Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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A year ago, four days before Tiger Woods won his fifth green jacket at The Masters, Brandon McManus had his own moment in the spotlight at Augusta National. The Broncos' kicker caddied for former Masters champion Zach Johnson during the annual Par 3 competition, and Johnson let McManus play the ninth hole during the Wednesday event.
As this year's iteration of The Masters begins, we spoke with McManus about how he got the opportunity to caddy for Johnson, what the rest of his trip to Augusta National was like, his thoughts about this year's tournament and more.
Aric DiLalla: How did you end up caddying for Zach Johnson in the Par 3 competition?
Brandon McManus: "My mom used to watch "The Bachelor" all the time, and I continue to watch it with my wife now. Ben Higgins, who is a Denver resident, was the Bachelor. I met him a couple times in Denver and became pretty good friends with him, and he knew Zach personally. So that's kind of how it started initially. He said, 'Hey, I do this event with Zach Johnson in Iowa.' We had Casey Kreiter on the team at the time too, and Zach Johnson's a big Iowa football fanatic … growing up there just outside Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"Ben said, 'Hey, I'm going to his charity golf event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,' and I said, 'Well, I'd love to go. See if he'll have me.' He has a pro-golfer section and a celebrity section. … I went out there a couple of years ago and did that event, and that was really the first time I met Zach and we kind of built our relationship off of that and I always went back in years after that and continued to go back and support his foundation and the event.
"One year I said, 'Hey, it's a bucket list of mine and my dad's. I want to take him to the Masters to go down there to Augusta.' He said, 'I'll get you tickets, no problem.' I said, 'Sweet.' He was able to get me two tickets. I wanted to bring my brother-in-law too — he's a big golfer and played golf in high school — so I ended up buying an extra ticket for him online.
"About a week or two before we went down to the tournament, Zach reached out to me … and he asked me if I wanted to caddie in the Par 3 competition. I almost thought he was joking. He was dead serious, and it was a moment that I'll never forget. It was truly spectacular, even just being on those grounds, walking that course and having the opportunity to put on the white apron and walk inside the ropes with these tour players and these other caddies. It was an experience that I'll never forget, and it's definitely up there with winning the Super Bowl."
AD: You were able to hit a shot during the Par 3 tournament, right?
BM: "I hit the tee shot on the ninth tee box. The year before me, Jack Nicklaus' grandson had a hole in one on that hole. [Johnson] said, 'I'll let you hit a shot.' So we kind of talked about it on hole four or five. He asked if I wanted to do it, I said I'd love to. We were playing with Jimmy Walker and Billy Horschel on the Par 3 competition there. So he said, 'I'll let you hit Jimmy's club because he's taller than me.' So we came around to the ninth tee and Jimmy's caddy and Billy Horschel's caddy hit shots and I didn't want to ask, 'Hey Jimmy, can I hit your club?' And Zach didn't speak up at all, so I hit Zach's club. I needed to find an excuse somewhere. I don't know how far it was, maybe 120, 130 yards. It was over across the whole water, the ninth hole. And there's a bank with all the fans on the hill just behind the green. I was like, 'Man, I hit this really far.' I was nervous and all of a sudden you see the crowd starting to stand behind the green, because they saw it started to come at them, but it landed right at their feet just off the green, just to the left side. Zach ended up letting me play the whole hole. It was an amazing experience."
AD: How did the nerves compare to kicking a 50-plus yard field goal?
BM: "Not the tee shot. When I get on the green it is. For some reason, I cannot figure out putting. I haven't mastered [it] yet, and every time I step over putts, not even just there — every time I'm putting at my local course in a normal match, a three-foot putt is much more nerve-wracking than any 50-yarder in the Super Bowl for me. Hitting the tee shot on the ninth tee box into the green, I wasn't really nervous. I was just super excited. What a dream come true to be able to do this. It was amazing."