Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls as quarterback of the New York Giants, is one of four new members of Augusta National Golf Club – the iconic home of The Masters with just 300 members
Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls as quarterback of the New York Giants, is one of four new members of Augusta National Golf Club – the iconic home of The Masters with just 300 members Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls as quarterback of the New York Giants, is one of four new members of Augusta National Golf Club – the iconic home of The Masters with just 300 members
Two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning has been welcomed into one of the most exclusive clubs in world sport – Augusta National. The former New York Giants quarterback is among four new members to join the prestigious Georgia club in its September intake.
Augusta National, home to The Masters each April and hailed as one of the world’s top golf courses, is an invite-only club with a mere 300 members. Eli’s brother, Peyton – a Super Bowl champion with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos – is already a member of Augusta.
According to Sports Business Journal, Eli received his membership in September, alongside Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastain and former CBS Sports executive Sean McManus. At 43, Eli is one of only 13 players to have won multiple Super Bowls and has participated in several golf events over the years, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The New York Post reported in 2020 that he played off a 10 handicap. Membership grants access to one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. Typically, there are only two ways to secure a tee time: an invitation from a member or qualifying for The Masters. However, it doesn’t come cheap, with an initiation fee around $40,000, plus a few thousand more in annual membership fees.
Manning, Jassy, Bastian, and McManus have been ushered into the elite circle at Augusta National, rubbing shoulders with bigwigs like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, investment titan Warren Buffett and ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Manning boys aren’t the sole football fraternity members who boast yellow jackets either.
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Among their prestigious clubmates are NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Pittsburgh Steelers icon Lynn Swann, and revered college football coach Lou Holtz.
Augusta National’s season began last week after its usual hiatus from May to October, allowing time to sculpt its fairways and greens to perfection in anticipation for The Masters. But nature intervened as Hurricane Helene unleashed its fury in September, claiming over 200 lives across the southeast United States and battering Augusta, leaving behind a trail of uprooted trees and waterlogged greens and fairways, with the picturesque Ray’s Creek overflowing.
Still, Augusta National’s Chairman Fred Ridley remains resolute. He said last month: “As far as the golf course, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was – there was a lot of damage and we have a lot of people working hard to get us back up and running.
“We don’t really know exactly what that’s going to mean, but I can tell you if it’s humanly possible, we will be back in business sooner rather than later. The Masters will be held, it will be on the dates it’s scheduled to be held.”
Mirror – Sport
