It doesn’t get any better than Masters week.
That’s certainly the case when golf fans take some time to look back on the history of the iconic golf tournament. There’s so much lore from Augusta National Golf Club, yet somehow in 2024, fans of the Masters are still finding out more and more about everyone’s favorite major tournament.
Before we get too far, let’s lay out some groundwork. You don’t have to be in peak physical condition in order to play golf. It’s an everyman’s (and everywoman’s) game, meaning that anyone and everyone that wants to willingly frustrate themselves hitting a little white ball around can play the game.
Does being in shape help professional golfers play better? It certainly doesn’t hurt, though the legendary golfer John Daly is the perfect example of not being fit and playing good golf. As he once so eloquently put it, he never got injured in the prime of his playing days because “you can’t pull fat.”
Another example of a bigger guy who didn’t have an issue playing high level golf was Chris Patton. The South Carolina native was an unbelievable amateur golfer, even winning the 1989 U.S. Amateur, which earned him a spot in three major tournaments in 1990. When he teed it up at the Masters that year, he came in 39th place, and was honored with the title of “Low Amateur.”
Like every best performing amateur every year at Augusta National Golf Club, he was invited into the famous Butler Cabin after the final round to be recognized along with the tournament’s champion (which that year was Nick Faldo). He got his moment in the spotlight over 30 years ago, and now he’s getting a second moment to shine as social media has both discovered and fallen in love with him.
You’ll see why:
What a man right there. I’m talking about Patton on the right, though it cool to see a baby faced Jim Nantz as well.
You can probably imagine why everyone on social media has become enamored with Chris Patton. I mean, just look at him. That’s a man who took on Augusta National Golf Club for the very first time with only his raw athleticism, his mullet and his pencil-thin mustache, and he was crowned the “Low Amateur” of the tournament.
That’s worthy of celebrating, and it’s also worth a revisit from social media users in 2024:
I know for a fact this dude drank 36 busch lights after this interview and was barely buzzed https://t.co/vr4uhR6ZZb pic.twitter.com/1NTWuJEEeJ
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) April 10, 2024
Bowls in our league on Wednesday nights.
— Danny Cobb (@cobster300) April 10, 2024
Back when men were men.
— P.E. (@PEMulroe) April 10, 2024
22-year-old Chris Patton gives me the same feeling I get when I learned how old the cast of Cheers was at the start of the show https://t.co/eeDp9TUrZV
— ANTIFAldo (@ANTIFAldo) April 10, 2024
That’s peak male athleticism if I’ve ever seen it
— Quinn Eaton (@Q_Eaton24) April 10, 2024
I’ve got no clue who this guy is but it has been brought to my attention that he was the 1990 low amateur. I now am going down a rabbit hole trying to find everything there is to know about Chris Patton. pic.twitter.com/SJBLu5GxJt
— Canon Claycomb (@canonclaycomb) April 10, 2024
Here’s the full broadcast:
