Rollins likes life inside the ropes

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Every doctor should spend some time in the waiting room; every lawyer should serve on a jury; and every golfer should watch a tournament from the peanut gallery.

Few of these professionals ever get the perspective of those who use their services or watch them perform. But it could be a valuable experience if you didn't have to get sick or summoned to take part.

But in the case of a pro golfer, all you have to do is miss a cut.

That's what happened to John Rollins last week at Augusta National when he failed to qualify for weekend play after shooting 77 and 73 (6 over par) in the first two rounds, missing the cut at the Masters by two shots.

That will buy you a seat in the stands where the hackers sit.

Which was the last place Rollins wanted to be on Saturday during his third Masters, but he made the most of it.

"I went out to 16, sat with the patrons and ate some egg salad sandwiches," he said. "It was weird."

Line-up of two

Rollins admitted Thursday that it was the first time he'd watched golf from outside the ropes since he turned professional a dozen years ago.

"I had invited a few friends and they were excited to be there," he said. "So even though I missed the cut — it's the Masters — they were going out to watch. We weren't going to leave to come over (to Hilton Head) until Monday. Somehow I got talked into going out on Saturday."

Chances are few of the fans in the stands even recognized Rollins. Despite playing on the PGA Tour since 2000, the Virginia native is not exactly a familiar face.

He spent five years on the Nationwide Tour, winning once at the 2001 Hershey Open. He's won twice on the PGA Tour, but both victories (Canadian Open in 2002, B.C. Open in 2006) were obscure.

Truth is, most golf fans couldn't pick him out of a lineup of two.

No heckling

Which is why Rollins could just sit back and enjoy himself.

"I thought about kind of heckling the guys a little bit, maybe yell out and see if they'd see me," he said. "But I kept quiet. Figured I keep my ticket privileges alive."

And what he saw was a parade of pros coming through the pretty par-3 trying to put the ball close to a tough pin that was cut back right.

"That pin is probably the toughest one on the green," Rollins said. "The highlight on Saturday was probably Justin Rose. He hit it right of the green in the bunker and he made it (for birdie).

"I was predicting his ball would be all the way down to the bottom and no chance. He made me look like a fool when he holed it out."

Rollins, however, looked a lot smarter here Thursday after shooting a first-round score of 4-under-par 67 at Harbour Town Links to place him among the early leaders at the Heritage.

More rounds like that could assure him of a place inside the ropes this weekend. Which is where he prefers to be.

"It was different," Rollins said of his busman's holiday in the Augusta gallery. "I'm hopefully not going to make a habit of watching golf on the weekend."

Reach Ken Burger at 937-5598 kburger@postandcourier.com.