Many doors have been opened for Esteban Toledo over the last few years, mainly thanks to the former Castle Pines resident winning four times on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
And the 53-year-old native of Mexico will have another opportunity of a lifetime next month, albeit one that came about in an unusual way.
After never competing in a Masters — or even attending one — the former Coloradan will be at Augusta National in three weeks for the year’s first major championship. Though he won’t be in the field, he will be inside the ropes — as a caddie.
Toledo (pictured) persuaded fellow PGA Tour Champions player Sandy Lyle to let Toledo carry his bag for the Masters starting on April 7. Lyle won a green jacket at Augusta National in 1988.
Toledo had asked two-time Masters champ Ben Crenshaw to caddie for him last year. “I wanted to see what was going on inside the ropes,” Toledo told PGATour.com this week. “So I asked Crenshaw. I said, ‘Hey, I can donate $10,000 to your charity. Let me caddie for free and I’ll take care of the whole thing.'”
But last April was going to mark Crenshaw’s final Masters, so Gentle Ben wanted his regular Masters caddie, Carl Jackson, to do the honors.
Not one to give up, Toledo approached Lyle with a similar offer. And the Scotsman took him up on it last week, calling Toledo in Los Cabos, Mexico to give him the good news.
“He said, ‘You’re on.’ So I’m going,” Toledo said. “It will be fantastic.”
