To suggest James Sugrue is like a kid in a candy store getting about Augusta National is an understatement.

From driving along Magnolia Lane to the nervousness of defending Masters champ, Tiger Woods looking on as Sugrue teed it up in a practice round.

Last year’s Amateur Champion had probably waited longer than anyone, including Open Champion and fellow Irishman, Shane Lowry to take his place in this week’s 84^th Masters.

Sugrue, and now aged 23, reigned supreme in June 2019 to capture the Amateur title at Portmarnock and has been anxiously waiting for this week from some time.  It’s meant having to also turn down, and due to travel complications, accepting an invitation to tee-up in July’s Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial.

As well, the continuing COVID related pandemic meant the cancellation of this year’s Georgia Cup in Atlanta where the Amateur Champion goes head-to-ahead against the reigning US Amateur winner.

Imagine then the Mallow golfer’s excitement when Sugrue got to drive into the front gates of Augusta National and take the 301-metre long drive up Magnolia Lane.

“It was definitely worth the wait – it definitely lived up to expectations,” he said smiling profusely.

“It’s very cool, it’s classy. It’s surreal, especially if you’re a golf fan watching it all your life and seeing all the history that comes with it, it’s just very cool. I’d say I drove up the lane at about 8kph!

“It’s mad like, when I won The Amateur, I always said that the opportunity is unbelievable. There are lots of great players, world class players who have never teed it up at The Masters who made a lot of money and just never got here so for me to play as an amateur in it is very cool.”

Sugrue now joins an impressive of 14 Irish players before him to make their way to Augusta National since Joe Carr’s proud debut in 1967

There’s also been – Christy O’Connor Jnr (Debut in 1977), Garth McGimpsey (1986), Ronan Rafferty (1990), David Feherty (1992), Darren Clarke (1998), Padraig Harrington (2000), Paul McGinley (2002), Michael Hoey (2002), Graeme McDowell (2005), Brian McElhinney (2006), Rory McIlroy (2009), Alan Dunbar (2013) and Shane Lowry (2015).

While many of the spectator-related aspects of this year’s Masters have been cancelled due to a ‘no-patrons’ policy, including ‘The Par-3 Contest’ and the closure of all the merchandise and food outlets, Augusta has stuck with a couple of traditions.

And thankfully for Sugrue and his US Amateur champion colleague, Andy Ogletree and three other amateurs and that’s to allow the non-professionals the annual custom to at least spend a night in the ‘Crows Nest’, the living quarters for amateur’s high-up in the famed Augusta clubhouse.

Today was, better than most 🇺🇸 🐅 pic.twitter.com/9gca7sSXOW

— James Sugrue (@JamesSugrue2) November 7, 2020

“I stayed there on Tuesday night and it was pretty cool,” he said.

“There was no one else staying there – thank god – because it would’ve been a bit awkward if there was anyone else there.

“It’s basically the one room with just a little partition in between us and I snore so it wouldn’t have been great for them (smiling).

“I ordered room service, looked at the cool photos. I checked in at 7 o’clock so by the time I’d showered and ate I just went to bed but it’s nice to be able to say I stayed there.

“That’s probably the coolest thing about it, knowing all the unbelievable golfers who have stayed there through the years. It was a real Masters once in a lifetime experience.”

Although this once-in-lifetime experience for an amateur golfer like Sugrue has also meant having to scrap plans for his family and close friends to rent an Augusta house that they had been so looking forward to.

As well, Sugrue’s caddy Conor Dowling, who pulled the clubs and called the shots at Portmarnock has not been able to make the trip to Augusta and it’s meant employing a ‘local’ caddie.

Sugrue has already played a couple of practice rounds and was all set to wind-up his preparations with a leisurely 9-hole practice round yesterday (WED) ahead of his last off the 10^th tee time of 5.11pm (Irish time) later today.

“The first thing that struck me was the elevation changes stand out,” he admits.

“The only time you seem to have a flat lie is on the tee box. Everything is up and down and side slopes and down slopes. You know the way people talk about the wind around Amen Corner, that’s actually a thing I can confirm that.

“It’s actually so hard to trust it so it’s mad to experience that first hand.

“There’s some stuff I never would’ve guessed, even reading some putts.

“It’s one of the only courses where the greens have grain but I actually cannot see the grain. It’s weird, usually you can see what way it’s going but over here you can’t, for whatever reason, which makes it doubly as tough.

“It is sickening for me not to have Conor, and not to have my buddy here, and as good as Jack (Augusta caddie) is around the greens with lines and stuff, I still can’t have the craic that I would’ve had with Conor with him.

“Though I suppose, if you want to shoot a better score, you’re going to want to have someone like Jack on the bag.”

Ahead for Sugrue is first make the halfway cut and then to finish the low amateur and be awarded the Silver Cup trophy this is also presented live on CBS TV in the Butler Cabin.

Previous ‘Low Amateur’ winners include:  Jack Nicklaus (1960), Ben Crenshaw (972 & ’73), Tiger Woods (1995), Sergio Garcia (1999) and Bryson DeChambeau (2016).

And if Sugrue needed any introduction to Augusta National that materialised on Tuesday.

“I was on the tee box by myself and next thing Tiger, Justin Thomas and Fred Couples walked up as I had just teed-up m ball, and they were there watching me off 10,” he said.

“It was very nerve-wracking but thankfully I hit a good one down there. I took out the three wood, closed that face and hit a big hook around the corner.”

“I’m just mad to get a picture with him to be honest,” he said of his hopes to be properly introduced to Tiger.

“Unfortunately, the opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet. I didn’t want to run over to him in the middle of his practice round like a child going ‘could I get a picture Tiger’, so I just left him be.”

Sugrue has one last wait before his Masters dream is fulfilled at that comes teeing-up in the last group today from the 10^th tee.

Then he also gets to meet his opening two rounds companions – Double Masters winning Jose Maria Olazabal and American pro Andrew Putman, who qualified by ending 2019 inside the top-50 on the World Rankings.

The last words now from Sugrue: “I can’t wait for Thursday now,” he says. “I’ve been here long enough!”