AUGUSTA,Ga. – Despite not hitting a golf ball for five months, Arnold Palmer stood on the first tee this morning at the Augusta National Golf Club and ceremoniously started the 79th Masters with the opening tee shot.
“I just didn’t want to fan it,” Palmer said.
Palmer, a four-time Masters champion, was joined on the first tee by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – golf’s Big Three who combined for 13 green jackets – for the opening ceremony. Palmer’s tee shot went low and to the left, but it was the first time he had hit a golf ball since he fell and dislocated his shoulder at home in December.
Asked who hit the farthest tee shot of the threesome, Palmer quickly replied, “I did.”
“After Arnold, it was Gary,” Nicklaus said, teasing.
Several PGA Tour players came out to the first tee to watch the opening shots, even though they had later tee times. They included defending champ Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley.
“I can tell you that, as a competitor that's played in it a lot of times, I appreciated it very much indeed,” Player said. “It shows that they have respect for the game. I remember when Jock Hutchison used to tee off here, I used to go watch him, always.”
Palmer’s last competitive appearance at the Masters, his 50th, was in 2004. He has been an honorary starter since 2007 and did that by himself for three years before Nicklaus joined him in 2010. Player, who has appeared in a record 52 Masters, joined them on the first tee in 2012.
Palmer, 85, did not play in the Par-3 contest on Wednesday because it has become too difficult for him to play the course. Former two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw took his place with Nicklaus and Player.
But he vowed he would be on the first tee for the opening shot, and he was.
“I think Arnold and Jack are two of the greatest ambassadors that America has ever had; and it was not just only in the United States, they traveled the entire globe on many occasions,” Player said.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com; Twitter: @gerrydulac.
First Published: April 9, 2015, 1:38 p.m.