At 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, the first Masters pairing arrived at the 11th green. But to the untrained eye, something was amiss: only one name, that of Tom Kim, appeared on the grand leaderboard in Amen Corner.
Two women watching were perplexed. Who was the other chap? Perhaps an amateur, they mused. Or maybe just a friend strolling along. But this mystery man had a caddie, too — although there was no name on the back of his caddie’s jumpsuit. They consulted their tee sheet. No help there. They lowered their heads and flicked through their trusty spectator guides.
Stumped, they finally surrendered and asked a nearby reporter.
“Well,” I began, “his name is Michael McDermott, he’s a member here, and he’s called upon to play as a Masters marker when an odd number of players make the cut. So he’s playing with Tom Kim but won’t keep an official score.”
“Wow,” one replied. “What a wonderful opportunity.”
A wonderful opportunity indeed! But there was more I didn’t share, notably this: Michael McDermott can play. And he relishes this stage, too. McDermott was hitting balls into the wind on the range on Friday afternoon when a friend passed by and asked if he was playing Saturday.
“I hope so,” he said. A few minutes later, he grew tired of the wind and decided to practise some putts. A few hours after that, when 53 players made the cut, McDermott knew he was making his weekend debut.
He wore classic blue-and-white FootJoys with navy trousers and an Augusta National belt. He donned an Augusta National-logoed quarter-zip over a striped Augusta National-logoed polo. And he sported an Augusta National-logoed navy cap. His club caddie carried — you guessed it — an Augusta National-logoed stand bag.
Kim said he was shocked to see how many patrons were at the first tee to watch them. He said it was more than Thursday.
“It almost felt like I was in the final group on Sunday,” he said. “So many people. I felt more nervous today than I did yesterday.”
The Masters marker is somewhat of a legend around here, a sort of golfing folk hero, one who isn’t fazed by playing alongside the game’s finest players and has no trouble keeping pace.
McDermott first played in 2023, taking over the longstanding marker tradition from Jeff Knox. Kevin Na withdrew with an injury at the turn on Thursday of 2023, and Mike Weir played the second nine alone. McDermott stepped into action on Friday and played alongside the 2003 Masters champion. With an even number of players making the weekend, he wasn’t needed beyond that, and the same applied in 2024. But now he’s back this year.
You won’t find much information about McDermott on the grounds. This club is tight-lipped — they won’t comment on him, and McDermott doesn’t give interviews — and so are McDermott’s family and friends following him.
But if you dig a little, you can uncover some details, like the fact that the 50-year-old father of three grew up playing at Llanerch Country Club outside Philadelphia, home of the 1958 PGA Championship (won by Dow Finsterwald).
He played golf at St. Joseph’s University and is in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. He was named the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Player of the Year five times from 2000 to 2008 and has even won the Crump Cup, often regarded as the premier mid-amateur and senior golf event on the amateur circuit. He competed in the 2003 U.S. Amateur and defeated future PGA Tour winner J.B. Holmes.
He resides in the Philadelphia area and is the chief executive officer of Kathmere Capital Management, based in Wayne, Pennsylvania. (Oh, and he also coaches youth basketball.)
McDermott’s GHIN handicap is +3, and he’s registered at Pennsylvania-based clubs Merion, Aronimink, and The Club at Underbrook Farm. He’s also a member at Pine Valley in New Jersey, the top-rated golf course in the world.
Of course, he’s a member here, too, and he’s a cracking player who hits the ball a mile. There’s one famous tale about him driving the par-4 11th green from the 400-yard member tees. On the par-4 10th on Saturday, he outdrove Kim by about 40 yards — then three-putted for bogey. (No one is perfect.)
“He played great,” Kim said. “Hits the ball really far. His irons, sometimes he grabbed one club longer than me. He was a complete baller.”
McDermott doesn’t record an official score. His role is to keep things moving and stay out of the way, which, it’s worth noting, isn’t easy when hundreds of people are watching. As one marshal succinctly put it: “It’s gotta be tough because you want to play quickly, but you also want to play well.”
McDermott did both. Although he picked up on some holes, Kim reckons he still probably shot something in the 70s.
And with each hole, his legend grew. More people began to wonder who he was. Some patrons still think it’s Knox. Some actually knew his name. Word spreads quickly around Augusta National.
Walking up to the 15th green, McDermott greeted a few patrons he knew outside the ropes and said, “How ’bout this day?” It was a splendid one to be Michael McDermott.
“He definitely helped just kind of the rhythm of golf, just going out and playing alone and having no momentum or not feeding off anyone,” said Kim post-round, as McDermott chatted with friends 15 feet away. “It was nice to be able to have a conversation down the fairway. I enjoyed it personally very much.”
A half-hour later, the leaders prepared to tee off on Saturday at the Masters. By then, McDermott was in front of the clubhouse, already with his green jacket back on. But only for now.
He’s got another tee time on Sunday.
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