Mailbag: 2026 Masters Storylines, Augusta National Memories, and More

Welcome back to the KVV Mailbag at Fried Egg Golf, the place where I will attempt to answer your smartest, your dumbest, your funniest, and your weirdest questions, whether they are golf-related or something else entirely. If you have a question you’d like to have answered in a future mailbag, please send it to kvv@thefriedegg.com. This month’s installment is sponsored by Golf Pride, which makes excellent grips that have been in my bag going on a decade. 

Maybe this is where you are starting, KVV, but "What are we going to talk about [this] year?" With Rory's victory a year in the rear view, what's top of your mind going into the 90th edition of the Masters? And I feel obligated to ask — a year removed, how does everything that was last year's tournament sit with you today? 

So many storylines in play! I am relieved we don’t have to revisit the Rory McIlroy thing for the 12th consecutive year. It makes this Masters feel fresh and new in some ways. The fact that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson aren’t here also contributes to that. I wish them well, but they’re not the story anymore, and I’m excited to move on. I’m really interested to see if Jon Rahm is ready to compete in majors again. He made some progress last year, but he’s playing even better coming into this major season. If Rahm wins a second green jacket, it will make the situation with the DP World Tour even more awkward with regard to his Ryder Cup standing. 

But I’m just as excited to see if Scottie Scheffler can win a third green jacket in five years, and I explored some of what shaped him in a long piece we published last week. Can Bryson DeChambeau show us something with his irons? Can Ludvig Aberg take the next step and win at a place that seems suited for him? So much juicy stuff is unfolding. As for last year, some of it feels a little surreal. Definitely one of the most memorable sporting events I’ve been lucky enough to see in person. Right up there with Jason Lezak at the 2008 Olympics.

Hey KVV, thank you for everything you do online. If you could change any holes in the routing at Augusta National, would you? Especially thinking about “Stinky Nandina.” What if it could be swapped with another par 4 like No. 3? Would that add more intrigue down the stretch, or just lead the leaders to hitting iron-wedge?

I spent like an hour thinking about this, trying to keep it tethered to reality somehow, and I don’t think anything is possible. The only scenario I could force myself to entertain would be to start the tournament on No. 3, then play the holes in order, and turn No. 2 into the finishing hole. You have to admit, that would be great theater, every player going for the green on the finishing hole. There is an opportunity for a huge amphitheater behind No. 2 green. It would be a little awkward to finish and have player walk all the way up the hill to sign their scorecards, but imagine the potential scenes! It also makes No. 1 the 17th hole, and that’s a great hole, even if it doesn’t yield a lot of birdies. It’s a silly mental exercise, but it’s the only one I can conjure without just inventing new holes or land. 

Would love to hear stories from KVV about navigating the grounds of Augusta. 1) A favorite and/or historic moment you witnessed; 2) An adventurous speed walk to make it in just in time for a memorable moment; 3) A near miss trying to make it to a viewing point; 4) Chasing Rors: tales from last year tracking Rory’s wild final round; 5) Any tips for monitoring scores and favorite shortcuts for bouncing between holes.

1) I was there at Amen Corner when Jordan Spieth hit two balls into Rae’s Creek. It’s hard to describe the pall that washed over the crowd. I remember Kyle Porter and I seeing the look on the faces of Spieth’s parents, and how painful that felt. I ended up writing one of my favorite stories during my time at ESPN, no commentary, just detail. Bearing witness. 

2) I just missed Bernard Langer’s walk up No. 18 last year, which made me sad because it was his last one. 

3) In 2017, Shane Bacon and I speed walked down the 10th hole to try and get into position to see Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia’s tee shots land, and then have a view of their approach shots. Right as we were arriving, Rose’s ball clattered into the trees. We got to watch him pitch out. We could barely see Sergio’s approach, and we had no view of 18. Major buzzkill.

4) When Rory was lining up his putt on 18 in regulation, it was really hard to see the green from where I was standing. 18 has some really bad sight lines until you stake out a spot and sit there all day. I was craning my neck, straining as much as I could, trying not to climb on someone’s back. You’re not supposed to stand on the folding lawn chairs, but when he was lining up a putt in the playoff, I said the hell with it and hopped up on a chair. Ten people around me did the same, like I’d given them permission. I just barely got a clear view of Rory falling to his knees after he made it. 

5) If you are following a group on the back nine, it’s almost impossible to see shots into the 12th. Watch on No. 11, then go behind the grandstand and get set up to watch the second shot into 13. Skip 14 (it’s sadly a dead end and you’ll have to backtrack anyway) and cross over 14 fairway to see the second shot into 15. 

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Who do you think will be the future generations' Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer?

I could see a silver-haired Adam Scott making cuts deep into his 50s. I also remain steadfast in my belief that Spieth is going to get in contention at some point in his 40s. He’ll have the Jose Maria Olazabal renaissance and grab a second jacket for his fourth major. 

What would a KVV champions dinner look like? Would you speak to Gary Player as Gary Player?

Sometimes I wonder if Gary Player is even mildly aware that there is a veteran journalist out there occasionally doing an exaggerated (but barely exaggerated) impression of him for laughs. We’ve never had a conversation outside a press conference, although I was passing him once at Augusta (he was on a golf cart) and I shouted “Good Morning, Mr. Player!” and pointed at him and he pointed back with a big smile on his face. As for my champion’s dinner, I’d love to serve something that’s a nod to my Montana roots, and maybe some crab cakes as a nod to Maryland, the place I’ve called home for the second half of my life. I would 100 percent serve Moose Drool, my favorite beer, just to provoke a reaction from Mr. Player. 

My question is not Masters specific, but a general journalism question. How do you separate the golfer and the person when you write an article? For instance, Anthony Kim's win a few weeks ago was stellar, but his online personality is very politically skewed. Or Patrick Reed and the many cheating allegations over his career? Is it ever difficult to write unbiasedly about someone when you fundamentally disagree with their personalities?

Complicated question. We’re all human, right? Some of what I do is objective journalism, and some of what I do is commentary. Every columnist has their favorites. Where do you draw the lines? Dan Jenkins is usually cited as the greatest golf journalist ever. He was literally friends with Ben Hogan. He wasn’t secret about the fact that he didn’t like Tiger, and he wrote some very cringy things about him. I think I’m mostly able to separate the art from the artist. Phil Mickelson was my favorite player for 20 years. I think it’s clear we have different politics. I still love the 2004 Masters. It’s one of my favorite sporting events ever. I’ve written plenty of favorable pieces about Bryson DeChambeau, who I often disagree with. As I mentioned above, I wrote a big piece about Scottie as part of our Masters preview, and I thought it was important to write about how his Christian faith was essential to his worldview, even though I’m not religious. I think you just do your best to be honest with the audience. 

I got a dumb one. I’m attending the Masters for the first time ever this year on Thursday. Outside of walking the full golf course, what’s the one thing you must do? 

Take some time and watch players hit balls on the driving range. It’s one of the best ways to get close to them. The range is one of the prettiest in all of golf. You can see the different ball flights of every player. 

MASTERS GUIDE: Tips to make the most of your time at Augusta National

If you could only bring one Sunday Masters telecast with you to a deserted island, which is it and why?

I think I’d probably pick 2025. For decades, the answer has always been 1986, but then 2019 came along and that became a trendy pick. I’ll give you a dark horse, too. The 2001 Masters is sneaky one of the best. Tiger and Phil in the final group together (the only time it ever happened when they were both in contention at a major) and David Duval playing some of his best golf, shooting 67. 

Are the public phones free?

They are. They also show up as “Augusta National” on caller ID, so it’s a fun way to surprise your friends or family. I called my mom last year as part of the podcast I did with Neil Schuster, and it really made her year. My kids made me promise to call them this year. A very fun tradition. I think Augusta knows it’s great PR for the club, too.

What’s the craziest story from the media golf outing?

Can’t go first person here because I’ve never been selected to play! (I’m currently 0-6.) There are always going to be funny stories about people in the media who play very little golf, but then get to play Augusta. Steve Politi from the New Jersey Star-Ledger wrote a very funny column about it years ago. It was his first round of golf in 10 years. He didn’t have clubs or shoes. He went and warmed up the night before at a mini golf course. Last year, a television reporter from South Carolina who had never played golf before got a spot in the lottery and so his first round of golf ever was at Augusta National. I’ve heard stories of media people who take it way too seriously, and when they don’t get selected, they slam a fist on their desk or throw a notebook in anger. I also know people who refuse to enter the lottery because they feel like they don’t want to feel beholden to the club for anything, and I understand that perspective. My favorite anecdote I’ve heard over the years was a one-liner by Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post. He and journalist Dave Kindred, one of his closest friends, finally got selected to play the same year. They were regular golf buddies, and neither of them were particularly great players. They were struggling, as you might expect, spraying the ball left and right. At one point on the front nine, they were looking for a ball in the trees when Denlinger supposedly said to Kindred, “You know Dave, even when they finally let us play here, we still can get inside the ropes.” Ken passed away in 2015, but what a great quip that I hope will live forever. 

Augusta National does a significant amount of work to control the narrative/perception of its tournament. They prey on our nostalgia and I happily fall victim every spring. As a media member, what do they do to make your experience better (assuming) than other tournaments?

A lot of us like to joke that, in the ideal world from the club’s perspective, reporters would never leave the press building. There is a restaurant in there that serves free breakfast and lunch (and not like a buffet but an actual restaurant with waiters and waitresses who hand you menus), there is a locker room with showers, and there are televisions in every seat that you can program to let you watch any hole on the course. The internal website they have is incredible. You can watch player interviews, you can watch highlights, you can download photos, you can sit on the veranda and have a beer and catch up with friends. It does feel a bit like the holodeck on “Star Trek: Next Generation,” where you can have a whole new world created for you. All that said, I am pretty adamant that my job is to provide people (readers and listeners) with something they cannot get by watching the tournament on TV. Otherwise, why would you follow our coverage? I skip most of the press conferences and try to walk a full 18 or 27 holes each day. 

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Who will be the next chairman when Fred Ridley retires?

This is the kind of question that almost feels silly to answer because we’ll never really be privy to the internal politics of one of the most private institutions in the United States. Ridley is 73 years old, so it is a subject that will likely come to a head in the next five years. There have only been seven chairmen, and their backgrounds have varied. Ridley and his predecessor, Billy Payne, were prominent lawyers. Hootie Johnson worked in banking. Jack Stephens was an oilman and investment banker. Hord Hardin was a lawyer. Clifford Roberts was a Wall Street broker. What kind of leadership will the club want for its next evolution? I wish I knew. 

Geoff Yang was named the Chairman of the Masters Tournament Rules and Competition Committees in February. That is the position that Ridley held at the club before he became the chairman, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be next in line. He does, however, have one of the most impressive resumes possible. He’s a venture capitalist with an MBA from Stanford and an engineering degree from Princeton who founded one of the most successful venture capital firms in the U.S. He was a former officer and Executive Committee member at the USGA and is the Chairman of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation. I would think he’d be a darn good candidate. 

Should Chairman Ridley and the club force guys into using 400cc driver heads to save golf?

At some point — again this is total speculation — I think Augusta may take a stand and say they are going to limit what is acceptable for their tournament and if you don’t like it, you do not have to play. Shrinking driver heads would be, in my opinion, a better solution than messing with the golf ball. Great players would still be rewarded, and mishits would still be punished. Bob MacIntyre might object since his method of drawing the ball is to intentionally hit it off the toe, and to cut it means intentionally hitting it off the heel. But it’s hard to watch old Masters highlights, and see the smaller heads, and think the game is better now when the misses are less severe and driver is the easiest club to hit. 

Got anything cooking for the honorary starters presser to get Gary Player going?

I will do my best. I can’t imagine that I’ll be able to top last year’s question about fast food, which led to an all-timer of an answer from Gary about being 90 and having a new girlfriend and telling the room we’re all going to die. I would love to know if he has any regrets in his life. I suspect this could go a dozen ways, all of them entertaining. 

‍If you have a question for a future mailbag, send a question to kvv@thefriedegg.com.