Brian McElhinney reflects on Masters appearances 20 years on

The Burnfoot native got to take the drive down Magnolia Lane, stay in the Crow’s Nest and play two rounds at Augusta alongside two-time winner Tom Watson and future US Open champion, Michael Campbell.

It was another dream year for a then 23-year-old with the world at his feet, having already featured in The Open at Royal Troon in 2004, he captured the 2005 British Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale.

That opened up more doors the following year, including appearances at the Walker Cup in Chicago, The Open at St Andrews and the Masters in Augusta.

“It probably does take a wee bit of time to appreciate what you’ve done, but you try not to think too much about it when you’re playing,” said McElhinney.

“Playing in The Open, it was the year Tiger Woods won it, and it was Jack Nicklaus’ last year playing in The Open, so that was probably the highlight of that one.

“The Walker Cup was a really close match. Nigel Edwards had a putt from about 35-feet to get a half match, and with two or three foot to go, the putt looked in, it just missed, so it came down to that.”

No doubt the highlight of 2006 was stepping out on the pristine greens in Augusta, Georgia.

McElhinney met Paul McGinley at an awards event after his British Amateur success and that paved the way for a practice round with McGinley, Padraig Harrington and Colm Montgomerie over there.

“It was nice to get to play a few holes with them for sure and then, obviously, it was a great draw as well, to get drawn with Tom Watson and Michael Campbell,” said McElhinney.

“Everybody talks about Augusta and how hilly and slopy it is and how tricky the greens can be so to experience that playing it was fantastic.

“It was obviously a bit different. You really had to try and manage your way around the course. At the start of my first round, I was playing what I thought was quite well, but I was just missing the greens on the wrong side, and making bogeys and double-bogeys.

“Compared to other courses, you really couldn’t afford to miss the greens in the wrong place, otherwise you were doing well to make bogeys.”

McElhinney finished in T76 alongside McGinley, after a +11 total, where he was best of the amateurs after two rounds.

While he did not make the cut they are memories of a lifetime as he reminisces this week watching Rory McIlroy aiming to defend his crown.

McElhinney teamed up with the reigning Masters champion in foursomes representing both Ulster and Ireland when McIlroy was just 14.

“It was a great experience to play with Rory at that stage,” said McElhinney.

“There was a lot of good hype about him and he was a really good prospect. You just knew, it was his ball striking and the way he played, that he was going places.

“He had the talent and the potential, but you still have to go and do it. You’ve got to hand it to him for what he has done.

“He’s somebody that everybody looks up to as a player. Everybody wants to try and improve and he’s somebody that you look up to whenever you’re trying to do that.

“It was great to see him winning last year and he deserved it. The fact that was the one that he really wanted to win, to do the Grand Slam, it was brilliant for him to get over the line eventually.

“It was a wee bit nerve-wracking at times, but it was good to see him getting over at the end.”

McElhinney is now the professional at North West Golf Club in Donegal, only a short distance away from where he grew up in Burnfoot.

The 43-year-old was introduced to the game through his father, Charlie, and he took up his first junior membership in Buncrana Golf Club when he was 11.

He excelled through the ranks and learning his game on the difficult links courses of Donegal which helped to sharpen his tools for some tough challenges down the road.

McElhinney won the Donegal Boys’ in 1998 and Connacht Boys’ two years later before he took home the North of Ireland in 2003, a real launch pad for his career.

He was also European Amateur Champion that year and the next few years would see him rise and rise. It culminated in his appearance at the Masters and he will always have fond memories of the week he got to walk the fairways with some legends of the game.

“When you get there, when you go through the gate, everything’s just so well-manicured and so perfect,” said McElhinney.

“It’s not that you don’t expect it, but you can’t really see it. It’s hard to appreciate it until you’re there.”