the green and have an impossible third shot. He sent that chip over the green and into the hazard, but escaped with a bogey. Tiger Woods did the same thing about an hour later, so we’re in good company. One note on Tiger… he was wearing the worst looking golf shirt ever – you’d think with his money he would dress better. Of course, I am wearing a dumpy white suit so I shouldn’t talk. Speaking of that suit – it gets VERY hot when the temperatures rise. They are more like HazMat suits than anything designed for comfort. I am NOT complaining though!
One last item – the roars of the crowd. Unique to the Masters is that you can tell a birdie roar from an eagle roar and a good putt roar from a good shot roar. I don’t know how to describe it, but it is true. One roar eclipsed them all when Ian Poulter made a hole-in-one on 16. That was loud – and we were on the other side of the course! Michael caused one of his own when he rolled in a 25-footer on the 9th for a birdie. Caddies are supposed to be reserved but I gave it a good fist pump when it went in. Hey, if you can’t get excited watching one of your former players make a birdie at The Masters, something is wrong.
Tomorrow we play later when the greens are drier and crustier. It is also supposed to be windier, which makes the course very difficult. The wind swirls through the pine trees, making direction almost impossible to decipher. Another good round and we are playing the weekend, which is very rare for an amateur, although the last one to do it was Vanderbilt’s own Luke List in 2005.
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