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The Masters Tournament
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The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters, or The U.S. Masters outside of the United States, is one of four major championships in men's professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA.
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Encyclopedia
The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters, or The U.S. Masters outside of the United States, is one of four major championships in men's professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA. The Masters was started by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, who designed Augusta National with course architect Alister MacKenzie. The tournament is an official money event on the PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. The field of players is smaller than those of the other major championships because it is an invitational event, entry being controlled by the Augusta National Golf Club.
The tournament has a number of traditions. A green jacket is awarded to the winner of each tournament, which must be returned to the clubhouse after a year. The Champions dinner, inaugurated by Ben Hogan, is held on the Tuesday before each tournament, and is only open to past champions and certain board members of the Augusta National Golf Club. Beginning in 1963 legendary golfers, usually past champions, have hit a honorary tee shot on the morning of the first round. Such golfers have included Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, and Arnold Palmer, who has hit the tee shot the last two years. Since 1960 a semi-social Par 3 Contest, on a par-3 course on Augusta National's grounds, has been played on the day before the first round of each Masters Tournament.
Jack Nicklaus has won more Masters Tournaments than any other golfer, winning six times between 1963 and 1986. Other multiple winners include Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, with four apiece. Gary Player, from South Africa, was the first non-American player to win the tournament in 1961. The tournament organisers regularly extend the length and layout of the course to meet developments in equipment technology and player skill, a practice which began after the arrival of Tiger Woods at the 1997 tournament.
Format
In accordance with typical golf tournament formatting, the Masters Tournament is a 72-hole tournament held over four days. It is held under the rules of golf, as defined by the United States Golf Association. The Masters is the first acknowledged major golf championship of the year, and since 1940 has been played so that the final round is always on the second Sunday of April.
Because the Masters has a relatively small field compared to other golf tournaments, the competitors play in groups of three for the first 36 holes on the first two days. After 36 holes have been played by all players, a "cut" is made to reduce the field. To "make the cut", players must be in one or both of the following categories: (1) within 44 places of the lead (ties counting) or (2) not more than 10 strokes behind the 36-hole score set by the leader. These rules have applied since the 1961 tournament; from 1957 to 1960 the best 40 scores and ties, and those within 10 strokes of the leader, made the cut. Before 1957 there was no 36-hole cut.
Traditions
Awards
The total prize money for the 2008 tournament was $7,500,000, with $1,350,000 going to the winner. In the inaugural year, the winner Horton Smith received $1,000 out of a $5,000 purse. After Jack Nicklaus's first win in 1963, he received $20,000, while after his final victory in 1986 he won $144,000. In recent years the purse has grown quickly. Between 2001 and 2008, the winners share grew by $270,000, and the purse grew by $1,500,000.
In addition to a cash prize, the winner of the tournament is presented with a distinctive green jacket, awarded since 1949. The green sport coat is the official attire worn by members of Augusta National while on the club grounds; each Masters winner becomes an honorary member of the club. Winners keep their jacket for the first year after their first victory, then return it to the club to wear whenever they visit. The tradition began in 1949, when Sam Snead won his first of three Masters titles. The green jacket is only allowed to be removed from Augusta National by the reigning champion, after which it must remain at the club. The only exception to this rule is Gary Player, who refused to return his jacket after his 1961 victory, although he arguably followed the spirit of the rule, as he has stated that he has never worn the jacket.
By tradition, the winner of the previous year's Masters Tournament puts the jacket on the current winner at the end of the tournament. In 1966, Jack Nicklaus became the first player to win in consecutive years and he donned the jacket himself. When Nick Faldo (in 1990) and Tiger Woods (in 2002) repeated as champions, the chairman of Augusta National put the jacket on them.
There are several awards presented to players who perform exceptional feats during the tournament. The player who has the daily lowest score receives a crystal vase, while players who score a hole-in-one or a double eagle win a large crystal bowl. For each eagle a player makes they receive a pair of crystal goblets. The winner of the Par 3 competition, which is played the day before the tournament begins, wins a crystal bowl.
In addition to the green jacket, winners of the tournament receive a Gold Medal. They have their names engraved on the actual silver Masters trophy, introduced in 1961, which depicts the clubhouse. This trophy remains at Augusta National; since 1993 winners have received a sterling silver replica. The runner-up receives a Silver Medal, introduced in 1951. Beginning in 1978, a Silver Salver was added as an award for the runner-up.
In 1952 the Masters began presenting an award, known as the Silver Cup, to the lowest scoring amateur to make the cut. In 1954 they began presenting an amateur Silver Medal to the low amateur runner-up.
Other traditions
As with the other majors, winning the Masters gives a golfer several privileges which make his career more secure. Masters champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship) for the next five years, and earn a lifetime invitation to the Masters. They also receive membership on the PGA Tour for the following five seasons and invitations to The Players Championship for five years.
Because the tournament was established by the amateur golfer Bobby Jones, the Masters has a tradition of honoring amateur golf. It invites winners of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the world. Also, the current U.S. Amateur champion always plays in the same group as the defending Masters champion for the first two days of the tournament.
Since 1963 the custom in most years has been to start the tournament with an honorary opening tee shot at the first hole, typically by one of golf's legendary players. The original honorary starters were Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod; this twosome led off every tournament from 1963 until 1973, when poor health prevented Hutchison from swinging a club. McLeod continued on until his death in 1976. Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen started in 1981, and were then joined by Sam Snead in 1984. This trio continued until 1999 when Sarazen died, while Nelson discontinued in 2001. Snead hit his final opening tee shot in 2001, a year before he too died. In 2007, and again in 2008, Arnold Palmer took over as the honorary starter.
The Champions' dinner is held each year on the Tuesday evening preceding Thursday's first round. The dinner was first held in 1952, hosted by defending champion Ben Hogan, to honor the past champions of the tournament. At that time fifteen tournaments had been played, and the number of past champions was eleven (including Hogan). Officially known as the "Masters Club," it includes only past winners of the Masters, although selected members of the Augusta National Golf Club have been included as honorary members, usually the chairman. The defending champion, as host, selects the menu for the dinner. Over the years, one of the most notable dishes was haggis, served by Scotsman Sandy Lyle in 1989.
The Par 3 Contest was first introduced in 1960, and was won that year by Sam Snead. Since then it has been played traditionally on the Wednesday before the tournament starts. The par 3 course was built in 1958. It is a nine-hole course, with a par of 27, and measures 1,060 yards (969 m) in length. There have been 67 holes-in-one in the history of the contest, with a record five of them in 2002. No Par 3 Contest winner has also won the Masters in the same year. There have been several repeat winners, including Padraig Harrington, Sandy Lyle and Sam Snead. The former two won in successive years. In this event, golfers may use their children as caddies, which helps to create a family-friendly atmosphere. In 2008, the event was televised for the first time by ESPN.
Before 1982 all players in the Masters were required to use the services of an Augusta National Club caddie, who by club tradition was always an African-American. Since then, players have been allowed the option of using their own caddie. The Masters requires caddies to wear a uniform consisting of a white jumpsuit, a green Masters cap, and white tennis shoes. The surname, and sometimes first initial, of each player is found on the back of his caddie's uniform. The defending champion always receives caddie number "1": other golfers get their caddie numbers from the order in which they register for the tournament.
History
Augusta National Golf Club
The idea for Augusta National originated with Bobby Jones, who wanted to build a golf course after his retirement from the game. He sought advice from Clifford Roberts, who later became the Chairman of the club. They came across a piece of land in Augusta, Georgia, of which Jones said: "Perfect! And to think this ground has been lying here all these years waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course upon it."
Jones hired Alister MacKenzie to design the course, and work began in 1931. The course formally opened in 1933, but MacKenzie died before the first Masters Tournament was played.
Early tournament years
The first "Augusta National Invitation" Tournament, as the Masters was originally known, began on March 22, 1934, and was won by Horton Smith. The present name was adopted in 1939. The first tournament was played with current holes 10 through 18 played as the first nine, and 1 through 9 as the second nine then reversed permanently to its present layout for the 1935 tournament.
Gene Sarazen hit the "shot heard 'round the world" in 1935, holing a shot from the fairway on the par 5 15th for a double eagle. This tied Sarazen with Craig Wood, and in the ensuing 36 hole playoff Sarazen was the victor by five strokes. The tournament was not played from 1943-45, due to World War II. To assist the war effort, cattle and turkeys were raised on the Augusta National grounds.
1960s-1970s
The Big Three of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus dominated the Masters from 1960 through 1978, winning the event eleven times between them during that span. After winning by one stroke in 1958, Palmer won by one stroke again in 1960 in memorable circumstances. Trailing Ken Venturi by one shot in the 1960 event, Palmer made birdies on the last two holes to prevail. He would go on to win another two Masters in 1962 and 1964.
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Jack Nicklaus emerged in the early 1960s, and served as a rival to the popular Palmer. Nicklaus won his first Green Jacket in 1963, defeating Tony Lema by one stroke. Two years later, he shot a then-course record of 271 (17 under par) for his second Masters win, leading Bobby Jones to say that Nicklaus played "a game with which I am not familiar." The next year, Nicklaus won his third green jacket in a grueling 18-hole playoff against Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer. This made Nicklaus the first player to win consecutive Masters. He won again in 1972, again by three strokes. In 1975, Nicklaus was locked in a duel with Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller. In one of the most exciting Masters to date, he claimed the victory by one stroke over his two challengers.
Gary Player became the first non-American to win the Masters in 1961 beating Arnold Palmer, the defending champion. In 1974 he won again by two strokes. After not winning a tournament for four years, and at the age of 42, Player won his third and final Masters in 1978 by one stroke over three players. Player currently shares (with Fred Couples) the record of making 23 consecutive cuts, and has played in a record 51 Masters.
A controversial ending to the Masters occurred in 1968. Roberto DeVicenzo signed a scorecard (scored by playing partner Tommy Aaron) which incorrectly listed a 4 instead of a 3 on the 17th hole. This extra stroke cost him a chance to be in an 18-hole playoff with Bob Goalby, who won the green jacket. DeVicenzo's mistake led to the famous quote, "What a stupid I am."
In 1975, Lee Elder became the first African-American to qualify for the Masters, doing so fifteen years before Augusta National admitted its first black member.
1980s-2000s
Non-Americans collected eleven victories in twenty years in the 1980s and 1990s, by far the strongest streak they have had in any of the three majors played in the United States since the early days of the U.S Open. Jack Nicklaus became the oldest player to win the Masters in 1986 when he won for the sixth time at age 46.
During this period, no golfer suffered from the pressure of competing at Augusta more than Greg Norman. In 1987, Norman lost a sudden-death playoff to Larry Mize. Mize holed out a remarkable 45-yard pitch shot to birdie the second playoff hole and win the Masters. In 1996, Norman tied the course record with an opening round 63, and had a six stroke lead over Nick Faldo entering the final round. Norman shot a 78 while Faldo scored a 67 to win by five shots.
Norman also suffered in 1986 when after birdieing four straight holes, and needing only a par to tie the leader, he badly pushed his approach to 18 and made bogey.
In 1997, Tiger Woods won the Masters by twelve shots at age 21, in the process breaking the tournament four-day scoring record that had stood for 32 years. Woods completed his "Tiger Slam", winning his fourth straight major championship at the Masters in 2001. The Masters was his again the next year, making him only the third player in history to win the tournament in consecutive years, as well as in 2005 when he defeated Chris DiMarco in a playoff for his first major championship win in almost three years.
More recently, the club was targeted by Martha Burk, who organized a failed protest at the 2003 Masters to pressure the club into accepting female members. Burk planned to protest at the front gates of Augusta National during the third day of the tournament, but was knocked back. A further appeal was also knocked back. In 2004 Burk stated that she had no further plans to protest against the club.
The 2003 tournament was won by Mike Weir, who became the first Canadian to win a major championship, and the first left-hander to win the Masters. The following year, another left-hander, Phil Mickelson, won his first major championship by making a birdie on the final hole to beat Ernie Els by a stroke.
Course adjustments
As with many other courses, Augusta National's championship setup has been lengthened in recent years. In 1998, the course measured approximately 6925 yards (6332 m) from the Masters tees. It was lengthened to 7270 yards (6648 m) for 2002, and again in 2006 to 7445 yards; 520 yards (475 m) longer than the 1998 course. The changes attracted many critics, including the most successful players in Masters history, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tiger Woods. Woods claimed that the "shorter hitters are going to struggle." Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson was unperturbed, stating, "We are comfortable with what we are doing with the golf course". After a practice round Gary Player defended the changes saying, "There have been a lot of criticisms, but I think unjustly so, now I've played it.... The guys are basically having to hit the same second shots that Jack Nicklaus had to hit [in his prime]".
Originally, the grass on the putting greens was the wide-bladed Bermuda. The greens lost speed, especially during the late 1970s, after the introduction of a healthier strain of narrow-bladed Bermuda, which thrived and grew thicker, slowing the speed of the greens. In 1978, the greens on the Par-3 course were reconstructed with bentgrass, a narrow-bladed species that could be mowed shorter, eliminating grain. After this test run, the greens on the main course were replaced with bentgrass in time for the 1981 Masters. The bentgrass resulted in significantly faster putting surfaces, which has required a reduction in some of the contours of the greens over time.
Just before the 1975 tournament, the common beige sand in the bunkers was replaced with the now-signature white feldspar. It is a quartz derivative of the mining of feldspar and is shipped in from North Carolina.
Broadcasting
CBS has televised the Masters in the United States every year since 1956, when it used six cameras and covered only the final four holes. Tournament coverage of the first 8 holes did not begin until 1993 because of resistance from the tournament organizers, but by 2006, over 50 cameras were used. USA Network added first- and second-round coverage in 1982, which was also produced by the CBS production team. The Masters is broadcast each year in high-definition television, one of the first golf tournaments to ever hold that distinction, and the early round coverage previously aired in that format on USA's sister network, Universal HD. In 2008, ESPN and ESPN HD replaced USA and Universal as the weekday coverage provider; coverage will continue to be jointly produced with CBS.
In 2005, CBS broadcast the tournament with high-definition fixed and handheld wired cameras, as well as standard-definition wireless handheld cameras. In 2006, a webstream called "Amen Corner Live" began providing coverage of all players passing through holes 11, 12 and 13 through all four rounds. This was the first full tournament multi-hole webcast from a major championship. In 2007 CBS added "Masters Extra," an hour's extra full-field bonus coverage daily on the internet, preceding the television broadcasts. In 2008, CBS added full coverage of holes 15 and 16 live on the web.
While Augusta National Golf Club has consistently chosen CBS as its U.S. broadcast partner, it has done so on successive one-year contracts. Due to the lack of long-term contractual security, as well as the club's limited dependence on broadcast rights fees (owing to its affluent membership), it is widely held that CBS allows Augusta National greater control over the content of the broadcast, or at least perform some form of self-censorship, in order to maintain future rights. The club, however, has insisted it does not make any demands with respect to the content of the broadcast.
There are some controversial aspects to this relationship. Announcers are required to refer to the gallery as "patrons" rather than spectators or fans, and use the term "second cut" instead of "rough". Announcers who have been deemed not to have acted with the decorum expected by the club have been removed, notably Gary McCord. There also tends to be a lack of discussion of any controversy involving Augusta National, such as the 2003 Martha Burk protests. However, there have not been many other major issues in recent years.
The club mandates minimal commercial interruption, currently limited to four minutes per hour (as opposed to the usual 12 or more). In the immediate aftermath of the Martha Burk controversy, there were no commercials during the 2003 and 2004 broadcasts, although international commercial broadcasters continued to insert their own commercials into the coverage. The Players Championship began imposing the same rule in 2007 and some of the other major championships have tried to follow suit.
The club also disallows promotions for other network programs, with the sole exception of an on-screen mention of 60 Minutes should the final round run long, or right before the coverage ends. Other broadcast material not allowed include sponsored graphics, blimps, on-course announcers, and the regular CBS sports graphics template. CBS and ESPN coverage as of 2008, use a variation on an older CBS graphics set with additional gradients for high-definition. When USA Network covered The Masters from 1982-2007, they used their regular graphics except that instead of blue and red, it was green and yellow. There is also typically no cut-in for other news and sports, either from CBS or its affiliates. It uses "Augusta" by Dave Loggins as theme music instead of the normal ESPN and CBS Sports golf music. USA Network's broadcasts of The Masters used a different version of "Augusta" with different instruments.
Significant restrictions have been placed on the tournament's broadcast hours compared to other major championships, perhaps to increase the tournament's Nielsen ratings, or to reward ticket-holders. Only in the 21st century did the tournament allow CBS to air 18-hole coverage of the leaders, a standard at the other three majors. Only three hours of cable coverage is scheduled for the early rounds. International broadcasters do not receive additional coverage, although they may take commercial breaks at different times from CBS or ESPN. The networks always stay past the allotted times until the end of live golf action on all four days, whereas on American television coverage of the other three majors (and The Players Championship) continues only until the end of a scheduled broadcast window on all days except Sunday or a Monday-finish.
Westwood One has provided live radio play-by-play coverage in the U.S. since 1956. This coverage can also be heard on the official Masters website. The station provides short two to three minute updates throughout the tournament, as well as longer three to four hour segments towards the end of the day.
The BBC has broadcast the Masters in the U.K. since 1986, and it also provides live radio commentary on the closing stages on Radio Five Live. With the 2007 launch of BBC HD, UK viewers can now watch the championship in that format. BBC Sport currently holds the TV and radio rights through 2010. The BBC's coverage airs without commercials because it is financed by a license fee. In Ireland, from 2008 Setanta Ireland will broadcast all four rounds live having previously broadcasted the opening two rounds with RTÉ broadcasting the weekend coverage.
Ticketing
Although tickets for the Masters are not expensive, they are incredibly hard to come by. Even the practice rounds can be difficult to get into. Applications for practice round tickets have to be made nearly a year in advance and the successful applicants are chosen by random ballot. Tickets to the actual tournament are sold only to members of a patrons list, which is closed. A waiting list for the patrons list was opened in 1972 and closed in 1978. It was reopened in 2000 and subsequently closed once again. In 2008, The Masters also began allowing children (between the ages of 8 and 16) to enter on tournament days for free if they are accompanied by an older patron.
Field
The Masters has the smallest field out of the major championships at around ninety players. It is an invitational event, with invitations largely issued on an automatic basis to players who meet published criteria. The top fifty players in the Official World Golf Rankings are all invited.
Past champions are eligible to play in any edition, but since 2002 the Augusta National Golf Club has discouraged them from continuing to participate at an advanced age.
Invitation categories (as of 2008):
- Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
- U.S. Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- The Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- Winners of the Players Championship (Three years)
- Current U.S. Amateur Champion (6-A) (Honorary, non-competing after one year); Runner-up (6-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
- Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after one year)
- Current U.S. Amateur Public Links Champion
- Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion
- The first 16 players, including ties, in the previous years Masters Tournament
- The first 8 players, including ties, in the previous years U.S. Open
- The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous years British Open
- The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous years PGA Championship
- The 30 leaders on the Final Official PGA Tour Money List for the previous calendar year
- Winners of PGA Tour Regular Season and Playoff events that award at least a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
- Those qualifying for the previous years season-ending Tour Championship
- The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
- The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament
Most of the top current players will meet the criteria of multiple categories for invitation. The Masters Committee, at its discretion, can also invite any golfer(s) not otherwise qualified, although in practice these invitations are currently reserved for international players.
Winners
The first winner of the Masters Tournament was Horton Smith in 1934. He repeated his win in 1936. The current champion, winning in 2008, is Trevor Immelman, who won by three strokes from Tiger Woods. The player with the most Masters victory is Jack Nicklaus, who won six times between 1963 and 1986. Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods have each won four, and Jimmy Demaret, Gary Player, Sam Snead and Nick Faldo have three titles to their name. Gary Player also became the tournament's first overseas winner with his first victory in 1961. In recent years Phil Mickleson has won on two occasions. Other notable winners include Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Tom Watson, who have all won the Masters twice.
The parenthesis mean how many players involved in the playoffs.
Records
The youngest winner of the Masters is Tiger Woods, who was 21 years 104 days old when he won in 1997. In this year Woods also broke the records for the widest winning margin (12 strokes), and the lowest winning score, with 270 (-18). Jack Nicklaus was 46 years 82 days old when he won in 1986, making him the oldest winner of the Masters. Nicklaus is the record holder for the most top tens, with 22, and the most cuts made, with 37. Two of Nicklaus's rivals in his prime; Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, known as The Big Three, hold the record for most appearances, with 50 each. Player holds the record for the number of consecutive cuts made, with 23 between 1959 and 1982 (Player did not compete in 1973 due to illness). He shares this record with Fred Couples, who made his consecutive cuts between 1983 and 2007, not competing in 1987 and 1994. Nick Price and Greg Norman share the course record of 63, with their rounds coming in 1986 and 1996 respectively. This score is also a record for all major championships. The highest winning score of 289 (+1) has occurred three times: Sam Snead in 1954, Jack Burke, Jr. in 1956, and Zach Johnson in 2007.
External links
- - official site
- - coverage by The Augusta Chronicle
- - superintendent's fact sheet - 2005
- - Google Maps
- - USGS topo map & aerial photo
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