There are some events in life that you know that you will never forget; today was one of those days.
As my fellow CBS spotter Cliff Pyron and I walked across the parking lot I began to get nervous. I knew that I was just minutes away from walking on the greatest golf course in the world, Augusta National. All my life I had read about, been told about and watched on TV the one-of -kind beauty that this course contains.
As we entered the CBS compound we had to show our credentials on The Masters badge we were given. The police officer informed us that everyday we had to have this badge or we would not be allowed to enter. He said," You could come in here with no pants and show me your badge and I 'd let you in. But if you ain't got a badge I don't care if you're Ben Hogan, you're not getting in."
We got there at about 9 a.m. this morning not really knowing what our jobs were going to be. My goal for the day was simply to walk the course. I've had many conversations with people that have either been or wanted to attend The Masters and said that witnessing the layout was something that should not be taken for granted.
We quickly found our bearings inside the CBS compound and asked for our assignments. My boss came over to us and said, " Cliff, 'you've been here before why don't you show Hutton around the course today." Without hesitation we accepted the "assignment" and started heading toward the radio truck to pick up our headsets. I couldn't believe it. I was there... at Augusta National and my only job for the day was to browse around the most prestigious golf course in the world... for free. Upon grabbing our radios and getting a couple of bottled waters ,we headed out to the course.
Every year Augusta National hosts a Par-3 tournament for the players and their families on its beautiful nine hole Par-3 course. Our plan was to go and walk around the every hole, take pictures, visit the souvenir shop and then come back to watch the end of the Par-3 tournament. The last two holes of the course are directly next to CBS compound so we decided to end our day there in order to get a front row seat.
As we exited the compound and walked down the paved road, I got my first glimpse of the 8th and 9th holes of the Par-3 course.
These two holes are within in 100 yards of each other separated by a small lake on either side of the greens.On my right was the ESPN set on which Mike Tirico and Andy North would be anchoring the coverage later on that day which was set just below the enormous manual scoreboard for the Par-3 tournament.
I immediately got my camera out and began taking snapshots of the view. The sun was just rising over the tall pine trees as we climbed the hill toward the 18th green.
At this point I knew that I would always remember this moment. It was breath-taking. The scene was just as I had pictured it full of thick trees, rolling hills, smooth fairways and immaculate greens.
As we stood next to the putting green and watched Phil Mickelson putt we could see No. 1, No.10 and No.18 as well as Butler Cabin to our direct right. Unbelievable.
So from there Cliff and I walked down the 10th hole which has a severe downslope toward in the fairway and is a undulated green guarded by three bunkers. We moved on to "Amen Corner"
which was full of tall pine trees and highlighted by the view of No.12 and No.13 green back about a hundred yards apart. Every hole on this course would qualify for a signature hole on almost any top tier course in America. We moved on to No.16 where Tiger chipped in his improbable birdie on 2004 to win his fourth Masters. As we moved along to No.17 and 18 I found myself playing back all the famous moments that have been captured here. It gave me goosebumps.
As we moved onto the front side we saw that our CBS colleague Ian Baker Finch was
playing alongside Gary Player. I was really excited to see him because I had heard my dad talk about growing up watching him at Colonial Country Club. On top of that Player had just announced that this would be his last competitive week at The Masters.
As we finished our tour of the course walking back toward the Par-3 course. I saw this old plaque that
caught my eye. It has every winner and their total score on it of every Masters champion. Pretty cool.
We headed for our spot underneath the scoreboard to watch the remainder of the Par-3 tournament. It was a perfect place to sit because we had a great view both tee boxes, both greens and close access to the players as they went from the ninth tee to the ninth green. The best groups were back to back. The first featured Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk followed by Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
The several thousand fans looked on as these golf legends turned the corner from the seventh hole and teed off on their last two holes they would ever play as a group. Flashbulbs filled the background as each icon swung. I had never seen any of the three play so to watch them in this venue together was quite a treat. Just when the crowd watching on TV was looking back on what these greats have done Gary Player gave us one more memory.
After he hit his first ball in the water he put the next one in the hole.
As the ball hit the green it caught the downward slope and funneled right back into the hole. The crowd erupted as Cliff and I exchange high fives we knew we had just seen something very special. We continued to cheer as Player, Nicklaus and Palmer walked right past us on their way to the last hole they would ever play together.
Thursday at The Masters
As we repeated the drill from the day before of presenting our badges to the security guard ,I was just as excited as the previous day. At 11 a.m. we had a our daily spotter meeting in which we were assigned specific holes on the course. I was given the tenth fairway which is one of the best places to spot from because of the difficulty of the hole.
Today was a beautiful day. The high was in the mid-70's but in the shade it was ten degrees cooler which made it a very pleasant round to watch.
Chad Campbell was out to an early lead at-7. I wouldn’t mind seeing him win because he’s got ACU connections and he’s a fellow Texan.
It was awesome to watch the crowds grow as Tiger's group got closer to No.10. There is nobody in sports like Tiger Woods.
He has an immortal-like aura around him that you can only feel in person.
It was amazing to watch him tee-off and walk down the fairway as thousands of patrons filled the sidelines of the downhill Par-4. Every person just wants to get a glimpse of him and I get be inside the ropes with a front row seat.
Friday at The Masters
Today was another gorgeous day at Augusta. I talked to my boss Lance Barrow a little today and headed off to my spot on the 10th fairway. I decided to sit on the right side of the fairway today in order to get a little different perspective of the hole. From my vantage point yesterday I could only see the players second shots and their walk up to the green. At my new spot I could see who was teeing off and how they finished on the hole because it overlooked the 10th green. My favorite part of the day was watching
Gary Player play his last round at Augusta. He hit his tee shot about 70 yards behind the other two golfers and had to take a three wood in the short Par-4. As he walked down the fairway he was given a standing ovation as was the case I'm sure at every hole. Kenny Perry shot 67 and shares the lead with Chad Campbell at -9. Tiger is seven back at -2.
Saturday at The Masters
As I got to the course today I struck up several conversations with the marshals on the 10th hole. Each of them has been there for at least five years and have some great stories. They told me that up until this year they had to wear year hard hats instead of ball caps. They also claimed that they never raise their hands to quiet the crowd because the patrons know exactly when to be quiet.
The most interesting story was told by the marshal directly next to me. He said that Augusta National has gotten so good at keeping the grounds spectacular for the week of the tournament that if you had come a week before nothing would be in bloom. That's pretty amazing and that what makes The Masters so unique. The final round pairings should be full of excitement as Kenny Perry and Angel Cabrera are tied at the top of the leader board at-11. Perhaps the most exciting news of the day is that Tiger and Phil will paired together at-4.
Sunday at The Masters
Today was an unforgettable day for me and the golf world. We all knew that no matter who won today it would be special but this was beyond that.
As we arrived at around 9 a.m. we were approached by one of our fellow spotters Jeff Shapter. He had been working for CBS for over 20 years and knew almost everything you could know about this tournament. Shap came over to Cliff and me to ask if we could do him a favor in Butler Cabin. We both looked at each other in shock and willingly followed Shap to the most famous house at Augusta National. As we pulled up to the door we were told to remove our hats and keep our voices down. At this point Shap lead us through a small room with a few TV control units and pointed to small open doorway. As we entered the room we heard two familiar voices; CBS Producer Lance Barrow and CBS lead announcer Jim Nantz. Upon seeing us enter they both motioned us into the historic room. It was probably 20 degrees warmer in that small room than it was outside which with my nerves made it very hot.
Nevertheless, as I looked around the room I noticed three HD cameras, several huge lighting fixtures and multiple HD monitors. Not to mention the historic paintings of golfing legends including the portrait of Bobby Jones that hung above the mantle. Was this really happening? Was I in Butler Cabin... the place where so many Masters champions had been awarded their green jackets? I was. Cliff and I were instructed to help with a mic-check, sitting in as 2008 Masters champ Trevor Immelman and 2009 Masters champ. I would be Trevor and Cliff would be the new champion. As I followed Cliff into the room, we were met by Masters Chairman Billy Payne and Jim Nantz. We shook both of their hands and were invited to sit down in the chairs directly across from them. It was very surreal to be sitting in a room with such historical significance while also being interviewed by Jim Nantz with cameras watching my every move. Mr. Payne invited me to stand up and place the "green jacket" on the new champion and congratulated both of us for being there. Wow.
The Masters is very unique in that it does not allow spotters and scorers in the fairway to record stats. So I have to walk the rope-line on No.10 and watch the caddies from a distance to record how far the players are from the hole. As a result to that it can become quite monotonous to watch but thanks to Tiger and Phil today was anything but boring.
As I was sitting on the left side of the 10th fairway a thunderous roar ripped across the golf course. This was no ordinary cheer; it was Tiger/Phil roar.
This time it was for Phil who had just birdied to the eighth hole on his way to shoot a 30 on the front side at-11. The 30 put him within one shot of Kenny Perry at -12. Tiger had played decent on the front but he still trailed by 5 shots at the turn. As they teed off on our hole it felt like the entire gallery was barreling down on us to get a glimpse of the duo. Both players hit the fairway and I went out to measure their drives in front of packed gallery. That is one of the coolest parts of my job because you can sit back and look at how fortunate you really are to be this close to action. They both hit their second shots and parred the hole to remain at -11 and -7 respectively. I wished that I could have followed them because you just can't beat that group on Sunday at this course. About 45 minutes later the last group of the day that featured leader Kenny Perry came down the 10th fairway but were rudely interrupted by a roar that ripped across the golf course.
Just as Perry addressed his second shot, Tiger birdied the 13th hole to go to -8 just three shots off the lead. Perry and the rest of the 10th hole gallery stopped and turned all their attention toward "Amen Corner." I knew that as soon as KP finished the hole I was going to head off Tiger and Phil's group to watch their final five holes. I made my way across the the 9th fairway as I felt another monstrous roar coming from Tiger's group. He had just sunk an incredible birdie putt on the 15th green to close the gap to just two shots. I made it across to the 16th hole which is a short par-3 and saw more people on one hole than I had seen all day long.
I sat at the green and watched Phil put it within 15 feet of the hole as I listened to the crowd go crazy. But the scene that followed over the next ten minutes was something that I will never forget. Tiger hit his tee shot within 4 feet of the hole which put him in great position to get within in one shot of Kenny Perry and tie Mickelson with just two holes to play. I was listening to the CBS broadcast on my headset standing among the thousands of fans. Nick Faldo made the comment that we were watching "two gladiators here today,"... he was exactly right.
The silence that surrounded the 16th green was incredible considering that several thousand fans were surrounding the hole. Phil missed his putt and Tiger made his. As the ball rolled in the gallery, it felt like a football crowd with all the high-fiving and echoing cheers that surrounded the 17th tee box.
As I walked up the the fairway in anticipation of two more memorable holes, I just took a second to look behind me. The view was full of excitement and chaos as literally every able fan at Augusta National had migrated to the 17th hole.
It's a scene that I will never forget. Tiger and Phil would go on to go a combined +3 on the last two holes as they finished -8 and -9 respectively. The tournament was not officially over but sadly it was.
As the masses began to thin out around the 18th green, the final two groups continued to battle for the greatest title in golf.
Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera headed to a sudden-death playoff after finishing tied at-12. I knew the playoff holes were 18.10,18,10 until someone won. As soon as the last putt dropped on the 18th green I fought my way down my spot in the 10th fairway. I had my radio on to listen to the action just across the tree-line on the 18th hole. With every shot the gallery that was already standing ten people grew deep in anticipation that no one won on the 18th. Sure enough Cabrera and Perry both parred knocking out Campbell who bogeyed.
Upon the completion of the 18th hole I heard my name being called over the radio. They wanted to make sure I was still in position to be called to the hole and I assured them I was ready.
They both teed off with nearly identical shots measuring 181 and 177 from the hole respectively.
As I walked back toward the rope-line I saw the two golfers breach the horizon and realized that nearly every patron still on the course were packing the rope-lines of the 10th hole. I called in my yardages which were then used on TV which is pretty cool in itself with the entire golf world watching this hole.
Perry looked really nervous as he approached his shot and it showed as he flew it long and left over the green. Cabrera cooly put his second shot safely on the green within 20 feet from the pin.
He had put it close but in doing so he he left himself a 25 footer for par which he in turn missed. After Perry settled for his bogey Cabrera easily two-putted to win The Masters with a tap in par. As I walked back to the CBS compound I was cut off by two carts which carried Cabrera and Perry. Cabrera was still high-fiving his caddie while Perry hung his head in defeat in the cart behind him.
Even though the outcome was not what I would have wanted overall ,it doesn't get much better than this in sports.
to mention at the same time my ESPN bracket scores came in showing that I had just won my bracket for the second year in a row:) 
