Reed On The Greens April 2, 2025
How The Masters Tournament, Tiger And Weir Changed My Life
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com
Above Photo: Jeffrey Reed was a Staff Advisory team member with Wilson Golf for 14 years.

Like every golfer, the Masters Tournament has found a special place in my heart. Bobby Jones’s tournament at Augusta National Golf Club signals the beginning of spring – how can it not, with magnolias, pines, dogwoods, azaleas and holly colouring a Monet painting come alive on our television screens? And the roars from the gallery, unique to this annual tournament held since 1934, ring in our ears year-long – think of Arnie’s Army, Jack’s 1986 comeback victory (his sixth Green Jacket), and Tiger’s incredible comeback win in 2019.

For me, the Masters Tournament holds even more importance as it changed my life forever when times were tough. In fact, Tiger’s 12-stroke victory in 1997 and Weir’s playoff win over Len Mattiace in 2003 provided me with fodder for mounting my own comebacks when my life as a disabled person saw my health declining rapidly and in need of inspiration.

Don’t get me wrong: I remain a cynical journalist, always seeking the truth. In today’s world of journalism which delivers more puff and PR than investigative news, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never sold out when it comes to reporting. I don’t have many sports heroes, other than Nicklaus and Roberto Clemente. But Tiger’s first Major tournament win in ’97 and Weir’s ’03 win – the first for a lefty at Augusta National – did change my life forever.

My story of living as a disabled athlete has been well chronicled – you can read about it here. After my first surgery as an infant, doctors gave me no chance of running or playing competitive sports. Yet I was an elite athlete for most of my life, most notably after those two aforementioned Masters tournaments.

I can’t tell you how inspired I was watching a 21-year-old Woods win the Green Jacket in a fashion that no one had ever seen before. What impressed more than how Woods brought athleticism to professional golf was his incomparable mental toughness.

Jeffrey Reed with 2003 Masters Tournament winner Mike Weir

In 1997, I seldom golfed and, in fact, was pouring almost all of my effort into writing. As a disabled person, I had grown complacent when it came to living a healthy lifestyle. Fitness had taken a back seat to working as a freelance journalist.

Yet something sparked within me as I watched Tiger crush his opponents at Augusta National. I discovered a new-found love of golf – not just weekend rounds riding carts with my buddies but regular rounds walking and finding it in the dirt at the range when everyone else had gone home for the evening.

Also, I knew that with age 40 just around the corner, if I wanted to live a childhood dream of playing with the London Majors of the semi-professional Intercounty Baseball League, then I had better re-dedicate my life to fitness. As a kid, I excelled in baseball, cross country and track and field while competing against able-bodied athletes – as a disabled person, I’m also proud of those accomplishments. Now, in part using Tiger’s incredible game-changing persona, I had more motivation to attempt the impossible: play for the Majors ballclub.

It took four years of blood, sweat and tears, but in 2000 and 2001 I coached and pitched with the Majors. Until I became a plus-handicap golfer more than a decade later, that was the biggest accomplishment of my life.

Tiger Woods is not my hero, but his Masters win in 1997 inspired me to greatness, as I know he has inspired countless others.

Upon my retirement from baseball in 2001, I immediately felt the aches and pains of playing semi-pro baseball. And again, my career as a freelance journalist became my priority. In early-2003, I suffered a mini stoke – a TIA (transient ischemic attack). While genetics are partly to blame, most of the blame stemmed from my lack of daily fitness and poor diet. This was a wakeup call which, ever since, has seen me lead an active lifestyle.

Sitting in my Lazy Boy and struggling with lifestyle changes, I watched, along with all of Canada, as Weir relied on a stellar wedge game and clutch putting to win the Masters on the first playoff hole versus Mattiace. I first met Weir when he was winning on the Junior Tyson Tour at Fanshawe Golf Course. And I interviewed Mattiace – like Weir, one of the nicest guys on the PGA Tour – at the Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. The American still got emotional when talking with me about the Green Jacket that got away, but he spoke in great length about that week at Augusta. Class act.

Like Weir, I was an underdog. Without baseball in my future, and after Weir’s win, I literally turned to my golf clubs and said, golf is now my sport and I’m not turning back. Weir – a golfer I had interviewed during his teenage years – now inspired me to become a skilled golfer. The Bright’s Grove native inspired me to achieve my own level of greatness through golf. The only green jacket I’ve ever worn was a poor wardrobe choice during the early-1980s. Still, I thought, golf could help me be the best person I could be.

From 2003 until my retirement from playing golf in 2020, I worked tirelessly at bettering my golf game, despite the physical pain which, today, sees me relying on long walks through hiking trails and light work around our family farm in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Without a doubt, Weir’s Masters victory played a part in inspiring me to use golf as a motivating factor for life.

Jeffrey Reed at FireRock Golf Club in Komoka in 2024

Confession time: for two years after my retirement from golf, I did not watch golf on television – imagine that: a nationally-recognized golf journalist tuning out the game. Not being able to play the game for the rest  of my life was a devastating blow. But a few years ago, I found myself missing the game, so I turned on the television and dedicated even more of my time to writing and promoting the game. I can honestly say, I love golf now more than ever before, and I am thankful for that.

In 2011, our partner publication, LondonOntarioGolf.com, established the annual Heart Award in order to recognize members of the Southwestern Ontario golf community who give back to golf while growing the game. Heart & Stroke is the official charity of LondonOntarioSports.com – it’s why we named the award, the Heart Award. This year, Sunningdale Golf and Country Club head golf professional Jason Wyatt is the Heart Award winner – read more about the Heart Award here.

In 2016, LondonOntarioSports.com established the Jeffrey Reed Courage Award, presented annually to a Southern Ontario athlete who inspires with their courage on and off the playing field. This year, Special Olympics golf champion Chris Lauzon is the Courage Award winner – learn more about the Jeffrey Reed Courage Award here.

At every speaking engagement, I talk about how there are many different levels of mentors in our lives. From someone offering an encouraging word, to a higher-level mentor who plays an important part in our daily lives with words of wisdom, mentors are critical to our own success in life.

Tiger and Weir – and the Masters Tournament itself – have inspired me to work hard, be mentally tough and to create my own destiny through an incredible work ethic and never giving up, no matter what the odds.

And no, I’ll never miss another Masters Tournament.

My apologies, by the way, to Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama – those were two great Masters tournaments. Thanks to The Golf Channel for re-broadcasting those tournaments!

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Award-winning writer and broadcaster Jeffrey Reed has covered the game of golf for a local and national audience since 1980. His third book, The Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years of Seniors Golf 1918-2018, is now housed in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum library. Contact him at jeff@londonontariosports.com.