Alec Bard speaks with Brian Tripp about one of his two favorite Masters Memories when he caddied for his brother, Derek, for the 2016 tournament.
Members of the 2019-20 Penn State men's golf team shared their favorite moments watching The Masters. The 84th edition of The Masters was set to begin on Thursday, April 9.
2017 | Sergio Garcia
I remember watching it after team qualifying with my teammates. Seeing Rose and Garcia go back and forth was darn exciting. I was rooting for Rose as he was playing through injury, but it was cool to final see Sergio get one.
Alec Bard | Senior | New Hartford, N.Y.
2019 | Tiger Woods
Seeing him come back from all that he has been through and win a major again is remarkable. The shot he hit on 16 last year to three feet to basically seal the deal was unbelievable. I remember watching it after finishing the final round of the Rutherford last year.
Hunter Bruce | Junior | McMurray, Pa.
2012 | Bubba Watson
He was trailing the leaders all day and made four birdies in his last six holes to force a playoff. Then hit one of the best shots I've seen to win the playoff
Lukas Clark | Junior | Holland, Pa.
2012 | Bubba Watson
Watching him in the playoff hit a massive hook shot from the pine straw in and around the trees on #10 was pretty incredible.
Ryan Davis | Senior | Berkeley Heights, N.J.
1991 | Ian Woosnam
I hadn't known about him until I was a sophomore. I was having a terrible season, and, among other things, I blamed it on being too short (in height). I already knew I was too small for any other sport but for a while I even thought I was too small for golf until I heard about 5-4 European Ian Woosnam. From then on I never looked at what I lacked, but rather what I already had and how I could become even better.
Ryan Lee | Sophomore | Norwood, N.J.
2005 | Tiger Woods
Tiger chipping in on 16 at Augusta in 2005. Still such a vivid memory of sitting next to my dad on the couch and us both jumping up in total disbelief and celebration when he chipped in.
James McHugh | Junior | Rye, N.Y.
1997 | Tiger Woods
Tiger showed his dominance at only 21 years old. He won by 12 strokes over Tom Kite. He shot 18-under for the tournament and beat Jack Nicklaus' record of 17-under for the tournament. It was his fourth victory and would lead to his dominant stretch from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
Jimmy Meyers | Freshman | Wexford, Pa.
Phil Mickelson | 2010
It was the first Masters I watched on TV and Phil was my favorite player so I was pulling for him hard. He hit one of the best shots in Masters history out of the pine straw on 13 and I just remembered being so amazed by that shot. He ended up winning by three shots in the end.
Lou Olsakovsky | Junior | Upper St. Clair, Pa.
2017 | Sergio Garcia
Sergio was down one stroke to Justin Rose as they got to the 15th hole. Sergio preceded to hit the pin on his second shot and then followed it up by making the eagle putt to tie Rose. The then went on to win a playoff on the first hole. It was very emotional for him because it was not only his first major championship, but it also would have been his idol Seve Ballesteros' 60th birthday.
Patrick Sheehan | Freshman | Doylestown, Pa.
2011 | Charl Schwartzel
He birdied his last four holes to win by two. Rory had the 54-hole lead and collapsed in the final round leaving the door open for many. Eight players shared the lead on Sunday including Tiger, Jason Day, and Adam Scott, but Charl's final holes sealed the deal.
Ben Smith | Freshman | Blain, Pa.
1997 | Tiger Woods
Tiger had a putt, but he had his back to the hole, aiming 90 degrees away from the cup on a 30+ footer, and I asked my dad 'What is he doing?' He simply replied 'Just watch!' I'd never seen a putt with that much break and speed. I was hooked. It certainly helped that Tiger was this new phenom, a soon-to-be cultural icon and would change the game as we knew it. that weekend, I sat on the edge of my seat hoping he would break the Masters scoring record. He did, and my dream of being a professional golfer was born.
Assistant Coach T.J. Howe '10
1986 | Jack Nicklaus
Jack's incredible comeback win at age 46, Probably the best three hours of sports drama I can remember in my life. his son, JACK Jr., was caddying for Him. On the par 3 #16, after much build up by THE announcers, Jack strikes the shot. YOU couldn't hear this on broadcast, but it went like this, Jack's Son says 'be right,' and Jack said softly 'it is,' – it was!
Coach Greg Nye
