Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Several players started getting acclimated to the course at Augusta.
One of the cool things about The Masters is the coverage the PGA nails each and every year. And that starts on Day 1 when the players kickoff their practice sessions.
The biggest names to receive the biggest attention on the opening day of the practice rounds were Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The two were joined by Tom Kim and legendary golfer Fred Couples and the four decided to keep tradition alive at Augusta.
Skipping a ball across the water at at 16.
One of many Masters traditions: skipping shots across the water on the par-3 16th.
Here’s Tom Kim, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples on Monday:pic.twitter.com/4ROwFoFqHq
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) April 3, 2023
While the group was receiving lots of cheers as they walked by fans, they had some competition for the loudest roar of the day (sorry, Tiger).
The loudest roar belonged to Sepp Straka who aced the 12th hole on Monday.
I know, I know. Someone once said, “We’re talkin’ about practice…” so there may be several of you that may think that clip isn’t a big deal. But golf is golf and that was a shot.
Also highlighting Monday’s practices in Augusta were LIV golfers making their appearance. There wasn’t anything to write home about. In fact, it appeared to be business as usual, sort of.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Several golfers wore their LIV team shirts, including former Masters champion Dustin Johnson who wore his 4Aces team shirt with Carolina blue colors and spoke to the media following Monday’s practice round.
“For me it’s the same. All my buddies are still my buddies, and we play, and it’s still golf. So it doesn’t matter where you play at,” said Johnson about how he felt playing for LIV and facing his former PGA peers. “I still play golf for a living. I’m here at the Masters and enjoying this week. This week’s all about Augusta.”
We’ll just have to wait and see if anything evolves as the week progresses.
