Celebrities Love Masters Week In Augusta

"Golf Week," "Tournament Week," or, simply, "The Tunnamint"... Augustans know Masters Week by many names. But natives all know that it's a special week for our city. And a big part of that is celebrity sightings during Masters Week. Augusta is hit with a swarm of 'Patrons' (that's "visitors" or "fans" for literally any other sporting event) who are excited to catch the best golfers the game has to offer in the first major golf tournament of the year.

People-watching is a favorite pastime for Augusta locals, especially if you can't make your way onto the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National. After all, there are people from all over the world who descend on our almost-small town during that first full week in April. For a social creature such as myself? It's a fun opportunity to meet people from all over!

Most of these visitors have planned this trip for months, maybe years. For some Patrons, this trip has been planned for a lifetime, crossing off a major item on their bucket list. You literally never know who you might meet. In fact, many of those Patrons are celebrities.

I conducted an experiment on my Facebook page. I asked a simple question: "Do You Have a Cool Masters Week Celebrity Sighting?" Over the next few hours, that post garnered dozens of responses.

The names that were mentioned were of celebrities from movies, TV, sports, politics, and more: Will Ferrell, the late Jimmy Buffett, Maury Povich, Bob Hope, Condoleezza Rice, Jack Nicholson, Chris Tucker, John Elway, Joe Pesci...

That’s the beauty of this event. You’ll see people from all walks of life during Augusta’s biggest week of the year and they’re not seated behind some protective glass in a super pricey suite. Sure, they have secluded, VIP areas to which they can retreat. But, for the most part, they’re strolling along golf’s most sacred grounds, taking in the reverence and beauty just like everyone else. And everyone respects each other enough to not bother them.

Personally, my celebrity sighting skills are limited to just one. I’ve been extremely lucky to attend practice rounds and tournament days alike and I always see the same celebrity. It happens almost every year and he’s always nice enough to give me a smile and a wave: the one and only Richard Rogers from Augusta’s News12. With any luck, I'll be able to say "hey" again this year!

One friend of mine made an Old Fashioned for sports commentator and long time Masters announcer, Jim Nantz. That's my drink, too! How cool would it be to share a drink with a broadcasting legend? For me? Priceless!

Another person said they met Gary Player at a local wing joint. Good luck finding out which one. If you know anything about Augusta, you know we LOVE our wings!

Local musician Will McCranie says he was honored to see some famous faces, like Jack Nicklaus and Payton Manning in crowds for whom he performed. He even got a golf cart stuck with Umphrey's McGee musician, Joel Cummins!

Another friend says she enjoyed serving John Daly at a fun-filled event. This guy is a party legend around Augusta. I can only imagine how that night went!

A friend of mine said she had a very memorable interaction with Will Ferrell as she was serving at a local establishment. He's definitely a celebrity that I wouldn't mind seeing around town!

One person cherished a memory of meeting the late Jimmy Buffett at a private event. It's been said that the only thing that Jimmy Buffett loved as much as the beach is golf.

One commenter said they randomly bumped into legendary actor and the best narrator ever, Morgan Freeman, just standing alone outside the concession area. A living legend, just hanging around by himself and no one harassing him for pics or autographs. That's The Masters.

I think the best story I heard was one from a person that was working at Krispy Kreme just down from the course when Phil Mickelson made his famous post-win stop for donuts back in 2010! Another commenter said she didn't know who she was talking to when she told Phil that she thought "golf is stupid!"

One woman said she met Maury Povich at a neighboring golf event. I like to think that he told her that she "is NOT the father!"

Another local said that Tiger Woods rented their house for the week and left behind a bunch of signed memorabilia as a "thank you!" Sounds like a pretty good retirement fun to me!

I've known Richard Rogers for many years as my first media job ever was on the production crew for the 5pm, 6pm & 11pm news broadcast at News 12. He's the only celebrity I ever spot at The Masters and I see him almost every time I go!