"Therefore it was only appropriate he meet his maker before April."

Scott Michaux remembers Thomas Bailey, whose wonderful life and incredible streak of attending every Masters ends with his passing.

He heard Gene Sarazen's "shot heard 'round the world" in 1935 from the adjacent 17th fairway, looking over to see the Squire retrieve his double-eagle golf ball from the cup on the 15th hole.
He walked the full 18 holes of the classic 1954 playoff between Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, the year he was pictured prominently leaning over the ropes on the 11th hole in the original issue of Sports Illustrated , published Aug. 16, 1954.

He saw fellow Augusta native Larry Mize chip in to defeat Greg Norman in the 1987 sudden-death playoff on the 11th hole.

But most of the time -- and exclusively on Fridays in recent years -- Dr. Bailey could be found in the bleachers overlooking the practice range watching the golfers hit balls toward the towering net along Washington Road.