Chasing the Green Jacket

I married a golfer. Not just a weekend, fair weather golfer, but a die hard, play in wind, rain, sleet or hail golfer who would rather be out on the links than just about anywhere else.

We always watch the final day of the Master’s Golf Tournament, and I try to imagine what the last players to come into the clubhouse at Augusta National are experiencing. Sometimes, they are so close it could easily end in a tie followed by a play off.  This year, there appeared to be an easy winner as they headed to the back nine.  Hideki Matsuyama, who, if he won, would be the first player from Japan  to win a major US golf tournament, had a four stroke lead. Unlike the players who had had a real chance of winning in the past, he did not have his wife, daughter, or parents there to cheer him on. He does not speak English. Only his caddie was there to root for him. 

Over the years I’ve seen several players blow a good lead on the back nine. Golf is not easy. 

It requires focus, skill, and persistence. I can only imagine the weight on the shoulders of this 29 year old man, who was in a foreign country with people whose language he didn’t understand knowing that back home in Japan his family and friends were glued to their television sets hoping and praying for a victory. A win for Matsuyama would be a win for all of Japan. No pressure.

Matsuyama ran into trouble at number 15. He hit a ball into the water and lost a shot. Then he bogeyed the 16th hole, dropping him to a two shot lead.  Still, he was ahead and stayed there all the way to the 18th tee. One more hole. He could even bogey the 18th hole and win, but not double bogey. When he missed his first put for par, the pressure mounted, but Hideki approached the ball, and calmly tapped it in to win the tournament by one stroke.

Afterward in the clubhouse, Hideki was asked how he stayed focused especially when his lead dropped from four to two and then to one. “I kept my family in my mind. I saw them and felt them with me, “ he said through an interpreter.

I thought about that. An invisible family gave Hideki the strength and courage to win his tournament. He couldn’t see them, but he knew they were there cheering him on. And he knew when he got back to Japan, they would hug him, celebrate with him, and throw a big party. 

We all have tournaments to win. Maybe it’s getting through physical therapy successfully, or learning a foreign language, or raising children, or graduating from a difficult academic program, or leading a team at work. We might stumble from time to time and wonder if we’ll ever make it. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Who are they? The saints in heaven described in the preceding chapter (Hebrews 11). They are our invisible cheering section. We can’t see them now, but one day we will. Even as they won their races by looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, so can we. When things get tough, let’s remember them and keep going because one day they will hug us, celebrate, and throw a party.