It is remarkable to note that Rolex testimonees have won the Masters no fewer than 31 times since 1958 when Arnold Palmer slipped on his first green jacket — a better than 50% win rate.
And who could forget the drama of Tiger Woods coming back from almost career-ending health and personal challenges to grab his fifth title last year, a total topped only by Jack Nicklaus with six.
The Rolex winners’ roster is a who’s who of the greats: Arnold Palmer (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964) | Gary Player (1961, 1974, 1978) | Jack Nicklaus (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986) | Tom Watson (1977, 1981) | Bernhard Langer (1985, 1993) | Fred Couples (1992) | José María Olazábal (1994, 1999) | Tiger Woods (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019) | Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010) | Trevor Immelman (2008) | Adam Scott (2013) | Jordan Spieth (2015).
This year’s Masters, which teed off yesterday at the Augusta National, is also the 20th for which Rolex has been the official partner.
Justin Thomas is the best-placed Rolex ambassador on after a 5-under par and Tiger Woods is well-placed on -4.
Justin Thomas is among a group that Rolex calls its New Guard, which also includes American Matthew Wolff, currently 4-under and Spaniard Jon Rahm on -3.
Bryson DeChambeau, another testimonee, is five off the lead on -2.
Do they just get free watches from Rolex for being an Ambassador or do they get paid to wear the watches or get free watches and get paid to wear them ?
How does the waiting list affect them if they want a particular model ?