Austin Greaser made sure that his first experience at the Masters followed his typical routine — until he joined up with his playing threesome.

With early tee times on Wednesday and Thursday for the world’s most prestigious golf tournament, Greaser set his alarm clock for 4:50 a.m., just as he had done hundreds of times before for an early round. He went through the same warmup routine on the practice range, just as he had done hundreds of times before.

And then he walked to the first tee, where he was joined by his playing partners — 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington. It was a decidedly different group than a laid back Saturday morning at UNC Finley.

“The early start was great because I didn’t have to sit around all day and think about the first tee shot or the atmosphere,” Greaser said. “I was able to go through my routine, because I wanted to stick to what I knew. And Padraig Harrington and Mike Weir were great, because they talked to me and took me under their wing.”

Both of the veterans were well aware that Greaser was playing his first Masters, an invitation he earned because of his runnerup finish at the 2021 U.S. Amateur. That put him in the field for
every golfer’s dream tournament.

But he wasn’t just a spectator. The Ohio native didn’t want to just sample the pimento cheese sandwiches and listen to the (perhaps slightly enhanced) sound of the birds chirping. He
went to Augusta National intent on competing for a title.

He had excellent timing. Monday’s practice round happened to be the same day that the Carolina basketball team was just 36 hours removed from the epic win over Duke; the Tar Heels would play for the national championship later that day.

That made Greaser a very popular follow around the course.

“It was such a special way to represent the University of North Carolina,” he said. “There had to have been a couple thousand people who screamed, ‘Go Heels!’ at us. At the practice round, after the second or third hole I looked at Coach DiBitetto and told him he was going to have to take those, because already at that point I had probably said it 150 times.”

Greaser heard plenty of cheering around holes eight and nine, where he collected four of his five combined birdies over his two rounds of play. The rest of the rounds were largely a learning experience; at +7 for the two days, Greaser narrowly missed the cut while finishing ahead of bigger names like Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose.

Although it was his first Masters, Greaser still experienced a bit of golf déjà vu.

“It’s almost like a video game,” he said. “You watch the Masters so often, you know the course before you ever set foot in it. Once you get there, you see the slope and the pin locations. It’s hard to believe you’re walking where all the greats of golf have walked.”

That walking was a reminder that Augusta National is slightly different in person than it looks on television. TV viewers see the course one shot from one hole at a time. In person, though, Greaser found one unexpected difference.

“The tallest point on the golf course to the lowest point is about 200 feet,” he said. “That’s about a 20-story building, and you’re not just walking up it once. It’s definitely a tough course to walk, and the slopes are bigger in person. That made it that much more special and that much more real life.”

But the week in Georgia wasn’t just about being awestruck at the new surroundings and new competition. Spending a week surrounded by the best 100 golfers in the world was also a reminder that even the most highly paid professionals make bad shots. Even the best in the world hit it in the water.

It’s true that Greaser didn’t make the cut. But he also picked up some knowledge
that he hopes will help him be a contender eventually; and that will also prove valuable as he prepares for his senior year at Carolina, where DiBitetto has guided the men’s golf program into the top ten nationally. After capturing the Yale Regional this spring, Greaser is already the first Tar Heel ever to win an NCAA regional. He’s working on improving some areas of the game that he observed in Augusta can make the difference in a good player and a great player.

“From a fundamental golf standpoint, their short games are very good,” he said. “They know how to golf their ball around the greens. People might be surprised that they miss as much as the top collegiate players, but they know how to recover and get their ball where they want it to go, especially around the greens. I’m learning that and I’m trying to get sharper there, and that comes with reps.”

Those reps will come for the Tar Heels during the 2022-23 school year, as Carolina tries to take the next step as a program and win a national championship. Greaser wants the experience he gained in Augusta to have long-term benefits, and he isn’t content to have just been a participant at the Masters on one occasion.

“In my head, I was supposed to be playing over the weekend,” Greaser said. “That stings a little. But there’s so much positive and so many great things came from the week. I don’t feel like it will be my last time there. And when that happens, I can come back to my first week there and say these are the things I did well and these are the things I need to work on. That stuff will help me get to the next level.”