‘Dream’ start for McGirt
AUGUSTA, Ga. — William McGirt, a journeyman whose biggest win of his professional career came at last year’s Memorial at Muirfield in Ohio, bumped into Memorial tournament host Jack Nicklaus on Tuesday at Augusta National.
“My family and I were taking pictures and we were walking back towards the clubhouse from the circle, and [Nicklaus] rode by in a cart, so I just kind of followed him over just to speak,’’ McGirt said Thursday. “He just told me to play smart and play within myself, and he says, ‘If you can win at my place, you can win here.’
“He just kind of started talking and I just listened.’’
And then McGirt, playing in his first Masters at age 37, went out and shot a 3-under-par 69 in the opening round, which has him in second place, four shots behind leader Charley Hoffman.
“This is a lifelong dream and it’s one of those things that when you’re going through that, you don’t know if this moment will ever happen,’’ McGirt said. “There’s been years and years, ever since I’ve been on Tour that I didn’t know if this moment would ever happen. I’m going to try to soak it all in and enjoy it and relish every moment here at Augusta National.
“It’s just something that I’ve dreamed my whole life about playing in this tournament, and I’m going to enjoy it. Plain and simple.’’
McGirt’s 2017 season has not been a very successful one. He has two top-10 finishes, but has missed four cuts. Yet he refused to allow that to detract from his first Masters experience.
“I really haven’t played that well this year,’’ he said. “It’s kind of one of those things where you forget about what you’re doing, and you kind of get caught up in being at Augusta and being at the Masters, and just roll with it. Hopefully this will kind of get me going again this year.”
McGirt recalled seeing a leaderboard on the back nine with his name at the top and nudging his caddie, Brandon Antus, and saying, “Hey, look up there.”
“What was playing through my mind?’’ McGirt said. “Let’s get this thing to the house without hurting ourselves.’’