Loran Smith on the lives and legacies of Masters Tournament honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, going well beyond the game.
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WhenIfirststartedcoveringtheMastersintheearly1960s,thehonorarystartersweretwooldtimers,JockHutchinsonandFreddyMcLeod,bothmajorchampionsintheiryoungerdays.
Irecallthattheyplayed18holes.Thenitbecamenineholesandafterthenpassedon,thehonorarynameschanged,butthetraditionremainsentrenchedattheAugustaNationalGolfClubwhichhasalwaysbeenattheforefrontwhenitcomestoinnovation.
Itisfuntoseetoday’shonorarystartershitceremonialteeshotsatthefirstteebeforesittingdownforalongandengagingpressconference:JackNicklaus,whommanybelieveisthegreatestprofessionalgolfereverwithhiswifeBarbara,servingashiscaddie;GaryPlayer,whowillcelebratehis90thbirthdayonNov.1standfulloftestimonytohisvegandiet,liftingweights,andincludingpushupsinhisdailyexerciseroutine;andTomWatson,whoatonepointseemedtoowntheOpentournament,winningtheBritishchampionshipfivetimes.
Whateverwasonthecollectivemediaminds,t
