Jordan Spieth stood on the practice green and turned his head back and forth, paying close attention to the two men as they spoke. To his right: Ben Crenshaw. On his left: Tom Watson.
Spieth, a Masters rookie, hung on every word of this pair of past champions and Hall of Famers. “It was just great to watch those two kind of talk to each other, two of the game’s legends,” Spieth said.
Spieth is one of a record 24 players making their first Masters appearances this year, and all of them want to savor every step they take across Augusta National. They also possess enough firepower for one of them to become the first rookie to win a Green Jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller accomplished the feat in 1979.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Jimmy Walker, another prominent Masters rookie. “I’m here to play well and I’m here to have a chance. I want to win and I think everybody here wants to do that. So why couldn’t a rookie win again?”