Who Would Be Your Dream Playing Partner At Augusta?

There is no question that Augusta National is one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world.  When you think golf, you think Augusta and The Masters.  One question that is often asked around this time of year is who you would love to play a round of 18 with if you had the opportunity.

This is the exact question that USA TODAY asked golfers who are set to take on Augusta later this week.  And while many of the choices that Tour players mentioned don’t come as much of a surprise, there are some intriguing names that players would dream to play with.

The number one choice for dream partner on a practice round was none other than the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.  This should come as no surprise, seeing as how he is the all-time leader in major championships and captured six green jackets in his prime.  While having some of his success rub off on you would be reason enough to want to play with the legend at Augusta, some players have other reasons.

Many of the players who want to play with Jack said they would do so in order to pick his mind about the course itself.  Steve Stricker, for example, said “He’s a six-time champ there.  I’m sure he knows everything you need to know there.”

Some players just want to learn what goes Nicklaus’ head in general.  Zach Johnson said he picked him because “He’s the strategy guy.  Back then it was really all about strategy.”

One possible surprising pick that many players would love to play with is Tiger Woods.  This is intriguing because Woods is still active and it’s still possible that some of the golfers polled could play with him.  Gary Woodland said he picked Tiger because “… it’s hard to get the knowledge that Tiger has about that place, about strategy, and he’s won there four times.  I’d be all ears.”

Other popular picks among players included legends like Ben Hogan and course architect Bobby Jones but somewhat surprisingly, not one player chose the late Arnold Palmer.

Heading into the Masters, this is a fun question to think about and maybe one day, one of these current players will be the dream partner of a new generation of PGA TOUR players.

Cover Image via Flickr