Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

By Joel Beall
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Paul Casey made the Masters cut on the number, but acquitted himself well with Augusta National on Saturday morning. The first player out, Casey made the most of a dampened setup, carding four birdies against a lone bogey for a three-under 69, moving 16 spots up the leader board.

Unfortunately for Casey, no one cared about his round. That’s what happens when you tee it up with a living legend.

Casey was paired with Jeff Knox, a member of Augusta National Golf Club who annually serves as the Masters marker. Knox, in his mid-50s, owns the course record from the member’s tees (61) and routinely beats the pros he’s partnered with. (Just this spring, Rory McIlroy said Knox waxed him during a pre-Masters visit.) Coupled with his forays into the Masters—seriously, can you imagine getting this call from the bullpen?—Knox has transformed into a cult figure.

Which explains why Casey was bombarded with nothing but Knox questions following his round.

He made a comment to you when you were going up to mark your ball, and you laughed about it.

Are there any things you can pick up from his knowledge of the course that you can take forward?

The putt he made on 11, it kind of dropped in at the last minute. Would you have seen that break?

It died in the hole right there … Just wondered if you saw that break?

To Casey’s credit, he took the inquiries in stride.

“It was great fun,” Casey said. “That was the best experience I’ve ever had with a marker.” The Englishman said Knox played better golf than a lot of pros will on Saturday.

“He’s very good,” Casey remarked. “He birdied 11. Brilliant birdie … even Tiger said to me on the putting green he goes, ‘Seriously, dude. He’s played the last eight weekends at the Masters. He’s got to be a regular.’”

See, even Tiger gets it. Save for this weekend’s winner, these rounds will be lost to history. Legends like Knox? They are never forgotten.