Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson cracked up the patrons at Augusta National with some hilarious one-liners to start The Masters.

Honorary starters Nicklaus, Player and Watson hit the tournament’s ceremonial opening tee shots down the 1st hole at 7:25am local time on Thursday.

Nicklaus, 85, is of course a record 18-time major champion and he has been part of the opening Masters tee shot ceremony since 2010.

Player, 89, joined as an honorary starter in 2012, and Watson, 75, joined the party in 2022.

The Masters ceremonial opening tee shots typically always draw a bit of banter between golf’s greats and the patrons, and today was no different.

As Player was announced to the 1st tee to hit the opening shot to start the 89th edition of The Masters, he joked: “The fairway gets a little more narrow every year…”

Player then thrashed his ball down the heart of the fairway, while giving his famous air kick.

Nicklaus then stepped up to the tee and made several groans as he went to peg up his ball.

He was joined on the 1st tee by his wife Barbara Nicklaus, who he has been married to since 1960.

“Maybe,” Nicklaus said to the patrons, when called to the tee by Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.

When Nicklaus got his tee into the ground, he said: “I won, oh boy, watch out.”

Nicklaus, a record six-time winner of The Masters, then thrashed his ball down the fairway.

After successfully finding the short grass, Nicklaus raised both arms aloft to celebrate his achievement.

Watson then finally boarded the tee and he admitted: “it’s also a little harder for me to get down…”

He also found the fairway.

Ridley then confirmed The Masters was now officially underway and for patrons to enjoy the tournament.

Watch Player, Nicklaus and Watson hit the ceremonial opening tee shots at The Masters – and their epic one-liners – below:

Honorary Starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson begin the 2025 Masters Tournament. #themasters pic.twitter.com/LstSDUkltb

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2025

Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com