Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters

Six weeks shy of his ninth birthday, Tommy Gill received an early birthday present at the 1963 Masters Tournament.

He met Jack Nicklaus at the ninth green of the Par-3 Course the same year Nick­laus won the first of his six Mas­ters. Gill still gets goose
bumps thinking about that moment.
“I instantly became a Jack Nick­laus fan,” Gill said.

Now a lawyer in San Fran­­­­­­cisco, Gill returned to Au­gus­ta Na­tional Golf Club on Saturday to mark 50 years since his first Masters visit.

“I had to try to temper my excitement,” Gill said with a smile. “I have a special love for this place.”

“I haven’t done many things for 50 years. Playing golf is one of them,” he said.

Gill lived in Augusta from 1962 to 1965 when his father was the first plant manager for Procter & Gamble’s Au­gusta facility.

At age 8, he played his first round of golf at Augusta Country Club.

Saturday’s round marked Gill’s 13th trip to the Masters, with each carrying a memorable moment.

On April 6, 1966, Gill appeared in a photograph in the sports section of The Augusta Chronicle. Holding an egg salad sandwich in his left hand, he stood along the ropes watching golf legend Sam Snead play from the trees during Tuesday’s practice round.

Gill carried a copy of the photo with him Saturday, along with a series badge from his 1966 Masters visit. The four-day badge cost $15.

Gill planned to show his favorite spots on the course to friends attending their first Masters. The hillside near the 16th green and the No. 6 tee tops the list of his favorite places,
closely followed by the fifth green.

“If I don’t ever come back again, I would have come 13 times more than most people,” he said.