An invitation to The Masters? Thanks anyway...
Every January for two decades, an envelope bearing the crest of Augusta National Golf Club arrived in the Dublin mailbox of Christy O'Connor Sr. offering him a place in the field at the upcoming Masters. That invitation is now the most sought-after summons in golf, an all-access pass to the game's greatest stage. But every year O'Connor replied with a polite note declining the invite.
Phil Sheldon/Phil Sheldon Golf Picture Library
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Known in Ireland as simply "Himself," O'Connor starred on 10 Ryder Cup teams and in countless tales of hijinks. He won 32 events and finished second to Peter Thomson at the 1965 British Open. By then he'd already refused a decade's worth of entreaties from Augusta: the first in 1955 and the last in 1974, the exact span of his Ryder Cup career. "Golf was a different cup of tea than it is now, money-wise," says O'Connor, who recently turned 80. "I never had any sponsors, so who was going to pay my way to the States? I couldn't afford to--money wasn't that plentiful."
Finances weren't the only obstacles for a father of six holding down a club pro job: O'Connor's game was invariably rusty after another dreary Irish winter. "My first tournament was in April. Pro golf wasn't round-the-clock, like it is now," he says. "I wasn't going over there not tuned-up."
And if the modern Masters is venerated as golf's highest altar, 40 years ago O'Connor was a non-believer.
| Other Notable No's |
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| People who declined to do the expected |
| John Lennon In 1969, the Beatle had his chauffeur return his prestigious MBE award to Buckingham Palace with a note to the Queen protesting Britain's involvement in Biafra, the Vietnam War and the poor charts performance of his song "Cold Turkey." |
George C. Scott The legendary actor declined to accept his 1971 Best Actor Oscar for Patton, dismissing the Academy Awards as "demeaning" and "a two-hour meat parade." |
| Scottie Pippen The Chicago Bulls forward refused to play the final 1.8 seconds of a 1994 playoff game against the Knicks when coach Phil Jackson chose Toni Kukoc for a potential game-winning shot. Instead, Pippen sulked on the sidelines. |
Pat Tillman The NFL star rejected a $3.6 million offer from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army Rangers. He died last year in a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan. |
| Albert Finney The Queen was snubbed again in 2000 when the celebrated thespian declined her offer of knighthood, saying the honor was a disease that perpetuates snobbery. And you thought being Queen was easy! |
"I always watch it on TV now, but at that time it was just another tournament," he says. "Same goes for the American Open and the British Open. I would like to have won them, don't get me wrong. Sure, 'twas great if you won an Open. But they were just another tournament."
O'Connor's indifference to The Masters isn't unique. Lee Trevino skipped it four times in the 1970s, claiming Augusta National didn't suit his game. But Trevino was also known to harbor a healthy disregard for club officials and felt so unwelcome there that one year he opted to change his shoes in the parking lot rather than use the locker room.
The man Himself had no such qualms, since he's still never been to Augusta. He just seldom played in America. O'Connor attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open only once. "It was somewhere in Washington," he recalls. "I played the last hole in the dark. Took 6 on a 4 par and missed by a shot."
In an era when even amateurs are globetrotters and roll down Magnolia Lane with an entourage, it seems quaint that one of Europe's finest golfers never made it to Augusta. But O'Connor says he has no regrets about those 20 "no thanks."
"I loved what I did, and I consider myself lucky. When I look back, I would have loved to have won The Masters," he says. "But it never broke me heart that I didn't."
The Man Who Said 'No' to Augusta--20 Times 
