“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: An Augusta Pastime
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.
Your Masters Celebrity Sightings
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…
Patrons From All Walks of Life
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!
