The 2018 Masters Tournament marks the 25th anniversary of a signifi cant event
in golf equipment history and the emergence of one of the biggest names in the
modern game.
WORDS JIMMY EMANUEL PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGESO
n April 11, 1993, Bernhard Langer,
somewhat fortuitously dressed in
green pants and a yellow shirt,
won his second green jacket and the fi rst
major title with a putter bearing Scotty
Cameron’s name.
The now ultra-famous putter maker
had previously made putters for numerous
manufacturers before setting out on his own and
creating ‘Cameron Golf International’ in 1992,
and Langer’s win with his ‘Classic 1’ model at
Augusta National began his ascent to the top
of his craft. One that has seen Scotty Cameron
putters, which became part of the Acushnet
Company and Titleist in 1994, earn an impressive
35 more major titles since.
Of those major wins, 14 belong to Tiger Woods,
who will be celebrating a putter-based milestoneof his own at Augusta this year, where Woods will
make his fi rst appearance in Georgia since 2015
and will use his own historic Scotty Cameron
putter at Augusta for the fi rst time since 2010.
Tiger’s Newport 2 is responsible for 13 of
his major wins, his 1997 Masters title coming
courtesy of a Cameron Teryllium TeI3 Newport,
and has played an important role in Cameron’s
own success.
After fi rst going in the bag in 1999, Woods
swapped the putter out for another model for the
fi rst time at the 2010 Open Championship, with
speculation that Nike’s decision to stand by him
during his scandal infl uenced his move to use a
number of the company’s putters on a full-time
basis starting in 2011.
The arguably most successful club in the
history of golf made its return at the 2016 HeroWorld Challenge.
“The day that we (Nike) were no longer a part of
the hard goods side,” Woods said after being asked
when the Cameron putter went back in the bag.
Cameron will undoubtedly check in with
Woods and his famous fl atstick on the grounds of
Augusta National this year, and will perhaps do
likewise with Langer to reminisce about the pair’s
silver anniversary.
The German is set to tee it up in the
tournament for the 35th time. After employing
a unique putting grip to wield the Cameron to
victory in 1993, having already begun his
career-long battle with the yips, Langer has
proven in recent times he can still create
headlines with his putting, which will certainly
be the case if the 60-year-old winds back the
clock at Augusta this year.golf australia | APRIL 2018 43