AUGUSTA, Ga. — Every April, the azaleas bloom along Magnolia Lane and the golf world turns its attention to Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters Tournament. For South Carolina, the first major of the year carries a particular weight, a blend of pride, history, and this year, fresh anticipation.
The 90th edition of the Masters gets underway Thursday, and the Palmetto State will have eyes firmly fixed on Augusta.
THE CHAMPION WHO CAME HOME
No story captures South Carolina’s bond with the Masters quite like Dustin Johnson’s. Johnson was born 75 miles from Augusta National in Columbia, South Carolina, and grew up dreaming about putting on a green jacket. That dream became reality in November 2020 when he won the Masters Tournament with a record score of 268, 20 under par, a performance that rewrote the tournament’s history books.
Johnson became the first South Carolinian to put on a green jacket inside Butler Cabin. The moment moved people back home in ways that went beyond golf. Those who had watched him develop as a junior player in the Midlands knew exactly what it meant.
Johnson’s father Scott was the head professional at the Mid Carolina Club just outside Columbia, and it wasn’t long before young Dustin was spending hours there hitting balls. By his early teens he was shooting in the low 60s. He went on to play collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina University and, before turning professional, competed on the junior golf association circuit throughout South Carolina, a foundation he has since worked to give back to through his foundation and golf school in Myrtle Beach.
Johnson received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, recognizing not only his achievements on the course but his commitment to growing junior golf in the state.
Now playing on the LIV Golf circuit, Johnson remains in the Masters field as a past champion, returning once again to Augusta as one of the game’s all-time greats.
A RISING STAR FROM INMAN
While Johnson carries South Carolina’s Masters legacy, a younger Palmetto State native arrives at Augusta this week for the very first time, and he arrives with serious momentum.
Jacob Bridgeman was born in Inman, South Carolina. He attended Chapman High School, won three individual 3A state golf titles, and went on to compete at Clemson University, where he won five events and set a school record for career rounds in the 60s.
After earning his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour, Bridgeman announced himself to the wider golf world in February when he closed out Sunday at Riviera Country Club at 18 under par, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama, to win the Genesis Invitational, his first PGA Tour title. He led or shared the lead after every round of the tournament, and the win came in his 66th PGA Tour start.
The Genesis victory punched his ticket to Augusta. Bridgeman didn’t hesitate when asked about what the Masters means to him. “That’s the golf tournament that every golfer growing up wants to win, wants to play in, wants to compete in,” he said.
Bridgeman enters the week ranked 17th in the world, a remarkable rise for a player who won state high school titles not long ago in rural upstate South Carolina.
A STATE WITH DEEP ROOTS IN THE GAME
Johnson and Bridgeman are the most prominent names at Augusta this week, but they are part of a broader tradition. Jonathan Byrd, Bill Haas, Lucas Glover, D.J. Trahan, and Kevin Kisner are among the most recent players to come out of South Carolina with PGA Tour victories, including Glover’s major championship at the 2009 U.S. Open.
The state has long produced talent at every level of the game, from junior circuits to the professional ranks, and the Masters serves each April as a reminder of how far players from small South Carolina towns have traveled, and how close Augusta National feels to home.
For Bridgeman, making his debut walk down Magnolia Lane Thursday will be the fulfillment of a childhood dream. For Johnson, lacing up at Augusta is another chapter in a storied career that began at a driving range called Weed Hill in Irmo. For South Carolina, it is simply another Masters, and another reason to watch closely.
