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Posted April 13, 2013, 3:52 pm
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Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters

  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    David Hayes (left) and Tommy Gill talk about bunker placement on the fifth green during the third round of the 2013 Masters Tournament.
  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    Tommy Gill (left) watches the action on the fifth green during the third round of the 2013 Masters Tournament.
  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    Tommy Gill stands in front of the main scoreboard during the third round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    Tommy Gill keeps a photo from the first Masters he attended 50 years ago.
  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    Greg Hylton (from left), Tommy Gill and David Hayes stand in front of the main scoreboard at Augusta National Golf Club during the third round.
  • Article Photos
    Patron celebrates 50th anniversary of first trip to Masters
    Photos description
    Gill met Jack Nicklaus at the 1963 Masters, which he won.

Six weeks shy of his ninth birthday, Tommy Gill received an early birthday present at the 1963 Masters Tournament.

He met Jack Nicklaus at the ninth green of the Par-3 Course the same year Nick­laus won the first of his six Mas­ters. Gill still gets goose
bumps thinking about that moment.
“I instantly became a Jack Nick­laus fan,” Gill said.

Now a lawyer in San Fran­­­­­­cisco, Gill returned to Au­gus­ta Na­tional Golf Club on Saturday to mark 50 years since his first Masters visit.

“I had to try to temper my excitement,” Gill said with a smile. “I have a special love for this place.”

“I haven’t done many things for 50 years. Playing golf is one of them,” he said.

Gill lived in Augusta from 1962 to 1965 when his father was the first plant manager for Procter & Gamble’s Au­gusta facility.

At age 8, he played his first round of golf at Augusta Country Club.

Saturday’s round marked Gill’s 13th trip to the Masters, with each carrying a memorable moment.

On April 6, 1966, Gill appeared in a photograph in the sports section of The Augusta Chronicle. Holding an egg salad sandwich in his left hand, he stood along the ropes watching golf legend Sam Snead play from the trees during Tuesday’s practice round.

Gill carried a copy of the photo with him Saturday, along with a series badge from his 1966 Masters visit. The four-day badge cost $15.

Gill planned to show his favorite spots on the course to friends attending their first Masters. The hillside near the 16th green and the No. 6 tee tops the list of his favorite places,
closely followed by the fifth green.

“If I don’t ever come back again, I would have come 13 times more than most people,” he said.