Augusta, GA …
It is quite rare for a professional to be present for a first time at the Masters and not be participating.
That was the scenario that Tommy Fleetwood faced three years ago when he travelled to Augusta National as a Masters patron.
However, the then 23-year old thought for all intention purposes he would receive an invitation to return in 2013 as a competitor.
But they say good things comes to those who wait and Fleetwood patiently waited him time and now he finds himself as one of a record-setting 11 England-born competitors, and the most non-USA born in Masters history, teeing up later this week.
“It’s very cool. I came to watch in 2014. I kind of came with the intentions of being there the following year and finished 51st in the world that year, so I just missed out,” he said.
It’s been a long three years but Tommy Fleetwood is delighted to inside the ropes for a first time at the Masters.
“But watching and playing is a completely different ‑‑ it’s very different and there was places I wanted to get to when I was watching. Sort of the 12th green and 13th tee were the ones. When you’re watching it, it’s so busy behind the 12th tee, and they look like the most tranquil place on the planet and that’s where I really wanted to get to.
“So having been there and played the holes, that’s been the biggest moment for me so far, actually getting to where I kind of envisioned myself being.”
Fleetwood finally got to walk the hallowed fairways on Sunday and didn’t he enjoy the experience.
“I thought I would be playing the following year but I failed at that one,” he said.
“But I just wanted to see it. I think whoever you speak to just says not just how the golf course, but the surroundings, the Club, everything takes a little bit of getting used to. Augusta, it’s in everybody’s mind and everybody’s dreams and it’s just that place that you know that you want to go to, so it’s a little bit surreal when you first go. I had a chance the go, and I thought, I’ll go, because I just want to see what it’s like and when I do come, I might not be as awestruck.
Tommy Fleetwood with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“But it doesn’t quite work like that; when you get to the golf course, it’s still the same feelings.
“So yes, it doesn’t disappoint when you arrive, and you drive down Magnolia Lane. Like I say, the main things for me, my biggest excitement was watching over the bridge to 12 and standing on the 13th tee.
“Those were the two places when I watched I couldn’t get to and I was desperate to get there. So those were my biggest ‑‑ that’s what I was most excited about.”
