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Augusta is not Wimbledon, but it is not far behind in terms of its taste for traditions and the color white. As in the All England Club tennis players must wear white clothes, in the National it is the caddies who must stick to that color. And not in a partial or hidden way, but stuffed into a jumpsuit that matches them all during the week and allows uniformity to be a constant in the Masters.
Since the norm was established in the 50s that the attendees should all be with the same model, this has been one of the classic rules of the tournament. And the protagonists do not mind following them once a year.
“I like it a lot, because it’s something different and it makes you feel like you’re in a special tournament,” he says. Glenn Murray, Sergio García’s assistant for two decades. “I have only missed one edition since 1996 and I missed it so much. The atmosphere we have here in the caddy area is great and, furthermore, you know that every day you will have your clothes ready and clean”, jokes the South African.
The routine for them is simple and does not change from year to year. “We arrive at the work area and pick up our credential, which together with the bracelet we have allows us to enter various areas,” he explains. Emilio Pereira, who accompanies José Mari Olazábal. “In principle you can move around the field with that pass, but since we always have to go dressed in white and with the cap on, in the end we usually stay in our area.” And it’s an ideal environment for them, as well-paid, skilled workers of the 21st century, a far cry from the bag-carriers who carried the sticks in the first 46 years of the Masters. At that time it was always the same black professionals who were assigned to the participants in the Masters. Until forty springs ago everyone was allowed to bring their fellow sufferer. «For me, Jon is like a brother; we work together every week of the year and it would be very strange for me to leave it in the first big of the year, ”says Adam Hayes, Rahm’s squire.
Precisely because of this personal relationship, there are many players who choose to spend time together here as well, without heeding the restrictions of the different areas typical of an event of this magnitude. «The close relationship with the players and other caddies is in the food area, which is not very big, but where many golfers come who prefer to be with us. As it is the only point where you get together, we had a good time there, “concludes Pereira.
As for the daily dynamics, the most veterans have more than assumed it. «When you arrive in Augusta you register in the caddy area, they give you a couple of documents to sign about the internal rules that you have to comply with and then they give you the course book, the cap, you try on the jumpsuit to see the size and from there they prepare it for you every day”, he explains Pello Iguaran, who has already won the British Open with Francesco Molinari. “Then you have to return everything and you can only take the book and the green cap,” concludes the Basque, although Murray has a special memory. «When you win they let you take the monkey; I have mine from Sergio from 2017 », he smiles proudly.
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