Ridley’s Surprising Words, Champion Celebrations & a Masters Family Affair | Seen & Heard at Augusta

The lead-up to this year’s first major was full of excitement as our Seen & Heard crew scoured Augusta to uncover the best stories in golf.

From hole-in-ones at the Par 3 contest to a conversation with a beloved Augusta caddie, there’s plenty to dig your teeth into even if you didn’t get the invite to Jon Rahm’s Champions Dinner.
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we are at the center of the freaking party on Master’s week T-Bone Steakhouse this place is jam-packed from sun up to sun down there’re about 500 people in the parking lot just a few feet to my right right here who are drinking there’s a live music ripping the bar is open the booze is flowing and everyone is celebrating the very end of their Master’s Tuesday a cheers cheers happy Master’s week [Music] [Applause] cheers the balls.com Champions dinner we have just the finest in town really french fries and fried [Applause] [Music] trip [Music] how is it yeah that’ll do it [Music] yeah all right gang Tuesday night in the m ‘s house cheers a little Soro on the Rocks one big rock actually I want to know from each of you something that you are excited to learn more about before the tournament starts James Champions dinner was tonight I am so pumped to hear from everyone who is there about the outcome of it I think it was the best Masters champions dinner menu ever I’m obviously a little biased Chef was Andre was involved in the whole process of making it but I’m just pumped to hear more about it I think there’s a good chance that we learn something about the state of relations between the PJ tour guys and the live guys that we don’t know and that’s just interesting and it came out of a meal so that’s what uh that’s what Tois does to people Claire what do you got part three contest tomorrow favorite day of the Masters the Super Bowl within your Super Bowl yeah the halftime show it’s just a breath of fresh air before things get really serious but I love seeing like an army of children running down the Fairway it’s golfers are always very in control and it kind of humanizes them when there’s like Toddlers and they just like can’t control it on Augustus ground so I’m very excited about that definitely hoping for a Frankie Fleetwood sighting Sean what do you got uh something a little more serious uh Fred Ridley’s press conference the annual speaker of the house that is Augusta National finally gets to speak again answer questions from the press that are often a little bit thornier than uh most weeks out on the PGA tour so what does Fred have to say what does Augusta National have to say that has my interest and then I’ll go with something out of everybody’s control even Augusta Nationals and that’s the weather because right now Augusta is playing perfect it’s firm it’s fast it’s difficult everyone says that’s just how they want it but Thursday day one we’ve got thunderstorms in the forecast could throw a wrench in everybody’s plans before what looks like a perfect hot steamy weekend so that’s that’s where my focus is going to be guys Cheers Cheers still late you’re still late oh shoot we can we can give Dylan a little Edge oh yeah I guess he’s sitting shock in as well ah early bird gets the worm guys you want to take the tags off your shoes I was thinking about it but I didn’t want to hold up the group really oh you didn’t want you want the lowkey kicks today huh yeah what do you think they’re pretty bad they’re really muted pretty bad but I’m kind of intrigued by them so just what no no no bones this week no bones make no bones about it Justin Thomas has a new caddy and his name is Matt rev as in the Reverend Minister from Augusta Georgia D in the chair [Music] we are here at the patch Augusta Municipal Golf Course Augusta National is going to close down this course for a year and fix it up and spify it I hope they make it better but and we’re here specifically today because we’re talking to an oldtime Augusta National caddy Robert cigarette Jones one of the guys who worked on the golf course as an architect was Robert Trent Jones the guy who founded the course was Robert Jones this man’s name is Robert Jones he was given the name cigarette by his buddies he doesn’t smoke anymore but he CED Augusta National he worked at Augusta National he played a lot of golf here at the patch played a lot of golf he CED on tour he CED for Bobby Cole Bobby Cole son Eric hole is in the tournament this week you know he represents not represents he is a member of the sort of greatest generation of Augusta National caddies sort of helped create and make Augusta National what is it is not like this any normal day here with all this pling activity what’s the definition of Amen Corner well the guys you get on the come in the card and they tell how they Man play till they got to the corner till they got to the corner they got say what you praying when you got R there play we can play e PA or B cuz some going catch you around in there that corner if you play 11 12 13 in an even you play good golf you play some hell of golf am in corner the name itself does it come from a song or something oh no I just think the K somebody need writers try to change it up okay but it actually you know writers are come around and listen at the C’s talk and it’s just say hey man how y’all do coming through the con you know okay did you say Amen if you had something to brag about you say okay yeah but you didn’t so the caddies came up with it yeah C I’ll be 84 next month okay golf you meet so many people you go be 90% of your people going to be good people that’s in gol so you met Bobby Jones you met Clifford Roberts what was he like oh I’m tell you he was a he was he was I I just like his style yeah yeah he didn’t laugh much when you when you laugh you know everything work for it uhhuh and uh and you met President Eisenhower yeah what was he like oh he was cool I like to hear him cuss uh-huh when he they tow down they they didn’t put another tree down 17 what cuz he couldn’t go through 17 it was a pine tree up there and every time he hit that pine tree it sound like thumbn going across the golf he was loud you could hear him what what what would he say when he hit that when that ball hit the tree what what would what would president is say God damn it God damn it Fred Ridley is just kind of wrapping of his comments um more like head-on approach than I think I would have expected I’ve said in the past and I hope that I hope we will not play the Masters at 8,000 yards but that is likely to happen in the not too distant future under current standards accordingly we support support the decisions that have been made by the RNA and the USGA as they have addressed the impact of distance at all levels of the game he talked about Live players and their access to the tournament how he thinks that the world ranking system is still legitimate but that he appreciates the Masters as an Invitational has this flexibility to give special invitations like they did to walk and Neeman this year also talk pretty directly about yeah live withdrew their app for owgr points essentially like Liv is forging their own path yeah they’ve been given this feedback of what they would need to do to change they’re not interested in changing and you know it sounds like he’s open to Live players being Incorporated going forward um but he also said pretty clearly he wishes the best players in the world played together more often so you know I mean it’s not exactly like the most riveting television but for golf nerds and and people that are thinking about oh where is austa where does Augusta stand I would say he’s making his positions clear even if they’re still sitting on the fence a little bit all right austa institution uh The Waffle House Neil Shipley is about to get ready for the masters with what waffle some eggs yeah Allstar special piece so all right let’s get some breakfast how you feeling I mean this is like we’re now 24 hourss out feel good I mean feel comfortable on property golf thingss in good shape and just uh enjoy it you know I’m in the position as an Amer where you know I don’t know if this will be my last Masters and so I just want to you know take it all in and you know just have have a lot of fun with it do you have scores or numbers in mind or is it just sort of generally play well and feel good about yeah I mean the effort you put up my big goal for the week is just to commits every golf shot and just make sure that over every shot I’m committed to what I’m doing and I think if I can do that the scores will come with it um especially with where my game’s at currently yeah got half the toast plus one these in half yep here and then P the eggs on it I got to um just fold it up real good y a little breakfast sandwich and you’re done it’s like a little taco that’s why I go scrambled eggs out here I usually like go for easy more but this is your final system I’m I’m I’m good a little bit more feeling tired this morning oh wow we can’t TI there on that are you staying in the fro I stayed on Monday night uh but I haven’t not going to stay past that I it was really cool experience very intimate setting I’d say it’s very you’re kind of right on top of each other and once one of the guys wakes up everybody wakes up one of those types of deals but it’s uh you know it’s it’s just really cool and the best part about is just getting to hang out with Christo and Jasper and just like talk shop for when we were up there and watch a national championship and talking shot for a few hours it was really fun so there a little living space obviously with the TV and yeah one of the smallest TV you’ll ever see too I mean it’s probably 20 in we kind of really huddled over it to see the game it’s h no it’s cool though and it’s uh yeah super but like super comfortable living area I know Christo probably couldn’t have taken a shower in the shower they have there he’s I mean I think that thing came up to my shoulders so he would have been it would have been at his chest I I was just going to he’s 68 right yeah he he had to duck under some of the uh some of the wooden supports in there you know he’s getting kind of close but he uh uh I think they took the the footboard off his bed so he could just hang his feet over it so they think of everything up there that’s fun Body by Waffle House I hope that makes the cut that was that might be a Waffle House ad by the end of the week yeah bre Breakfast of Champions right [Music] here [Music] Frankie Fleetwood obviously has been the heart and soul of this thing for a few years now but he kind of has you know you get to that age where your personality starts to show a little bit and he was like walking in putts fist pumping he would go like this and then walk in I think he liked getting the crowd engaged a little bit loved watching the homas I loved watching John ROM they played last year and this year with the fenale so it’s just again like an army of these people coming it was really really wholesome to see these guys kind of their softer side before like the biggest competition of the [Music] Year part of me is like it’s my favorite day of the year but I almost start to get a little sad on Wednesday night because my favorite part of the week is over and now it’s like the second act of Master’s week is about to begin