The King still reigns at Augusta National. Arnold Palmer is flooded with fans everywhere he walks at The Masters.
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Think all the players are competing for is a green jacket and nearly $750,000? Think again.
The Masters is famous for its awards and trophies. Among the items:
The winner gets a sterling silver replica of the Masters Trophy and a gold medal.
The runner-up gets a silver medal and a silver salver.
The low amateur gets a silver cup; the runner-up gets a silver medal.
The low score each day gets the player a crystal vase.
A hole-in-one is worth a large crystal bowl.
An eagle earns one a pair of crystal goblets.
A double-eagle translates to a large crystal bowl.
The winner of the annual par-3 contest Wednesday gets a crystal chalice. If there is a playoff, the runner-up gets a crystal coaching bowl.
A hole-in-one in the par-3 contest is worth a crystal vase. And nearest to the flagstick gets a crystal pitcher.
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Who's afraid of the Big Bad Woods?
Several weeks ago, Davis Love III said he was intimidated when playing against Tiger Woods at the World Match Play Championship. Love got beat. Two weeks ago, Hal Sutton said he felt nothing of the sort -- and proved it by outdueling Woods down the stretch at The Players Championship.
So what gives? Is Woods, with all due respect to Dale Earnhardt, the new intimidator? Or does he lace up his Nikes one foot at a time?
"If you don't think you're good enough to beat Tiger Woods, don't even play out here," snarled Greg Norman.
Norman added: "When you read an article like that, you go -- whoa -- they're already beaten."
And: "We're all human beings. He's not bigger than the game of golf. We're going to beat him."
Woods, for his part, played it cool.
"To be honest, I don't know," Woods said. "(The) only thing I can control is how I'm going to hit my golf shot."
And if Norman gets into the final group with Woods on Sunday?
"I wouldn't play him," Norman said. "I'd play my own game. I'd put a cocoon around myself and not get caught up in what's going on.
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You think Masters officials don't have a sense of humor? Fuzzy Zoeller, who made some racially insensitive comments about Woods three years ago, is paired with Korean Sung Yoon Kim and Native American Notah Begay III in the first two rounds.
Another interesting pairing: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. That's a combined 13 Masters titles in one threesome.
Caddie alert: British Amateur champ Graeme Storm will have his mother on the bag as he plays with Mark O'Meara and Brent Geiberger in the first two rounds. Jane Storm has been on Graeme's bag for five years. "It just happened, really," Storm said. "She would drive me to the golf tournaments and then stay around and caddie for me." Mrs. Storm went to the caddie shack on Sunday and tried on three white jumpsuits before they trimmed 6 inches off the legs and arms to make it fit.
How important is putting at Augusta National? The last seven winners have all ranked in the top 10 in putting in the tournament they won. The last six winners had a combined two three-putts.
You have to go back to 1990 to find a winner who wasn't in first or second place heading into Sunday. And Nick Faldo was third after three rounds that year.
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OVERHEARD
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NORMAN
On getting older: "When you start hitting 45, 46 ... it's a little hard to get out of bed. There's a few more cricks and pains. I know what I go through at 45 in hitting balls. It's just what the golf swing does to your body. It takes a lot more to fire up all the cylinders." |
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OLAZABAL
On himself: "I was very, very proud of what I did last year. It meant much more than the victory in '94 because of what I went through ... I think the victory last year was much more emotional, mainl because of what I went through." |
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WOODS
On getting to Augusta: "My game's been getting better week by week. I'm excited about some of the shots I'm hitting now and the control I have. I've been working hard to get to this point, and it's nice to see the fruits of good, hard labor." |
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DUVAL
On youngsters like Sergio Garcia and Aaron Baddeley: "I went from a young gun to a veteran pretty quick. ... it just shows that the game's in good hands and the players are getting bigger and stronger and less intimidated." |
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