Nick Saban opens up about his recent experience at the Masters Tournament

Nick Saban made a surprise trip to the home state of his bitter rival last week — but he admits that Augusta National is one of the is favorite golf courses in the world. The Alabama Crimson Tide coach wanted to show support for PGA pro Justin Thomas, who spent his one year of college playing in Tuscaloosa.

Saban recently shared his experience at the 2022 Masters, while opening up about his admiration for the former Alabama golfer who is considered one of the top PGA players on tour.

“Well, it was a fun day,” the Alabama head football coach said. “It’s a great place with unique tradition, I know how much this tournament means to a lot of players, I know how much it means to JT to have the opportunity to compete in a major.”

While the Alabama coach clearly doesn’t lead the golf team for Alabama, he has openly shared his passion for the game and has been known to hit the course in the offseason.

The Crimson Tide football coach reflected on the joy he’s had watching Thomas advance from a college player at Alabama to the highest level in the PGA.

Saban even revealed that he helped recruit him to come to Tuscaloosa as a golfer coming out of high school.

“It’s been really interesting to watch him,” Nick Saban added. “From being a high school player that we were involved in recruiting and followed him obviously through his career here, and now he’s a pro player. I don’t get many opportunities to get to see him, so it was really great to see those guys, you know it’s amazing how they can hit it.”

It’s no surprise to anyone that the undeniable top coach in college football for more than a decade has had the opportunity to play at Augusta National multiple times, so he was asked if he had a favorite hole at one of the most exclusive courses in the country.

“I mean they are all great,” the Crimson Tide coach said of the various hole placements on the iconic course.

“And believe me, I really enjoy playing it. It’s probably my favorite place in the world to play, it’s a beautiful course. And it’s very very difficult, and very challenging — especially the green structures — you gotta have great touch which is not something I’m really known for.”

Nick Saban shares Masters advice he gave to Justin Thomas

While the Alabama coach boasts an eye-popping 269-67-1 record as a college football coach that includes seven national titles and 10 SEC titles, Thomas has proven he can win at the highest level of his sport as well.

The former Crimson Tide golfer has 14 career wins on the PGA Tour, including the 2021 Players Championship. In March, ahead of the 2022 Players, Saban and Thomas hit the TPC Sawgrass course together.

Still, Nick Saban revealed the advice he gave to Thomas ahead of the 2022 Masters Tournament.

“When you win a championship they say you have to defend,” Saban told PGA.com. “You don’t have to defend. No one can take away what you did last year. Just go have fun and do it again.”

In August 2020, Thomas took to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in his career to wrap up the season.

“There’s no such thing as defending a title, in my opinion,” Saban continued. “If they took it away from you, it would be different. But you’re always going to be a Players champion and you’re always going to have that special place in the locker room, so just have fun and win it again.”

Thomas would be wise to follow Saban’s advice, as he became the only college football coach to lead his team to back-to-back national championships in the BCS and CFP era in 2012. 

While Thomas didn’t win in Augusta, he finished in the top ten (No. 9 overall) which still netted him a nice payday of $450,000.

There is clearly something in the water in Alabama when it comes to athletic success at the highest level