Photo WWLS The Sports Animal
Craig Humphreys has always loved golf, and that love would lead to a tradition at golf’s most sacred place.
It all started with a phone call.
“I got to go to the Masters in 1988, and a friend of mine called me up and said he had tickets, and they were going to go play Shoal Creek in Birmingham on a Thursday, and go to Augusta National Friday, Saturday, Sunday… and I said, I’m in. Then the next year, I had a buddy that worked with Devon Energy, Steve Cromwell… his boss comes in on the Tuesday of Masters week and says Steve, I got two trophy room badges, I can’t use them, I know that you love golf, if you could possibly use these, so Cromwell calls me up and I said I’ll get us a hotel room and flight…and of course we stayed at a Days In on Washinton Road, but we got a room at Augusta and went to the Masters, so I was hooked after going in 88’ and 89’.”
After befriending some guys running the scoreboard on the 11th hole in 1990, Humphreys had secured future tickets for a handful of years to come.
An even better opportunity to secure a place at the Masters would soon find Humphreys
“I get a call in 2000 from Larry Michael with Westwood One, and he says Augusta National has recommended you to us…They hired me in 2001, and I worked with them for about six or seven years. With Westwood One, we did not only the Masters, but that got me into the US Open and the PGA for those seven years, so I got to see a lot of the great golf courses around the country.”
Out of all the courses and tournaments, the Masters at Augusta National will always have a special place in his heart, not only due to the rich history of the course, but the time he spent with his late wife, Bev.
As for this year’s Masters, it won’t be the same without her.
“Bev and I were married for 32 years, and she loved golf, she played more golf than I did…Bev was not the greatest golfer in the world, but she just loved it, and she was a people person, people loved her…she loved going to the Masters. We have friends that we’ve had for 25 years that we never see anywhere else but Augusta National, and Bev knew all those people…Not only going to Augusta, but we loved to go to Scottsdale and other different places…I don’t know how it’s going to be, I don’t know how I’m going to feel the next time I go to Scottsdale without Bev, or the Masters. The Masters might be easier if I have a press pass, because I have a lot of friends in the media center that we’ve been friends with for 20, 25 years, so that’ll help there.”
Though the Masters, and life in general will be different for Humphreys in the coming years, a constant that remains is the friendships, impact and memories made with the person he loved most, at a place unlike any other.
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