The Battle for Augusta: Young vs. Old

It’s turning out to be another exciting year at the Masters. Last year at Augusta it was youngster Rory McIlroy who took the lead late into the tournament, but this year its seasoned veteran Fred Couples who is taking charge of the pack. Through two days of play, Couples is at the top of the board and is not showing signs of slowing down – shooting a 72 on day one and a 67 yesterday in Round 2.

Golf is one of the few competitive sports that can be won by newcomers and old-timers alike. Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters, winning his first green jacket at the age of 22 in 1997. Jack Nicklaus is the oldest golfer to ever win The Masters, winning the tournament in 1986 at the age of 46…… 46! What other major sporting event can be won by a 46 year old? You don’t see NFL quarterbacks winning Super Bowls at 46, and you sure don’t see 46 year old professional basketball players leading their teams to the NBA Finals.

If Fred Couples were to win The Masters this year, he would break Jack’s record of oldest person to win a green jacket – Couples is 52 this year and already has one green jacket of his own. He won The Masters back in April of 1992. Let’s take a minute to put that into perspective: in 1992 Rory McIlroy was 2 years old. It’s amazing that 20 years later these two are competing against each other in this year’s Masters; both Couples and McIlroy are in the hunt heading into the final two days at Augusta.

One of the things that make golf so great is the competition of the young versus the old. There is great respect and tough competitive mindset shared between the generations. Masters Week was kicked off with the Par 3 Competition where both the current pro’s and old-timers compete, and on Thursday, the first round was opened with honorary tee shots by three of the all-time greats: Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player.

The game of golf has something that no other game has or probably ever will: The great competition of the young and the old.