For the past three years, golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson have served as the honorary starters at the Masters, hitting ceremonial tee shots down the first fairway to get the tournament underway.
This year will be no different with Nicklaus – who has a record six Masters titles – serving the longest of the threesome in the role (since 2010). Player (three titles) has joined Nicklaus on the tee since 2012, while Watson (two titles) was the most recent addition in 2022.
Having someone hit the first shot at the Masters dates to 1941, when amateur Francis Ouimet played the first round before withdrawing. According to the Masters website, Ouimet’s appearance was at the urging of tournament co-founder Bobby Jones, an idea that would eventually begin the tradition.
The role of honorary starters was later formalized when Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod hit the first shots of the 1963 Masters. Since then, 11 golfers, each with extensive history at Augusta National Golf Club, have helped kick off the Masters with the ceremonial first tee shots.
Honorary starters at the Masters
Those 11 golfers who’ve been honorary starters at the Masters, along with the years they filled the role:
- Jock Hutchison: 1963 – 1973
- Fred McLeod: 1963 – 1976
- Byron Nelson: 1981 – 2001 (non-consecutive)
- Gene Sarazen: 1981 – 1999
- Ken Venturi: 1983
- Sam Snead: 1984 – 2002
- Arnold Palmer: 2007 – 2016
- Jack Nicklaus: 2010 – present
- Gary Player: 2012 – present
- Lee Elder: 2021
- Tom Watson: 2022 – present