Mark WiedmerAt 12:35 this afternoon, Chattanooga native and 1978 Central High School graduate Kip Henley will stand just off the No. 1 tee at Augusta National Golf Club and watch his boss for the week, Vijay Singh, launch his opening drive of the 2017 Masters.
“My fourth time (as a caddie),” Henley said by phone Wednesday during inclement weather that had everyone off the course. “They treat us like kings here. Anything you want. You turn in your bib at the end of the day and they hand you a beer. It’s the coolest place. As a caddie, nothing touches it.”
In truth, the 56-year-old Henley has been getting at least a touch or two of the most famous golf tournament on the planet since 1977, when he and a few of his Central buddies drove down to watch a Tuesday practice round.
“Tickets were $12 at the gate,” he recalled. “We’d skipped school, we were broke as could be. But we had enough money to get in and buy three or four barbecue chicken sandwiches each out on the course. It was amazing.”
It was so amazing that they decided to do the same thing a year later, only they decided to go on Wednesday in order to catch the Par 3 Contest.