AUGUSTA, Ga. – His storybook week playing at the Masters Tournament was over. He had just shot two of his worst competitive rounds in years. And one of golf’s legends had found a few key flaws in his swing mechanics.
NU senior Dillon Dougherty should have been devastated.
In his first two rounds Thursday and Friday, the leader of the Wildcats men’s golf team fired an 18-over 160, good enough for a tie for 85th place out of 90 golfers. Phil Mickelson went on to win the Masters on Sunday with an 7-under 281, while NU alumnus Luke Donald finished tied for 43rd with a 8-over 296.
With the field trimmed to the top-47 competitors for the final two rounds, Dougherty did not make the cut, one of his goals coming into the tournament. None of the four other amateurs in the field advanced to the weekend either.
But the first thing Dougherty did after tapping in his par putt on the 18th green Friday was give his father and caddie, Dan, a hug. It wasn’t Tiger Woods giving his father, Earl, a big bear hug after winning the 1997 Masters, but the Dougherty’s embrace capped off a family-oriented week.
“It’s been wonderful,” Dan Dougherty said. “It’s a golfer’s dream, a dad’s dream. It’s just perfect.”
More than the 10 family members and close friends were there every step of the way for Dougherty during his week at Augusta National Golf Club. His mother, Jamie, served as a constant provider of encouragement and Diet Coke, while twin 16-year-old brothers, Graham and Ian, caddied for Dougherty and Donald in Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest.
“Those will be memories we’ll have forever,” said Dougherty, who will arrive back in Evanston today. “Nothing can go wrong; I mean I’m here enjoying it. It doesn’t matter how I play. It’s just an awesome experience.”
Although he earned no prize money or awards from participating, Dougherty still came away with a few priceless memories. First, he met Woods on the practice green Wednesday and had him autograph a 13-year-old picture of the two after Dougherty caddied for him when Woods was still playing at Stanford. Second, he received a free lesson with golf legend and playing partner Gary Player.
As Player walked out of the scorer’s booth with his arm wrapped around Dougherty on Friday, the three-time Masters winner had some kind words to say about the young amateur and also announced he would be meeting him shortly at the practice range.
“He’s got a lot of talent, a lot of ability,” said Player, who arguably is among the top-three golfers of all-time. “It’s always technique (and) finding out something that will help his game-I saw a couple of things I could help him with.”
The pair spent nearly 45 minutes on the range going over the mechanics in Dougherty’s swing.
After only a few minutes, the lesson was providing almost instantaneous dividends. Dougherty was hitting the ball much longer and straighter with his driver than at any other point during the week.
“Anytime someone like that helps you
