AUGUSTA, Ga. — Imagine yourself on a commuter train sitting next to a well-dressed, middle-aged working stiff with a briefcase, headed to the office.
Now imagine that guy at the Masters this week.
Not as a fan fortunate enough to score the toughest ticket in sports, but there to play. As a competitor. For a Green Jacket.
Meet Randal Lewis, a 54-year-old financial advisor from Alma, Mich., whose life the last few months can best be described as Ferris Bueller on steroids.
Lewis bagged his improbable Masters invitation in September, when he became the oldest player ever to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur tournament in the event’s 31 years. He is believed to be the oldest first-time competitor in Masters history. We keep stats for everything in sports, but this one apparently was so unlikely it seems no one bothered.
Tom Watson." title="AMATEUR ACE: Randal Lewis, a 54-year-old amateur, blasts out of a bunker last September while winning the USGA Mid-Amateur tournament, earning him a spot in this week’s Masters, and a dream round yesterday with golf legend Tom Watson." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/04/03/sports/web_photos/03.1s067.cannizzaro--300x300.jpg" />
AP
AMATEUR ACE: Randal Lewis, a 54-year-old amateur, blasts out of a bunker last September while winning the USGA Mid-Amateur tournament, earning him a spot in this week’s Masters, and a dream round yesterday with golf legend Tom Watson.
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AMATEUR ACE: Randal Lewis, a 54-year-old amateur, blasts out of a bunker last September while winning the USGA Mid-Amateur tournament, earning him a spot in this week’s Masters, and a dream round yesterday with golf legend Tom Watson (above).
This guy is the ultimate everyman.
“I’m just an average guy doing something that every golfer dreams of,’’ Lewis said yesterday at Augusta National, where he had just finished a practice round with two-time Masters winner Tom Watson (Yes, that Tom Watson).
Lewis is so “average guy’’ that he’s not staying at the fabled Crow’s Nest, the college dorm-like bunk room in the attic of the Augusta National clubhouse, where the amateurs stay tournament week, because he has sleep apnea and is fearful his breathing machine will freak out his fellow amateurs and deprive them of sleep.
No matter, though. Check out how Lewis’ week has gone so far:
He played a practice round with three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson last Wednesday.
Lewis had a chance encounter with Mickelson on Tuesday because the local Augusta National caddie he had been assigned happened to be a guy whose brain Mickelson likes to pick during his pre-Masters practice rounds.
Next thing Lewis knew, Mickelson was introducing himself and saying, “Hey, we only have three tomorrow. Want to join us?’’
Mickelson invited Lewis to breakfast the next morning in the Champions locker room prior to their practice round together.
Yesterday was Lewis’ dream round with Watson, to whom he sent a letter when he qualified for the Masters, asking if he would play a round with him. Watson responded with a welcoming letter, which Lewis’ wife, Melanie, promptly framed.
“One of the reasons I wanted to play with him was because he was a real inspiration to me,’’ Lewis said, referring to Watson’s runner-up at the 2009 British Open at age 59. “He had a part in me being here in a roundabout way. He really proved that age doesn’t have to be a limiting factor.’’
As if playing with Watson wasn’t incredible enough, Andy North joined the group, which also included Martin Kaymer, who skipped a shot across the pond and into the jar on the 16th hole yesterday for a hole-in-one that drew a thunderous roar from the spectators.
When Lewis stands on the first tee Thursday, the moment all of this fantasy morphs into reality, the father of two sons (one of whom is named Nicklaus), will be a long way from that golf course in Richmond, Texas, where he won the Mid-Am last year, a victory that came 15 years after Lewis lost in the final of the same tournament.
“To do it after being in the final 15 years ago and finally win it was incredible,’’ Lewis said. “It really has been amazing all the good things that have happened to me since I won the Mid-Am. It’s almost surreal, an amazing experience for someone in my stage of life.
“I had 15 years to watch the Masters and think how close I had come. Obviously, I dearly wanted to play in the Masters.’’
The only thing that could have made Lewis’ life any more spectacular in the last week was if he had been one of the three first-prize winners of that Mega Millions drawing. And we can’t be certain whether he would have traded the winner’s share for this trip to the Masters.
Lewis’ expectations are modest, with an emphasis on “having fun.’’ No Mid-Am champion has ever even made the Masters cut. Lewis, who shot 76 yesterday and averages about 78, said the lowest he has scored in a practice round in recent weeks was 72.
But the results hardly matter this week, not nearly as much as the destination to which his journey has delivered him.
“This will certainly go down as the greatest week in my life,’’ Lewis said. “I can’t imagine how you could top it.”
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
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