AUGUSTA, Ga. — The father and his son sat next to each other at a Masters pre-tournament press conference Monday, flanked by an Augusta National green jacket serving as an interview moderator.
It was designed to be a Hallmark greeting card feel-good moment. But really, it was a contrived moment — even if it were orchestrated for all the right reasons.
Craig Stadler and his son, Kevin, after all, are making history this week as the first father and son ever to compete in the same Masters.
So it was a natural for tournament officials to pair them for a press conference since there was so much interest in their story. The two, it has been speculated, might even be paired for the first two rounds of the tournament, which begins Thursday.
But as Craig and Kevin Stadler sat in front of a packed room full of reporters, they both looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Kevin, in particular, appeared fidgety in the spotlight next to his dad — quite possibly because his relationship with Craig has been strained in recent years as a result of Craig’s divorce from his wife of 25 years, Kevin’s mom, Sue.
It has not been as if father and son have been mortal enemies. By Kevin’s own admission in recent interviews, they simply grew apart.
That makes the best story to this Stadler pairing this week about the potential of this Masters experience drawing them closer together again.
“I think this week will help heal a lot of past wounds,’’ veteran PGA Tour caddie Ron Levin, one of Kevin’s close friends, told The Post Monday. “The quality time they will have while watching each other’s anguish and delight that tournament will yield for them this week might help their relationship grow stronger.’’
Kevin Stadler, now 34, was two years old when Craig, now 60, won the 1982 Masters.
Craig’s ’82 Masters win earned him an invite back to Augusta National for the rest of his life.
This will be Kevin’s first Masters, a by-product of his win in Phoenix earlier this year — the first of his career in his 239th PGA Tour start.
“What are the odds?’’ Craig said Monday. “This is a very, very cool thing. I’m so proud of the way he’s played the last three or four years. He’s been close a zillion times and finally got it done. So it’s a special week. I’m going to be out there slashing around, trying to make the cut, and he’s going to be trying to win the golf tournament. I hope he plays really well, and I hope I don’t embarrass myself.’’
Craig, a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, has strongly hinted this will be the last time he plays the Masters after 37 starts, indicating he has been holding out for this moment when Kevin qualified so they can play together. Craig last made a Masters cut in 2007 and has broken par only once in his last 28 competitive Masters rounds.
“I had kind of envisioned this happening someday,’’ Craig said.
Kevin, meanwhile, has become a model of consistency, having made 10 of 11 cuts this season. He played Augusta National once with his dad, as a teenager, though he has been coming to the tournament as a spectator since he was a toddler.
“It’s going to be really fun to be on the inside of the ropes here,’’ Kevin said. “I’ve been around here quite a bit, but I’ve never, ever played it. So it’s going to be a blast.’’
Craig tried to diffuse any notion the two being at Augusta together is a “distraction,’’ saying, “I think everybody is trying to make a distraction out of it other than us. We’re just having a great time being together and playing. We’re like the most undistracted in the world compared to everyone else in this room.’’
After his February win in Phoenix, when Kevin was asked about his relationship with his dad, he said, “Rather not talk about it, but it’s fine.”
Craig, on a conference call with reporters that day, said, “I’m his biggest fan. He probably doesn’t know it yet, but I love watching him play on TV and on the Internet.”
This week, the father won’t need TV or the Internet to track his son. He’ll be able to watch him up close and personal, and perhaps it will draw the two closer than they’ve been in years. Even if neither is successful in the tournament, even if their performances don’t lead them anywhere near a green jacket, this can become another mystical Masters moment.
The Monday practice round was washed out because of heavy rains and electrical storms, preventing any players or spectators from being on the course after 10 a.m. Practice rounds are scheduled to resume Tuesday morning, although more rain is expected.
The Tuesday forecast is for lingering morning showers and then partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain later in the day with a high of 69.
The forecast for Wednesday, which features the popular annual Par-3 Contest, is cloudy with a 20 percent chance of isolated morning showers and then decreasing clouds in the afternoon with a high of 71.
For the tournament’s opening round on Thursday, a chilly start is predicted, but it will warm to 75 with little chance of rain.
Friday is calling for partly cloudy skies and a high of 78 with winds 8 to 14 mph and Saturday is supposed to be sunny with a high of 81.