AUGUSTA, Ga. — Nick Dougherty stood under Augusta National’s famed clubhouse oak yesterday afternoon, extended his arms and spoke with the odd mix of giddiness and awe characteristic of most Masters first-timers.
“Look around,” he said. “It’s like Disney World for golfers. I can’t believe I’m actually here. This place is pure magic.”
Dougherty is one of the headliners among 20 Masters rookies this week, the largest contingent of first-timers at the event since 1990 and arguably the most talented debut wave since the tournament’s inception in 1934.
“I’m no historian, but we’ve got a really deep, talented group of first-timers this year,” said Bubba Watson, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance this season (313.5 yards) and practices with four-time champion Tiger Woods. “I don’t think anything can prepare you for these greens, but [Woods] has told me what an asset my length will be around here.”
Prodigious length seems to be the standard in the upper echelon of American rookies, a group that also includes fellow power brokers J.B. Holmes, Nick Watney, Daniel Chopra and Boo Weekley.
This year’s spike in first-timers is largely because of Augusta National’s decision to reinstate its policy of inviting all PGA Tour winners dating to last season’s Masters. Virginia Tech alum Johnson Wagner authored the most dramatic story line among this group of qualifiers, holding off Geoff Ogilvy to win the Houston Open on Sunday and arriving in Augusta in the wee hours yesterday morning suddenly holding a ticket to golf’s most exclusive party.
“It is the best award for winning,” the 28-year-old Wagner said. “Kapalua [site of the Mercedes Championship] is nice; $1 million is nice; the two-year exemption and everything that goes along with winning on the PGA Tour is incredible. But being able to come to a place like this is beyond belief. It’s just a dream come true.”
Just 24 hours removed from anonymity, Wagner practiced with Masters first-timer Drew Weaver, a Virginia Tech junior who had one of the feel-good stories of last season when he dedicated his surprising victory at the British Amateur to the victims of the tragic campus shooting spree.
“I looked over at [Virginia Tech golf coach Jay Hardwick] today and asked, ’Did you ever think you’d be watching this group in a Masters practice round?’ ” Weaver said yesterday. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Though the Virginia Tech tandem and others undoubtedly will command the largest galleries among this week’s debutantes, perhaps the three most notable first-timers are international players.
Dougherty, the charismatic protege of three-time champion Nick Faldo, made his major splash at Oakmont last year, forging a tied-for-seventh finish at the U.S. Open that included the opening-round lead.
Joining Dougherty under the European banner this week is Germany’s Martin Kaymer, 23, who had five top-10 finishes in Europe last season to earn rookie of the year honors. He also added a victory in Abu Dhabi.
“That kid has got the goods,” said Ernie Els, who held off Kaymer earlier this season at Dubai. “He has all the tools.”
Another rookie to watch is Argentina’s Andres Romer, who nearly won last year’s British Open. Leading the final-round field at Carnoustie by two strokes through 16 holes, Romero finished double-bogey, bogey to finish tied for third in just his third major start. He won his first European Tour event a week later and then recorded his breakout PGA Tour victory last month in New Orleans. The 26-year-old ranks 16th on the PGA Tour in driving distance (293.4 yards) and sixth in putting (27.9), making him the game’s ultimate young combination of power and finesse.
“If he were from the States, people would be gushing about his ability,” Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn said. “Of all the game’s great young players, I’d say he has the talent to become a superstar.”
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