He missed the Masters cut. Saturday, we drank beers and bet at 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Did Dwyane Wade watch his uncle?

Of course it is, Brent Holtz told his son, Bryson.

Should he say something?

Of course you should, said Brent.

Then he did so.

“Yeah, so he went up to Dwyane Wade,” Brent said, “and he said, ‘Thanks for coming out to see my uncle play in the Masters.'”

What a collection of words. What a week. Bryson’s uncle, Brandon Holtz, played the Masters, shooting 81 in the first round on Thursday and 78 in the second round on Friday. And people came out to watch at Augusta National, just as Holtz used to do, late last year, with the badges his father won 22 years ago.

But what about Saturday?

Will the 39-year-old family man and real estate agent, who once played Division I college basketball and mini-tour pro golf before winning last year’s US Mid-Am, bounce back after missing the scale? He can change his golf pants into shorts and walk among the shoppers, albeit as an outsider is played what will they watch? Can he go back to the way he did the Masters, including proudly betting from just behind the green on the 3rd 6th, when the losers walk to the concessions and get themselves beers? Holtz and his wife, Liz, had promised they would. You send a text. The thought was that if you believe it is rare for a fan to play the Masters, then coming back to be a sponsor at the same tournament is like getting weed at the ANGC.

Returning the text of Holtzes.

Of course it is.

See you at 6 green at 11.

Bring money.

“WHO GOT IT?! WHO GOT HIM?! SERGIO? MCNEALY? SERGIO? MCNEALY? WHO’S GOING IN?” You get about 6 Holtz team members. Brandon and Liz. His brother, Brent. Other family members. Friends from high school and college. Members of his team back in Bloomington, Ill. Others come later. All tickets have been received. They all went in with a bet. Sergio Garcia hits first on the 180-yard par-3, then Maverick McNealy. He chooses McNealy. Holtz takes Garcia. You are defeated. Garcia is close. The gang wants a beer, though not before Holtz sees former NBA star Richard Hamilton, who goes up to him and thanks him for his alma mater, the University of Connecticut, beating the University of Illinois in the college basketball Final Four, as Illinois is not favored by Holtz’s school, Illinois State University.

You, of course, didn’t play 6, and neither did Brandon. How did that go? It depends on the day. On Thursday and Friday, he made a difference. He says you can’t go long, and he didn’t. But you also shouldn’t be beaten well. During a practice session Monday, Holtz’s tee shot went through the trees and over the water to the left of the 16th green. Tommy Fleetwood, Holtz’s playing partner, begged him to hit it, but Holtz begged him not to. Helluva story. And just taking down the fourth ranked golfer in the world like he’s Tommy from down the road.

“It’s funny that we sit here and say Tommy, like they’re my best friends,” Holtz said. “I was like that, Tommy, playing with Jordan [Spieth]. I call him Tommy. I call him Bhubha [Watson].

“These guys are the best players in the world and I always call them by their names.

What about football?

“Oh, no,” Holtz said. “I wouldn’t get that.”

You, the sponsor, have a lot of sponsor questions as you drink your Crow’s Nest wheat beer. The biggest surprise of all? Speed ​​- on interesting roads, around greens, on greens. And the idea that a 160-yard shot is a 160-yard shot; “If you hit it at 161 or 159, you’re in trouble,” Holtz said. Well, he was kidding, he said he wanted more. His scariest moment? Sequence 4 7 Thursday. He was short and fair after two shots. The third went 50 yards and into the green, but “I needed to hit 52.” From there, he had the option of hitting his ball about 50 feet to the right of the hole. He discussed it with his father, Jeff, whom he considered his friend. “When you look at that green, you’re actually putting up a hill,” Holtz said. “Then after that hill, it went straight down the mountain.

“6 is easy, I guess. But if I tried to follow you, 7 would be hard, wouldn’t it?”

What he and others will never forget came on the 5th 15th.

But who others?

Those were the patrons sitting near the green on the right side. Holtz was there at 2. He had 35 yards to go. He was at a high point, and the raw food returned to the bottom of the lake. Holtz spoke to his father again.

“These guys were dying laughing,” Holtz said.

“Because I’m passing by, I can say, dad, I’m putting it in, I like the hook? perfect shot.”

“I hit the perfect shot.”

A bird.

The other team comes to the 6th tee.

Placed another bet.

“BRIDGEMAN OR RAI? I’LL TAKE BRIDGEMAN. YOU LIKE RAI? RAI. CAN’T HIT A GUY WEARING TWO GLOVES. WAIT, WHO’S ON THE TEE? BRIDGEMAN. OK, READY.” Aaron Rai is closer than Jacob Bridgeman. You win this one. But he buys everyone beers in his own time, even though he gets the feeling Holtz won’t be paying much on Saturday.

There are several interactions between sponsors and manager-player-sponsors as well. Near the concession stand, Mason Howell, winner of the US Amateur who also played in the first two rounds, stops to speak. Near the fairway to the right of the seventh fairway, a man taps him on the shoulder, says he went to high school with him and says he and his wife have been watching him since last September, when he earned the Masters by winning the Mid-Am. A volunteer at 7 missed him from Thursday and Friday, too. “I was his favorite golfer,” Holtz joked. Then comes another volunteer claiming to be an agent at State Farm, which sponsored Holtz.

Holtz looks over and sees Adam Scott and Sam Stevens walking by. He was only a few hours removed from that place. He still has another story. Three kids were standing right off the tee on the 16th on Friday, and yelling at Holtz’s playing partners: Watson, a two-time Masters winner, and Nico Echavarria. They asked for the ball. Holtz said maybe.

“And that’s where we started talking, right?” Holtz said. “So we all hit our shots. And the kid comes up to me after Bubba’s hit, he comes up to me and says, ‘Play rock, paper, scissors to get the ball.’ I say, ‘That’s not good for you, though.’ He says, ‘Why?’ I say, ‘Because I never lose rock paper scissors.’

“So we all hit our shots, and I’m like, okay, I caught three balls. So I go down there and I’m playing rock, paper, scissors. And I’m walking, and as I’m walking, I’m throwing three balls behind me.

“And the crowd went crazy. So, just seconds like that, an experience like that, you just remember it for the rest of your life. It made those kids’ days. It made my day.”

At this point, you’re standing in line with Liz. He watched him on Thursday and Friday, after watching him for 10-plus years at the Masters. How was that? There are layers to that, she said. He knew the days were coming. He had helped with the arrangements. And there Brandon was just there, also at the Masters, though sometimes hundreds of yards away.

“I don’t know if I did that because I’m walking as a defender and I’m like, ‘Oh, where would B go?'” he said.

“And I look out in the field and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s out there with Bubba.’

There is about half a cup of beer left.

AT THE RIGHT OF THE SECOND PLAY, THE FAMILY OF THE AUGUSTA NATIONAL MEMBER MEET THE HOLTZES. They have been following Brandon’s story all week. You don’t hear that you missed the square; instead, they told him that he was listed as one of their favorite invitations. They tell him to forget to go back to the member’s store, and when Brandon says he still has it, they tell him to go back again.

On Friday, everyone went to bed at 2 am, and Brandon and Liz were up at 5 am. He’s considered some cycles, but he won’t be fully asleep for a while. You have sent a message to other people. On Saturday, they drove friends and family to class, checked in, and planned to stay all day. They also left her 6-year-old son, Baker, and her two-year-old daughter, Millie, in daycare. Earlier in the week, they were part of a gang during the Par-3 Tournament. Maybe they’re too young to be surprised by dad or Dwyane Wade, and you want to know what they did during the week.

“Well, Baker put pressure on me, my son, he’s like, ‘Dad, can we do that again?'” Holtz said. “I’d be like, ‘Oh, s—, OK.’ So, yes, they love it. Millie, I mean, she’s 2, she doesn’t really know what’s going on, but she really loved it, and then we had a little breakdown. He gave it to his aunt and cousin, they went to get him a snack and he said goodbye. She is a big girl who eats delicious food. And then we met him again at 9, and I just looked at him, and I’m like, ‘We’re here.”

“And I have Jason Day back there, you know, filming it. And I’m like, ‘What’s going on? Jason Day is filming my wife and my son hitting golf balls. Like, who am I? What is this?”

Here, he let Brandon go. You have revealed enough. He left.

Around his neck is the inscription: “Player.”

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