Ian Baker-Finch - "Working the Masters" SHORT TRACK

Intro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle. Then it started to look just as well.

Mike Gonzalez 0:16

Well again, let's move on to some of your major championship experience, maybe starting with the Masters, and I guess the the first question I'd have for you, because you had a couple of really good finishes back in 91-92, which you may want to reflect on, but how much does your experience playing at Augusta help you with your job today covering that tournament?

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Oh, I'd a huge, huge amount of um knowledge going to play at at a major championship. You put so much effort into being uh aware of the course and how to play it and and compete. And uh I played in 85. I didn't play from 86 to 90 because they didn't take the top fifty in the world in those days, and I was well inside that for those years. But they already had uh David Graham as a major champion. I think Bruce, you you were playing then as well. Um Greg Norman. So they they didn't need another Australian, so they didn't invite I wasn't invited, even though actually one year uh Roger Davis was tenth in the world, and I was twentieth in the world, and we weren't invited to the Masters. And that's deplorable these days. Then then it was like, oh well, you know, they already had the dog and and uh and Greg there and a few others. Um Bruce was famous there because he had an albatross on the eighth. Didn't you? Didn't you have a have a two on the eighth up the hill there at the masters?

Bruce Devlin 1:41

I did. I used to be the uh trivia question at Augusta for a for uh a lot of years. He and the question was who, besides Gene Saracen, has made a double eagle at Augusta? Yeah. No not too many people knew the answer, I can promise you that.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

That's fantastic. So yeah, now that I do the TV, I I've been going there since 1985. Uh I played until 1996, and then I missed 97, and then from ninety-eight on I I worked as in TV for Australia until I joined CBS in 06. So I've been doing it for 15 years now for CBS. So basically all of those years, uh great memories of of playing there and and also great memories of watching all the great champions and how they played there. So yeah, it's a big help with the TV knowing a golf course, having competed uh there. Have having um Nick Valdo on our team as a three-time winner, um, really, really helps. I think Nick does a great job at the Masters. That's his that's his best week because he really gives a lot of insight and strategy. Uh must be fantastic having a green jacket and deposit, and he's got three of them.

Mike Gonzalez 2:56

So we hope you've enjoyed this short track of for the good of the game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game, it's along everybody.