The Augusta National has this Thursday among its famous patrons, a term used only at the Masters to refer to fans, one of genuine distinction. A legend. It’s Rafa Nadal.
The former Manacor tennis player (you can see how hard it still is to write ‘former’), winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, has travelled to the United States to enjoy golf, his other great passion, and at one of the most imposing venues
Nadal was at the Masters for the first time this Thursday, though not at Augusta, as he had already played the course a few months ago at the invitation of Ana Patricia Botín, chair of Banco Santander and a member of Augusta National. In fact, Botín is acting as his host for his first outing at the Masters
Nadal has been following Rory McIlroy‘s match, with whom he has a close relationship. At the moment there are no images of Rafa, basically because only accredited media may carry a camera and take photos. For his Masters debut he chose a classic outfit. He wore a navy Augusta National cap, a white and blue polo, navy trousers and white shoes. Golf ones, of course
After McIlroy’s round finished, Nadal spent a few minutes in the shade of the impressive oak that guards the entrance to the Augusta clubhouse. There he greeted many members of Augusta National, who approached him with absolute admiration. Many of them told him the same thing: “you’re a real example and a role model to me.”
Rafa was kind enough to greet Ten Golf and have a brief conversation about his experience. He is staying until Monday, so he will be at Augusta every day of the competition. Although he followed Rory, he was very interested in what the Spanish players were doing. In fact, the first thing he asked was how Sergio García and Jon Rahm were doing. But of course there are no mobile phones and there is no way of knowing the results. He shrugged and wished Jon a recovery on the back nine
During the brief exchange with Ten Golf, Rafa said he had seen Rory McIlroy looking very solid. “I understand that last year’s victory has been of great help, he has taken a weight off his shoulders, perhaps the best word to describe it is that he has shed anxiety, that need to win that he had,” the Mallorcan explained. Let’s recall that a few months ago he admitted in an interview with CNN that he cried last year watching on TV McIlroy’s victory at the Masters and his conquest of the Career Grand Slam.
