Vegas: Excitement of Masters made for a fun round

One of the surprise success stories of 2011, Jhonattan (pronounced Jonathan) Vegas is the first golfer from Venezuela to compete in the Masters Tournament. Winning the Bob Hope Classic in only his second stint as a full-time member of the PGA Tour, the 26-year-old has a powerful game and charismatic personality, making him a popular player both in his native country and to U.S. golf fans. Jhonny Vegas will share his rookie Masters experience with The Augusta Chronicle.

What can I say. Unreal! I have been looking forward to this day since I saw my first Masters when Tiger won in 1997 on my TV in Venezuela.

We had a great dinner (Wednesday) night at our home for the week with my family, friends, coaches, managers and everyone had great words of encouragement.

I woke up (Thursday) like it was Christmas morning. I just wanted to take the knowledge that (Ben) Crenshaw and Angel (Cabrera) gave me in the practice rounds. It has already been a great week having my mom on the bag in the Par-3 tournament (Wednesday).

It was fun. I had lots of thoughts on the first tee but most of all was proud for my family and country. I bogeyed 1 and then settled down with two birdies. My coach and caddie, Luis, told me to stay calm and battle, because I was going to make mistakes and I just needed to think about the shot ahead. I was up and down all day.

I missed some short putts and hit some bombs. I hit a great second shot on 15 and made a long putt for eagle. I unfortunately bogeyed 18 with a 3-putt and went straight to the practice green to work on my putting. (On Thursday night) we just planned to cook out and relax with my family and girlfriend. I could have played better (he had even-par 72), but I am looking forward to a great day. It is such a privilege to play here. I am just trying to take it all in and play well.