This year’s Mayor’s Masters Reception marks the return to honoring a Masters Tournament champion. And Mayor Garnett Johnson, hosting his inaugural reception, has added two more honorees from the sports world as well as regional elected leaders.
The reception will honor tournament champion Daniel “Danny” Willett. In only his second appearance at the Masters, Willett’s bogey-free final round of 67 landed the British golfer his first green jacket in 2016.
In addition, Johnson will honor former Masters Tournament Senior Director Walton L. “Buzzy” Johnson. The Augusta native and CPA served as director of the tournament from 1989 to 2020.
The third honoree is Jaylen Watson, the Augusta native and 2023 Superbowl winner with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Johnson also has invited, for the first time regional leaders, who include North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams, Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon and Columbia County Commission Chairman Doug Duncan.
MORE: Johnson has big plans for inaugural Mayor’s Masters Reception
“The impact of the tournament is felt across the region, and the Mayor’s Masters Reception should reflect that,” Johnson said.
Osbon said the event will “celebrate the importance of the tournament in our cities and demonstrate the importance of solidarity and the commitment we each must have to support the success of our entire region.”
Duncan noted the 2019 arrival of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, whose first two rounds are played at Champions Retreat.
“Columbia County along with the greater Augusta region has benefitted greatly from the Masters Tournament, particularly in the last few years as the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur are played in Columbia County,” Duncan said.
The event will continue to serve as an annual fundraiser, with this year’s beneficiary being Paine College.
It will feature JAMP, the James Brown Academy of Musik Pupils, which was founded by Deanna Brown Thomas to extend her father’s legacy to young musicians, as well as local musical acts TreSounds, Easily Amused and Mayweather.
The event has been moved to 5-9 p.m. Sunday at the Augusta Common. It will conclude with fireworks sponsored by Windsor Jewelers.
Founded by former Mayor Bob Young in 1999, the event honored one or more Masters Tournament champions each year including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Fuzzy Zoeller, through 2013, when it honored Craig Stadler. Since then the guests of honor have included other golf legends such as Carl Jackson, Nancy Lopez and Jeff Knox.
General admission to the family-friendly event, which will feature an array of food trucks as well as bouncy houses and yard games for kids, is free. There’s also a VIP session for which tickets are $250.
