I spent part of today driving from my home base in Orlando toward the Aiken, South Carolina area for my 15th Masters week, and, as the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals played in the background, I found myself doing what I always seem to do with this event. I got a little emotional.
That is not unusual for me.
I have been fortunate enough to attend a handful of Drive, Chip and Putt finals at Augusta National, and every time it hits me in a slightly different way. One of those visits was with my wife, who is not a golfer. Even so, she was in awe of it all. She felt the weight of the place, sure, but more than that, she felt the innocence of the moment. She saw what I saw. This was not just a competition. It was joy. It was nerves. It was family. It was childhood ambition meeting one of the most sacred settings in sports…