Ticket winner has mind on pregnant wife

Jay Ross hit the jackpot in June when he won Saturday-round Masters tickets in the tournament’s annual lottery.

A month later, his wife of four years told him she was pregnant with their first child.

The only problem was she was due the week after the Mas­ters ended. On Saturday, she couldn’t be reached by phone when Ross, a Warner Robins, Ga., native, arrived at the gates to Au­gusta National about 8 a.m.

“I couldn’t get in touch with her, and cellphones aren’t allowed on club grounds,” said Ross, 30, as he watched Rory McIlroy tee off about 10:15 a.m. “All I could do was leave a message telling her that I love her and plan to check my phone every few hours to see if she went into labor.”

Tournament patrons have had the chance to win practice-round tickets through a lottery since 1995, but it was not until 2012 that Augusta Na­tional added daily tournament tickets to the random selection.

Ross said he received an e-mail at work in June notifying him that he had won two tickets through the lottery.

He said the decision of whom he’d take came down to his wife, who declined, and two friends, one of whom took him to the practice rounds a few years ago.

The next day, the begging began, said Chuck Lee, Ross’ golfing partner and a close friend for 15 years.

“Take me,” Lee, 33, recalled telling Ross. “Who cares about that guy who took you to the practice rounds?”

Apparently, Lee’s case was strong.

Lee and Ross awoke at 5 a.m. to drive to Augusta, talking about the history, prestige and design of the course during their three-hour drive.

“We were like little kids giggling the whole way here,” Lee said.

Ross’ advice to Lee was to soak in the moment.

“The first time I came, I was looking around so much that I don’t remember much about the tournament,” he said. “I want Chuck to experience the true glory of the Masters.”