1 of 5

Wally McKeel is a big fan of the Masters and has been before as a spectator. This time, he got to work at the event as a crowd control manager. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Wally McKeel has collected a number of items from the Masters, including the very popular gnome that went fast each day to eager spectators. He also got to keep his work badge and uniform he wore during the time he was there. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Wally McKeel has collected a number of items from the Masters, including the very popular gnome that went fast each day to eager spectators. He also got to keep his work badge and uniform he wore during the time he was there. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Wally McKeel has collected a number of items from the Masters, including the very popular gnome that went fast each day to eager spectators. He also got to keep his work badge and uniform he wore during the time he was there. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Wally McKeel is a big fan of the Masters and has been before as a spectator. This time, he got to work at the event as a crowd control manager. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Wally McKeel has been a spectator at the Masters before. Last week, he got to take on an entirely different view of one of professional golf’s grandest events.

McKeel was hired by Securitas to help with crowd control during the week of the Masters. As a course officer, he worked the No. 4 hole and assisted people in everything from where to sit to how to be a good patron while visiting the hole.

“When the tournament started and people started coming up in the stands, we would find seats for them,” McKeel said. “And if the stand got full, we would pull the rope and shut it off, whatever. And when a group came through and patrons left the stand, we would let more people in.

“I mean, it was more of an organizational thing. And we were instructed to tell the patrons if they were in any way kind of out of line, which, I mean, it never happens hardly. Just to make sure everything’s running smoothly and the patrons are observing the rules.

“I’m very thankful for Mr. John Easterling and (Beaufort County Sheriff Scott) Hammonds (who worked at the Masters before). They helped me out (with getting the job).”

McKeel, who said he’s been to the Masters 17 other times as a spectator, said his day started at 4 a.m. by leaving the hotel in Aiken, S.C., where he was staying. He’d take the tour bus to Augusta National, sit in on the morning meeting and would be up and running by 7:30 a.m. each day. That included all the lead-up to the event, from the ladies’ competition and even a youth tournament that was held before the start of play on Thursday.

“Mainly just be there, be present,” McKeel said. “You know, we had a uniform to wear. And, you know, if anything unusual happens, we contact a higher official at the club. One day, a lady, she collapsed right behind our grandstand on number four. And, you know, the people with the radios, they called in to EMT and they were there, I mean, like in two minutes.”

Each day of the Masters, his work extended to the No. 16 hole after play was complete on No. 4. So he got the chance to see some of the action as Rory McIlroy finally won the tournament and collected the green jacket for the first time.

“We would go from four to 16 just to basically do the same thing, you know, observe,” McKeel said. “You know, they’ve got sitting areas in certain places around the green, and have standing areas, so if someone in a sitting area is standing up, my job would be to go say, ‘Hey, you know, it’s customary that in this section of the green, you know, you sit’, and they would just have a seat. But things run so smoothly.”

He was glad to see McIlrory finally win the Masters and hopes one day to get an autograph on a pairing sheet he had and plans to frame to mark the moment.

“It was special to me being a part of him winning the career grand slam,” McKeel said. “I’ve got a pairing sheet that I’m going to frame. Hopefully, one day I might be able to get him to sign it. I mean, I’m not sure when I’ll ever see him again. Oh, I’ll see him next year at the Masters, maybe.”

McKeel said, despite the long hours, he enjoyed the experience and got a different understanding of how it all works compared to being a spectator. He still got some fantastic souvenirs, including the popular Masters gnome, which was snapped up daily by thousands of people who wanted one.

“Well, it’s actually, it’s like night and day, because the average person doesn’t realize what goes on behind the scenes,” McKeel said of the difference from being a patron and working the tournament. “The work that people do to make all this happen and get it just right for the tournament.”

NOTE: The newspaer version of this story incorrectly referenced Wally McKeel as Walt McKeel. We regret the error.

More Sports

Close call doesn’t help in Washington softball loss; baseball also falls to SWE

Annual Special Olympics games held for athletes from Beaufort, Hyde counties

Continued success: Southside’s track and field program looking for more in 2025

Northside to hold Easter baseball, softball tournaments