AUGUSTA, Ga. — Presumptive Jaguars No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence was among the celebrities watching the first round of the Masters Tournament on Thursday at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Lawrence was spotted by photographers on the course, wearing a lavender-colored adidas shirt.
Also at the Masters were Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
It was unclear from the photo at what hole Lawrence was watching the action. The Masters has limited the number of patrons this year but the three players were there as guests of adidas.
Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has been a frequent patron of the Masters in the past, as has been another former Florida football coach, Steve Spurrier.
Elder has emotional day
Lee Elder returned to the first tee of the Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday, 46 years after another historic moment on the same piece of Emerald Green grass.
Both were emotional moments but in very different ways.
Elder participated in the traditional opening to the Masters Tournament, with six-time champion Jack Nicklaus and three-time champion Gary Player. Elder was to have hit a tee shot also but is in poor health and was content to watch Nicklaus and Player start the tournament and enjoy being honored by Augusta National.
"For me and my family, I think it was one of the most emotional experiences that I have ever witnessed or been involved in," said Elder, who was the first African American to play in the Masters in 1975. "It is certainly something that I will cherish for the rest of my life because I have loved coming to Augusta National and playing here the times that I have played here. It's a great honor ... and I want to thank the chairman [Fred Ridley] for extending me this great privilege."
Elder shot 74 in his first round that day. He went on to play the Masters six times.
He recalled his nerves before that opening round but said playing partner Gene Littler helped calm him down.
"We were walking out to the first tee, and he said to me, 'Lee, I know this is going to be a hard day for you, but I just want you to know that if I get in your way, just shout at me because I have a tendency to do those things,'" Elder said. "I had a wonderful round that day ... I was very happy to shoot the 74 I did that particular day."
Elder said he also remembers getting a warm welcome from the patrons on every tee and green.
"Tremendous ovations," he remembered.
Caddie recollections
Get Nicklaus and Player together and there will be some tall tales.
On Thursday, after they hit their tee shots, the subject turned to the Augusta National caddies, which players were required to use until 1984.
Nicklaus' first caddie, when he was an amateur, was a man he knew only as "Pon." Nicklaus missed the cut that year but he returned, he asked the caddie master for Pon again.
Except Pon was having none of it.
"He said, 'Well, I don't want to caddie for Mr. Nicklaus,' " Nickalus said. "He worked too hard. He comes too early and he leaves too late. I don't want to do that."
The caddie masters then asked for volunteers and Willie Peterson raised his hand. Peterson, who has since passed away, then caddied for Nicklaus for his first five Masters victories.
"Willie was a wonderful guy," Nicklaus said. "I loved Willie, and I miss him."
Player's first Augusta National caddie was Ernest Nipper, who Player said remains the best caddie he ever had.
"He was a very good golfer," Players said. "He lived here ... knew his greens inside out."
Player remembered one difference of opinion with Nipper on a putt, at No. 4. Player read left edge. Nipper saw it on the right edge.
After a brief debate, Nipper told Player that if the ball didn't go the way he said, Player didn't have to pay him that week.
"Now I'm convinced," Player said. "It went right in the middle."
Sea Island duo first out
After the ceremonial tee shots were hit, the first competitors to play were Hudson Swafford and Michael Thompson, two former SEC players who both live on St. Simons Island, Ga., and practice and play at the Sea Island Resort.
Thompson, a former Alabama player, played the par-5 holes on the second nine at 3-under, with an eagle at No. 13, to make up for bogeys at Nos. 9 and 10. He then bogeyed No. 17 for a 72.
Swafford, who played at the University of Georgia, had the lead after early birdies at Nos. 2 and 4 but he had three bogeys in a five-hole stretch on the back nine and settled for a 73.
Swafford was playing in just his second Masters and said being in the first group out was a bit unsettling.
"I was a little nervous, I'm not going to lie," he said. "Usually I don't have too many nerves on the first tee, but a little different here for sure. But hit a good one, so kind of got into my own early."
Langer keeps going
When Bernard Langer last played at Augusta National in November, he became the oldest player in history to make the cut at the age of 63, and he went on to finish tied for 29th in his 37th Masters appearance.
He distinguished himself again in Thursday's first round with a 74. At the time he finished, he was only five shots off the lead.
Langer's highlight was a birdie at the par-3 12th hole, hitting a marvelous tee shot to within 6 feet.
"The course is perfect as usual," he said. "In April it's a great time for the tournament to be here. The grass is growing in abundance, and they take great care of every detail. It's fun to be back in April. It's a better time of the year."
Langer still had to make some concessions to age. He hit a 5-iron into the par-3 sixth hole, while playing partner Will Zalatoris, nearly 40 years Langer's junior, hit 9-iron.
"He's four irons longer than the same hole," Langer said of Zalatoris, who shot 70 in his first Masters round. "It's just hard to imagine."
