John Smoltz reminisces about playing Augusta with Tiger Woods during Braves spring training

If you had the chance to play Augusta with Tiger Woods but had work, what would you do? That was the dilemma Braves legend John Smoltz faced during his Atlanta’s spring training one season, but luckily the gracious Bobby Cox was ever-so understanding.

Joining Joe Buck and Michael Collins on Day 3 of the PGA Championship MegaCast with ESPN and Omaha Productions, Smoltz reminisced about the time Woods smuggled him out of camp to hit the links.

“I played with the greatest manager in the world, Bobby Cox. I got a call on a Friday. This was two weeks before the Masters. Typically Tiger fashion, he was like ‘what are you doing on Sunday?’ I got spring training every day, I’m going to the park,” began the Baseball Hall of Famer. “He goes, ‘Wheels up at 7 a.m., I’ll have you back by 3. We’re going to play Augusta on Sunday and every pin is going to be Sunday’s pins. And I’m like man, can you give me a day. I got to figure out how to make this work.”

When you get the call from Tiger, you move things around and make it happen. Smoltz worked his magic on Cox, and the rest is history.

“It just so happened my schedule was going to be light on Sunday. So I hung around Bobby’s office and just kind of waited, asked if anybody made him mad or anything,” explained the 1996 Cy Young Award recipient. “Just go in, ask the question and know the answer is going to be no. So I went in there, ‘Bobby, I know the answer probably, but I had to ask.’ I laid it out and he said, ‘I’ll see you Monday, Smoltzy.'”

If Cox didn’t let Smoltz take the day to hit Augusta with Woods, would the former Braves star still be calling him the greatest manager in the world? Probably, but a little bit of resentment would be evident in his voice.

Instead, John Smoltz had the experience of a lifetime with Tiger Woods, and a story he can continue to captivate audiences with for years to come. Bobby Cox always did seem to push the right buttons when it mattered most.