For most golfers, even professionals, the Masters is something admired from afar, and a mere to dream to participate in.
For Brian McElhinney, it is a tournament he watches with excitement like the rest of us, but one he can also look back on having played in 2006 – the year Phil Mickelson won his second Green Jacket at Augusta National.
Now a PGA Professional working at North West Golf Club in Donegal, McElhinney’s journey to Augusta was forged through an exceptional amateur career.
Among his achievements were victories in the North of Ireland Championship at Royal Portrush and the European Amateur Championship, but it was his triumph at the 2005 Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale that secured him an invitation to the Masters 20 years ago.
“It was always in the back of your mind when you’re playing in the final. Of course it was, but you couldn't get too caught up on it at the same time, for the reason being that to get there, you had to win the match. You had to keep your focus mainly on that.”
This granted McElhinney the chance to walk the hallowed turf of Augusta with game’s elite, the year after Tiger Woods won his fourth Masters title. In the years leading up to this, he also competed in The Open Championship at Troon in 2004 and St Andrews in 2005.
In a practice round ahead of event week, McElhinney quickly discovered the much-spoken-about pace of the greens down Magnolia Lane, which could even cause trouble for the most talented of putters.
“The memory I have from the 1st hole was I had a putt from about 20 or 30 feet, and I actually putted it off the green! I’m normally a fairly good putter. I remember the caddie saying, ‘Welcome to Augusta’, because we had to bring a local caddie out with us before the official practice days.
“It was probably a good thing, in a way, because it made you really appreciate what the greens can do to you. I putted well for the actual tournament itself. That was my first experience of the 1st green.”
Pictured: PGA Professional Brian McElhinney playing with Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley at Augusta National
Adding to the occasion, McElhinney was drawn alongside two major champions for the opening rounds: 2005 US Open winner Michael Campbell and two-time Masters champion and eight-time major-winning legend Tom Watson.
“It was a great draw to get to play with Tom Watson and the career he had. He was down to earth to play with as well. Playing with them was nice. He talked a lot about the fact that he loved getting over to Ireland to play, and he loved going to Ballybunion,” he said.
“He loved playing links golf, and I grew up playing links golf, so it worked out quite a nice draw. Michael Campbell was nice to play with as well. He had won the US Open the year before. He had maybe lost a wee bit of form, but he was still a nice personality to play with.”
McElhinney unfortunately didn’t make the cut, but by no means did this take away from an experience that the man from Donegal looks back on with great fondness.
“It was about getting the experience to play in the Masters. Obviously, you want to try and do as well as you could. You were trying to keep it respectable as much as possible. I was 9 over after 12 holes in the first round, not doing a massive amount wrong! I was fortunate enough in the end to birdie the 16th and finish 8-over for that round, and then the next day, I shot 3-over with a double bogey. It’s the kind of course that if you can keep your ball on the right side of the pin, you can get it around. When you're playing, you're just trying to keep the high numbers off the card.”
It was very much a week of brushing shoulders with icons of the game. As well as playing with Watson and Campbell, McElhinney also came face to face with a handful of major champions and prominent figures, who congratulated him for winning the British Amateur Championship the year before. After all, it was a great display from the Irishman, beating John Gallagher 5&4 in the final.
“I was on the putting green one day and Gary Player came over and congratulated me for winning the British Amateur and getting an opportunity to play in the Masters. I thought that was quite nice of him to acknowledge that.
“Butch Harmon did the same, and Adam Scott. When I was walking into the pro shop, they were coming out - the fact that they even knew me and knew who I was and acknowledged what I had done, it was really nice.”
One thing that stands out in McElhinney’s memory is playing the 12th hole, the famous par 3 over water where many Masters campaigns have been won and lost.
He had seen several players find the water short and below the putting surface, including his own playing partners.
“Playing the course, the thing that stands out was playing the 12th hole in the second round. The four guys in front of me all put it in the water, two of the guys in the group in front and then Michael and Tom both put it in the water.
“I was on the putting green one day and Gary Player came over and congratulated me for winning the British Amateur and getting an opportunity to play in the Masters. I thought that was quite nice of him to acknowledge that" - Brian McElhinney
“The wind swirls so much, there's just no room for error. It's not the kind of hole where you can just take a wee bit extra club and hit it over the green. There's just no room for error, so you have to get it right. That that was probably the thing that stood out. I had a nice shot just past the pin on the right-hand side. The birdie on the 16th was nice on the first day as well.”
Each April, McElhinney is able to watch the Masters through a completely different lens to the majority of us. Having treaded the famous fairways and tackled each treacherously difficult hole, he will always hold strong appreciation for the shot-making and quality required to navigate Augusta.
“You do look forward to it every year, because I think the fact that I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to play there, you can appreciate some of the shots that the pros are playing.
“For example, the 13th and the 15th are two par 5s. To hit those greens in two shots takes really good accuracy. It’s not as easy as they make it look when you watch them on the TV. I remember playing the practice round with Monty (Colin Montgomerie) on one of the days and on the 15th, he had a 3-wood.
“He had to hit it as well as he could, and he had it high and floaty and it landed in the middle of green and stopped. There's so little room for error. Whenever you see them hitting the shots into the holes like that, you really appreciate how good a shot it is. Knowing the course, you probably enjoy watching it that bit more.”
