Pimento Cheese at the Masters; A Tradition

Yesterday, was my first visit to the famous Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.  It is a magnificent golf course whose challenges can only truly be appreciated by viewing it in the flesh.  The undulating, lightning fast greens make a duffer like me weak in the knees.  A masterpiece, melding nature and architecture, I couldn’t imagine negotiating neither the yardage nor the bunkers.  Like a femme fatale, golfing greats are lured back every year; trapped by her beauty before falling victims to her whims; tortured into humble mortals trying to make love to her – just once.

Yes, it was a fine spectacle, but after a 5 a.m. alarm and a drive to the gates of golf heaven by 8:30 a.m., I was hungry and on a mission to hunt down ASAP the famous $1.50 Masters pimento cheese sandwich.  Pimento cheese sandwich for breakfast, why not? At the concession stand, freshly made each day and wrapped in a logo plastic bag (everything but the toilet paper at the Masters has their logo on it); I found, the legendary sandwich that is available annually at this tournament. It’s not bad; creamy with just a bare hint of cayenne, but what surprised me was the bread.  White.  Plain, old grocery store, cheap, white bread, but it's tradition. 

I’m sure, the simple recipe belongs to some sainted soul of Augusta. It has that distinct homemade quality of Southern hospitality. The Masters stands for such virtues. I mean no disrespect, but the pimento cheese of the Masters does seem to be made for the masses. I, frankly, think mine is better but will never have tradition and legend attached to it.  Mine has a good bit more flavor, which might not be what the patrons prefer at The Masters. The Augusta National version made for a fine breakfast and I appreciated that it was a fresh, and not a processed product.  Standing amongst the tall pines, on a surprisingly chilly morning,  halfway through my sandwich and hot coffee, my senses and memory where fully engaged in a moment I should never forget. 

Later in the day, I had the privilege of enjoying lunch at the storied club house with our son and other charming company.  Basking in the sparkling, spring sunshine,  we enjoyed wonderful crab cakes, but my favorite memory from my first Masters was a legendary, homemade pimento cheese sandwich for breakfast for a buck 50.