WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A Waco man will attend The Masters golf tournament next month after winning the lottery on his 20th attempt.
Dan Ingham, senior vice president of marketing and communications at The First National Bank of Central Texas, applied for Masters tickets in spring 2025 and received an email in July notifying him he was selected. He received four tickets to the tournament.
Dan Ingham will attend tournament in April with wife and friends after decades of rejection emails(Courtesy Photo)
An estimated 2 million people enter the Masters ticket lottery each year, putting the chances of being selected at less than 1 percent.
“For about two decades, every single year, I think around June or so I get an email saying, ‘thanks for trying, Mr. Ingham, you don’t get a ticket this year,” Ingham said. “But this past summer, I finally got one that said ‘congratulations you’re going to the Masters and to be honest I kind of thought it was fake. I thought maybe it was spam email or something like that.”
Ingham confirmed the email was legitimate. He will attend the tournament with his wife Julie and another couple.
Dan Ingham will attend tournament in April with wife and friends after decades of rejection emails(Courtesy Photo)
Lifelong dream for sports fan
Ingham worked as a sports anchor at KWTX-TV from 2003 to 2015 and is a lifelong sports and golf fan.
“The Masters has always been my favorite golf major and for the last 20 years or so I’ve tried to get a chance to go to that,” he said. “It’s a lifelong dream. I’d always told my wife, Julie, ‘if we ever get it, we’re going’ and she agreed and it’s going to be a blast.”
Ingham said friends who have attended the tournament describe it as the Disneyland of golf.
“Everything is perfect, you have a blast when you’re there,” he said. “The customer service is amazing and oh by the way the best golfers in the world are there. So, it’s a dream come true and I’m glad I finally got that email last spring that said ‘Dan you’re going to the Masters.”
Lottery process
The Masters lottery process requires applicants to create an account on the official Masters website and apply for practice round and tournament round tickets during the lottery period. A random drawing determines who receives tickets.
Selected applicants have a limited time to purchase their allocated tickets. The tournament has strict rules against selling or transferring tickets.
Ingham will attend a practice round on Tuesday April 7.
Dan is a former sports anchor and morning news anchor at KWTX.
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