A Masters golf coach endured a problematic start to the tournament after being escorted off Augusta for breaking a surprise golden rule.
Arizona State University coach Matt Thurmond is at this year’s Masters alongside rising Spanish amateur star Josele Ballester, but was left red-faced after a fashion blunder forced him to separate from his player during a last-minute practice session ahead of the major.
Amidst all the excitement in Georgia, Thurmond let Augusta’s fierce guidelines slip his memory and turned up to the course wearing shorts - a sin of seismic proportion.
Even on practice days, shorts are strictly forbidden at Augusta, something Thurmond evidently forgot, with his eyes solely focused on pre-major preparations.
The golf guru was caught by officials after going over to Arizona State alumnus Kevin Yu for a quick catch-up on the practice range, where he was abruptly being reminded of the rules and booted off the premises.
Thurmond has taken his removal on the bright side and will be sure not to make the same mistake in days to come.
He wrote on social media: "Strolled out onto the Augusta range today with my coach badge. Got removed for wearing shorts. First bogey of the week. Celebrated with an egg salad sandwich. Pants tomorrow."
Thurmond later recounted the incident in greater depth, taking responsibility for his error in a show of respect to Augusta’s tradtions.
"I went out on the range without thinking, gave [Yu] a hug,” he said. “After about one shot and one quick hello, they came out and said, 'I'm sorry, sir, you can't be on the range with your shorts.'
"My bad, it was a mistake I made. I want to follow the rules here when I'm at Augusta and do everything right. Lucky to be here and appreciate everything here. I just made a mistake."
Thurmond will hope Ballester, 21, can make his mark on the big stage this week after earning All-American honours in his first two seasons with Arizona State.
His first major appearance since The Open in 2023, Ballester will tee off his first round on Thursday under the guidance of Thurmond.
