Montford Memories: Tracking down last survivor of first Masters

WHEN the opening shots of the 2010 Masters are soaring down the first fairway of the Augusta National Golf Club, one very special former Masters participant Errie Ball will be sitting at home in the small town of Stuart in Florida watching the television pictures and raising his customary glass to salute the memory of the event's founder Bobby Jones.

What makes Errie special is that, at the age of 98, he is the last survivor from the inaugural Masters in 1934, and the letter from Bobby Jones confirming his participation is framed on the wall of his lounge.

One of the problems about tracking down Errie is that his wife Maxie keeps saying that "he's out having a few holes" which Errie does several days a week at the nearby Willoughby Country Club, usually completing one of the nine-hole loops on the course.

When I finally tracked him down he was generous with his time, which was just as well, for he has a truly remarkable story to tell. For a start he was born in Bangor, Wales and grew up in Lancashire. His north of England accent is still unmistakable. He is also by some years the last survivor of the Open Championship of 1930 at Hoylake and remains the youngest Open competitor, aged 16, at Lytham in 1926.

Both these Opens were won by Bobby Jones and it was after Jones' victory in 1930 that Errie Ball approached the champion and asked if he thought a move to America might pay dividends because he had just received an invitation from his uncle, Frank Ball, to be his assistant at Jones' home club East Lake in Atlanta. "He told me to go for it," recalls Errie, whose memory remains as sharp as his short game. He arrived in America in September 1930 on the day Jones defeated Gene Homins to complete golf's "Grand SIam" of victories in both the Amateur and Open Championships of Great Britain and America.

The new arrival quickly established a growing reputation as an excellent teacher and a fine golfer – working in the north of America in the summer and in Florida and the south in the winter, where his course record 64 at the Farmington Country Club in Virginia stood for 20 years. He played in seven of our Opens, qualified for the US Open 20 times and played in 15 US PGA Championships.

His remarkable life has seen him play with the Great Triumvirate of Braid, Vardon and Taylor, through the golden years of Hagen, Jones and Sarazen on to Nelson and Hogan before witnessing the arrival of Nicklaus, Palmer and now Tiger Woods. "After I've talked to you, I'm heading for some putting practice." Still going strong!