On Easter Sunday, only one victory really counts

What do golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player have in common with Jesus Christ?

All had career-defining moments on Easter Sunday.

Each of the members of the great triumvirate of golf's pre-Tiger Woods era won the Masters Tournament when it coincided with Holy Week. It has happened 16 times in the history of the tournament, including this year.

The first three-time winner of the Masters, Jimmy Demaret, must have thought the green jacket of Augusta National made for a fine Sunday best on Easter. Golf Digest once described Demaret as "an Easter parade of color in custom-tailored clothes that could brighten Juneau in January."

He earned two of his Masters victories on Easter Sunday (1947 and 1950) and is the only golfer to win more than one Easter Masters.

Jesus Christ never wore a green jacket, but the Gospel of John tells us he was mistaken for a gardener by Mary Magdalene on the first Easter morning. No doubt he would appreciate the magnificent flora of Augusta National.

But I do not think that Jesus, were he to reside in Augusta, would be an avid golfer.

Jesus was a carpenter and fisherman. He would probably be too busy fishing at Thurmond Lake with Peter, James or John on the weekends to find time for the links.

This is not to say that Jesus would not appreciate some of the virtues of golf. Golf is a game known for its rules that emphasize sportsmanship and integrity.

Harvey Penick, whose golf classic, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book , has a mystical status akin to a golfer's Sermon on the Mount, wrote, "Be brave if you lose and meek if you win."

This maxim echoes the third beatitude of Jesus: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

Though wisdom like Penick's can be found on the fairways and greens, the physical boundaries of the golf course confine the spiritual virtues of game. They also confine its victories.

Zach Johnson, both a Christian and pro golfer, said after his unlikely 2007 Masters victory that, "Being Easter Sunday, I felt like there was certainly another power walking with me."

Clearly, he knew that Easter is about one, and only one, victory.

DAVID AVERILL IS THE YOUTH PASTOR AT MARVIN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN MARTINEZ.