A Reporter Covering The Masters This Week Is Playing Her First EVER Round Of Golf At Augusta National Tomorrow
South Carolina sports reporter Julia Westerman will experience her first round of golf at the iconic course thanks to the annual media lottery


Augusta National is proving to be the place were dreams are made at this year’s Masters.
After all, amateur Neal Shipley was paired with five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods for the final round of the Major on Sunday, while, towards the top of the leaderboard, Swede Ludvig Aberg could yet become the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win The Masters on debut.
It’s not just players who are having the time of their lives this week, either. Each year, there is a media lottery that offers a lucky few journalists the chance to play a round at the world-famous course the Monday after the end of the tournament.
While that prize alone is something special, put yourself in the shoes of sports reporter Julia Westerman, who is among the names to have been selected to play via that route in what will be her first ever round of golf!
The Columbia, South Carolina native broke the news on X, writing: “As if this month couldn't get any crazier, I just won the media lottery to play a round at Augusta National on Monday. I am in disbelief.”
As if this month couldn't get any crazier, I just won the media lottery to play a round at Augusta National on Monday.I am in disbeliefApril 12, 2024
How could you not be? For most people, their introduction to the game comes at something far less celebrated such as a municipal par-3 course, but teeing it up at Augusta National? Navigating the notorious stretch of holes that constitutes Amen Corner? Walking the fairways where, just a day earlier, some of the greatest players to have ever picked up a club competed? That’s an entirely different proposition.
Of course, the object of the experience is not for the competition but merely to enjoy a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Wis 10 reporter Westerman will surely savor every moment.
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There’s also a chance that, like so many people, Westerman’s first round of golf will lead to an insatiable hankering for more - and that’s where there is just one area of concern: if she does decide to take up the game more regularly, how will it ever get better than that?
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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