As a pre-teen, Coody was afflicted with a strain of the poliovirus and was told to avoid contact sports, of which he played many, for the next year. On his way home from receiving the doctor’s orders, his father offered to buy him a new set of clubs. His other moment of revelation came after his uncle took him to the 1950 Colonial National Invitation Tournament. There, the 12-year-old watched Ben Hogan, who was hitting practice shots to see if he would be able to compete while recovering from his near-fatal car accident the previous year, as well as the tournament champion, Sam Snead. Upon returning home, Coody told his mother he was going to be a professional golfer.

Coody first qualified for the Masters Tournament in 1963 following a run to the semifinals at the previous year’s U.S. Amateur. Prior to playing in his first Masters, Coody spent 30 days in the hospital beginning in mid-February due to a bout with mononucleosis, but wasn’t about to miss the chance to play Augusta that April. Eight years and five trips down Magnolia Lane later, Coody became the sixth Texan ever to win the Masters, outlasting both Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller by two strokes courtesy of back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16. The top-10 finishers in the loaded field went on to win a combined 37 major championships, including 10 green jackets.

Regardless of how full a golfer's collection of honors might get there is always one keepsake or memento that has a significance above the rest. The most cherished artifact is more often personal and private and not the biggest trophy in the case.