Six years after Tom Watson played the Masters for the 43rd time, the two-time champion returns in April to make the ceremonial start alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Watson, who held Nicklaus at the helm during his Masters victories, It is the 11th player to be an honorary member.
All but four of them were Masters champions, including Lee Elder, the first black golfer to finish the Masters. Elder was invited to be an honorary holder last year, although his health prevented him from balancing a club.
Although the club is not specific, Watson will probably be a regular at the first tee every Thursday morning, a simple act that draws thousands of fans around the tee and takes place on both sides of the fairway.
A generation behind the “Big Three” of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, Watson was the next big one of golf. He won eight majors in his Hall of Fame career, all but the PGA Championship. His best moments were with Nicklaus, who twice beat the Golden Bear for a green jacket, defeated him at the US Open at Pebble Beach and won the legendary “Duel in the Sun” at Turnberry at the British Open.
He played his first Masters as an amateur and returned after winning the Western Open for the first of his 39 wins on the PGA Tour. Watson has never missed another Masters before he last played.
“Augusta National in April is one of my favorite places,” Watson said in a press release. “With the many good memories when I was young and participated in the tournament for so many years, I am very honored to be part of this upcoming Masters with my friends and other competitors Jack and Gary as an honorary member.”
Watson said that competing with Nicklaus and helping the player wear the green jacket when the South African won for the third time are moments that stand out in his career.
Nicklaus, a six-time champion of the Masters, has been an honorary member while the player began.
Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod started. Others were, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen, and Arnold Palmer. In addition, Ken Venturi fulfilled a year when Nelson could not do it.
