This time of year must be particularly special for players such as Craig Stadler, with the 71-year-old celebrated for his victory at the 1982 Masters.
Craig Stadler was a force on the PGA Tour in the early 1980s, winning numerous times. But there is no question at all where his greatest victory came, with Stadler – known as the Walrus – winning at Augusta National 43 years ago.
Stadler’s victory came about after a playoff with Dan Pohl. With that, he was able to earn a spot in one of the most exclusive clubs in golf.
There are few traditions in the sport quite like the Champions Dinner at Augusta. Certainly, for those of us who will never get to experience the feeling of hitting a shot on the hallowed turf, there are few things in the sport more intriguing than the meal hosted the week of the tournament for those who boast a green jacket.
Craig Stadler relives his experience of playing alongside Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at The Masters
It is a chance to sit alongside Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Gary Player and listen to their stories. Meanwhile, it is not hard to imagine Arnold Palmer holding court each year before he passed away in 2016.
And it seems that Stadler would have been one of those hanging off Palmer’s every word.
Speaking on Fairways of Life with Matt Adams, Stadler explained how his first two experiences of playing The Masters were particularly special because of the two legends he got to play alongside.
“I was always enamoured by Palmer. I loved the way he played and I loved the no laying up, no playing to the safe side very often with the second shots. I totally loved every element of his game. I just loved the guy. Fortunately after I won the amateur in 1973 the winner got two years at Augusta, so I played in 74 and 75,” he said.
“In 74 I got paired the first day with Nicklaus, which was a little nerve wracking. I walked out on the tee on the first hole on Thursday and he was at the table and just as I got to the table he turned around and I introduced myself. He goes ‘I know who you are’. [I was like] this guy knows who I am, no way.
“Protocol of the Masters is that the Masters champion tees off first, no matter what order it is, on the first tee. So he teed off and I teed off and we did that same rotation for 18 straight holes. I never cut him a hole. That was pretty special.
“Then the next year on Thursday I got paired with Palmer in the first round. We all became great friends and then reality kind of hit a couple of years later, when I was actually on tour and the first two years weren’t too fun.”
The dominance of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at The Masters
It will come as no surprise that Nicklaus and Palmer are amongst the most successful performers Augusta National has ever had, with 10 victories between them.
Only Tiger Woods separates the pair, with Nicklaus winning six and Palmer on four. No other player in history has won more than three times.
In fact, between 1960 and 1966, Nicklaus and Palmer won all but one of the events – with Gary Player interrupting the run in 1961.
The King won all four of his Masters crowns between 1958 and 1964, while Nicklaus won over a much longer period, with 23 years separating his first and last wins – obviously culminating in his triumph in 1986 at the age of 46.
Remarkably, Stadler was just four years of age when Palmer won for the first time, and had been a major champion for four years when Nicklaus got across the line nearly three decades later.
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