Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Starting Thursday morning, more than 100 professional players, two college kids, a young Brit and a 35-year-old homebuilder from a quiet New Hampshire town will tee off in the Masters.
So did Austin Eaton III, one of the 4,116 residents of New London, N.H., just unwrap the right candy bar or twist off a lucky soda cap?
No, Eaton III earned his big shot in the Masters on talent, winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship last fall. He is a guest of Bobby Jones and of history at Augusta National, driving down Magnolia Lane to stay in the fabled Crow's Nest in the clubhouse and living golf's grand experience with a group of 15 of his family and friends.
"It's been so much fun," Eaton III said. "A couple of them have never been to a golf tournament. A couple of them have never played golf. I went out to dinner with a couple of them last night and I looked at one of them and I said, 'You -- behave yourself.'"
If a rowdy supporter is Eaton's biggest worry this week, he must have brought some perspective in his bag. If he hangs with the pros, that's fine.
And if he doesn't, that's fine too.
"I'm going to make sure I enjoy it," Eaton III said. "I'm not going to go about it with a frown on my face and think about it as business. I'm going to think about it as a great time, great fun and I'll play hard."
The guy who earns his way here with a national amateur title does so out of the reverence that the members of Augusta National Golf Club have for Jones, the tournament co-founder and course co-designer.
A champion among amateurs at a time when they were as good as anyone who advocated for them throughout his life, Jones sought to protect the place of the amateur in the Masters. Though only the winners of the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links, U.S. Mid-Amateur and British Amateur traditionally earn invitations now, as many as 26 amateurs have played in a single Masters tournament.
The Mid-Amateur, created by the United States Golf Association in 1981, is golf's fantasy camp. Created to offer a national championship to good players who moved on from competitive golf to carpools and school plays, the Mid-Amateur is limited to amateurs with a handicap of 3.4 or better who are at least 25 years old.
It is not a place for weekend duffers and Eaton III is not one. A former New Hampshire state amateur champion, he has traveled across the country and to Europe to play competitive golf.
To win the Mid-Amateur, Eaton III survived a 36-hole final match in which he blew a 4-up lead before coming back to win on the last hole, knowing that the backyard dream of a regular guy getting into the Masters had something to do with both the fall and the rise.
"I had to back off a couple of times and realize, you can't be thinking about playing in the Masters yet," Eaton III said. "You have to think about this shot that's in front of you."
The shot now in front of Eaton III is to make an impression at the Masters, or maybe just to make an impression on himself. He traveled to Augusta to play a couple of practice rounds in the months before the tournament, but Eaton III found himself gawking like a tourist when the real thing began.
"The guys who hit these amazing golf shots out here, I hope I can do a lot of that," Eaton III said. "These greens and this golf course certainly makes it awfully difficult."
Reality hit hard Monday as he played a practice round with David Toms, a day after pairing with John Daly at the big man's request. The greens were the talk of the day even for the pros, rolling as fast and feeling as firm as they do during tournament play.
So imagine what they look like to a former golf equipment rep who didn't get past the quarterfinals of his club championship last year.
"You hear about it and sure, I've putted plenty of fast greens," Eaton III said. "But these things are just -- they're wild. I love big-breaking putts and I love using my imagination putting. This is another step beyond that."
Helping Eaton III read the putts will be his father and business partner, Austin Jr., who wears the trademark white caddie jumpsuit this week in lieu of Pamela, his son's wife. As the person who started Eaton III in golf, Dad earned the nod over the woman who mentally keeps him going in the game.
"I never could believe we'd do this and he made it happen," Eaton Jr. said.
Eaton III may still make more happen. His beloved Red Sox won the World Series and it's rained on the Masters for seven consecutive years, so stranger things are out there. Just in case, he hit up Toms for some advice.
"Everybody's nervous, everybody wonders what the crowd thinks, everybody is looking for approval. It's just human nature, so expect to feel that way." Toms told Eaton III.
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