Rob Schumacher captures Tiger Woods moments after he won the 2019 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga., on Sunday, April 14, 2019.
A win for the ages
My first trip to Augusta National had a stunning ending – and no, it’s not because I was kicked out for using my cell phone on the hallowed ground. That of course is the golden rule for journalists working at the Masters. No cell phones out on the course or the parking lot. Period. Weeks before I set foot on ANGC’s impeccable grounds, my colleagues warned me about the policy and told me horror stories of what happened to the poor soul who left the press building with his iPhone tucked in his jacket. The volunteers are so good they can sense a vibrating pocket from 100 yards away.
Thankfully, my first Sunday at Augusta had a happier ending. Editors and reporters try to maintain a level of objectivity in that we never cheer in the press box and we don’t wear team colors or mascots when out on assignment. But I confess, we do root (internally) for the story. And I was on site at AGNC to cover the biggest story in golf this year – perhaps this decade or even this century. While leader Francesco Molinari made double bogey when his tee shot found Rae’s Creek and Tiger Woods made par on the 12th, I looked at the writers tapping away next to me and held my breath. There wasn’t much time to sit and watch every shot of the final group because I was fielding messages from the home office in Virginia and adjusting assignments with our writers on site.
Five months later it all seems like a blur because there was so much excitement, so much copy to read as Tiger stormed to his fifth green jacket – and many thought unobtainable – 15th major championship. I still get butterflies thinking about the crazy deadlines and what our Golfweek and USA TODAY staff was able to produce in the hours after Woods’ magical finish. And I’m pretty sure that every other trip I take to Augusta National will pale in comparison.
— Roxanna Scott
