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Round 1: Unlikely face on top at Augusta By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH AUGUSTA, Ga. | Brett Wetterich's goal all along was to bring his father, Mickey, to the Masters. Mickey was the one who first handed Brett a golf club when he was little, and, of the four major championships, Mickey believed that the Masters was the one people talked about most, the one that made you famous. On Thursday, as Mickey watched Brett walk the 18th green at Augusta National, his heart was pounding. It had been all day. He and Brett were living their dream, and it was quickly becoming a fairy tale. "Sometimes," Mickey said, "wishes do come true." Brett Wetterich was certainly going to be talked about now. With a clutch par save at 18, he finished Thursday's first round tied for first with Justin Rose at 3 under. On a day when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els failed to break par, Wetterich pulled it off in his first Masters. "This is the biggest tournament in my mind," said Wetterich, 33, a native of Cincinnati. "To be able to go out and start off with a good, solid round, it means a lot to me." On Thursday, first-timers stole the show at Augusta. J.J. Henry finished tied for fifth at 1 under-par. Rookie Jeev Milkha Singh finished at even par, 1 shot better than the more established Singh, Vijay. Brett Quigley became the tournament darling by witnessing the birth of his first child and playing in his first Masters in a span of two days. Every golfer fortunate enough to play in the Masters remembers his first time. Arnold Palmer remembers playing with the legendary Gene Sarazen. Woods remembers playing with Jack Nicklaus. This year, former champions Gary Player, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd and Ben Crenshaw played the role of tour guides for the rookies, passing down the stories that make Augusta Augusta. "Some of them I can't repeat," said first-timer John Kelly, who played with Crenshaw on Thursday. "I just like being in the mix, back on the 13th tee, getting to talk to those guys. Nobody else in the whole world has any idea what goes on back there, but I get to hear what they're talking about." But, to enjoy the talk on 13, the first-timers had to get past the No. 1 tee first. That is probably the most nerve-wracking part of Thursday for Masters rookies. As Kelly walked onto the first tee, the crowd started a debate: How old was this kid? "He has to be an amateur," a man guessed correctly. The baby-faced Kelly is a 22-year-old senior at Missouri. He qualified for the Masters by finishing second at the U.S. Amateur last summer. Kelly, wearing a black sweater over his gold Missouri shirt, had to remember to breathe. "I kind of got the chills," Kelly said, "and I almost got a little tear in my eye, just thinking, 'I'm here.' But then it turned to, 'Holy cow, I'm nervous.' " There might not be a more intimidating moment in sports than teeing off for the first time at Augusta. But while other first-timers yanked their drives left or right, Kelly walloped his right down the middle of the fairway. The crowd roared its approval. "Did that get out of town in a hurry!" a man said. The first-timers all had their own ways of dealing with first-tee jitters. England's Kenneth Ferrie cracked jokes. Dean Wilson took about 80 practice swings. Frenchman Julien Guerrier didn't speak until spoken to by playing partner Gary Player. "Hi, I'm Julien," Guerrier said. Player quickly responded, asking Guerrier "How are you?" in French. Amateur Casey Watabu, playing with Watson, looked like a statue at the first tee. Watson and Fred Funk tried to lighten the mood with the 23-year old, but Watabu was too tense. He never lightened up and finished last at 15 over par. The amateurs like Kelly, Guerrier and Watabu have a different mind-set than the 30-somethings who have waited forever for this opportunity. "I feel very fortunate to be out here," says Kelly, who shot a 5-over 77. "Not many people my age get to play in major championships. Right when you get in the gates, you know you're in just a special, special place." Nothing was going to stop 38-year-old Brett Quigley from playing in his first Masters, not even the birth of his first child. In one of the more bizarre dramas in Masters history, Quigley found out during Tuesday's practice round that his wife's water had broken. He left immediately for the Augusta airport and arrived in Jupiter, Fla., early that evening. His wife, Amy, delivered their daughter at 2:50 a.m. Fittingly, they named her Lillian Sage Augusta Quigley. Amy encouraged Brett to return to Augusta and play in his first Masters. Quigley returned at 9 p.m. Wednesday night and teed off just after 2 p.m. Thursday. He shot a 4-over-par 76. The score was inconsequential, though, when compared with the moment. "There were probably five or six times out there today I was fighting back tears thinking about Amy and Lilly," says Quigley, who carried around a picture of them. "It was probably the biggest day of my life. The last two days. Golfwise, stepping on that first tee, that was it for me." Of all the rookies, though, none capitalized on the opportunity more than Wetterich. He sank an 8-foot birdie putt on 17 to tie Rose, who was already in the clubhouse. But after his approach shot found the rough at 18, he would have to chip and 1-putt to stay tied. Instead of playing the third shot conservatively, hitting the ball to a ridge on the green and letting it roll back toward the cup, Wetterich aimed his chip right at the cup. The margin of error was small, but his risk paid off. The ball stopped close to the hole for an easy par putt. The exchange nearly gave Mickey Wetterich a heart attack. "That was stupid," Mickey said. Told of his father's analysis, Wetterich laughed and said, "That's why he's there, and I'm here." One day of superb Masters golf, and Wetterich is already a know-it-all. To reach J. Brady McCollough, sports reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4363 or send e-mail to jmccollough@kcstar.com
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J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell) |
