Tai readies to take Singapore where it's never been: The Masters

Nervous? Hiroshi Tai pauses. "No," he says quietly. But the golfer, a young man with poise who is heading for his first Masters, clarifies. "Probably on the first tee."

- Rohit Brijnath

It's still some weeks before the Masters commences at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10 and butterflies collect only on the eve of examination. Tai, a 23-year-old Georgia Tech student, living an easy car ride away from Augusta, has played on those manicured fairways but not during Masters week. Which is when the course turns into a competitive cathedral and brings everyone to their knees.

Nick Faldo, three-time Masters winner who was in Singapore a few weeks ago, suggested that what a first-time Masters player could do is "go in early" and get the aura stuff "over and done with". Fittingly Tai says he is going on the Sunday before and will spend Monday night in the Crow's Nest.

This quaintly named accommodation, which lies on the third floor of the Augusta clubhouse (one floor above the Champions Locker Room), is where amateurs are privileged enough to spend a night. Jack Nicklaus once snoozed there, so did Tiger Woods, and now comes Tai's turn. You don't just play the Masters, you soak it in.

Tai's life has altered since he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in May 2024. He made a modest appearance on Golf Central (the Golf Channel's news programme), played at the US Open (missed cut) and when we met in December at Sentosa Golf Club a camera stalked his every move. But then history always needs recording.