Tag: 2023 Masters

The Masters Tournament bird sounds controversy, explained

Is it a bird song fraud case?

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 7, 2023.

It’s Masters season, and that can only mean one thing. That’s right, it’s time to investigate the mystery of Augusta National Golf Club’s bird song controversy.

Not familiar with this case of (alleged) avian shenanigans? Here’s the lowdown. For years, rumors have claimed that the bird song you hear in the background of Masters broadcasts is fake. Despite a CBS spokesperson insisting that “the birds you hear are live and they are indigenous to Augusta,” many people remain skeptical.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times

In a 2016 article, The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell weighed in on the situation, claiming:

“There are no birds, squirrels, insects or any other living creature indigenous to planet earth at the Masters. Nowhere on the property. Well, okay, there must be some somewhere. But the Post’s Dave Sheinin and I made a multi-day quest for a single bird sighting. So far, none. Those bird calls that you sometimes hear on the Masters broadcast? The source remains undiscovered.” 

A bird on a golf course reflected in a pond.
A bird walks along the edge of the fairway during the 2022 Masters. / Photo by Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Boswell and Sheinin aren’t the only reporters who have searched the grounds of the Augusta National Golf Club looking for birds. Sports Illustrated’s Michael Bamberger and Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan have also searched the property for any sign of avian activity during the Masters Tournament. Both writers struggled to spot any birds, though Bamberger did eventually find one after it pooped on him while he was talking to Bob Costas.

While this whole matter may seem silly, the use of artificial bird sound during golf events isn’t unprecedented. CBS even admitted to using recorded bird sounds at the 2000 PGA Championship. For ornithologists and birdwatchers (birders, to those in the know), the artificial birdsong was easy to identify.

So, what do the experts have to say about the chickadee and sparrow soundtrack at the Masters Tournament? As Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick told Slate in 2019, the birdsong he heard during 2015 and 2016 Masters broadcasts came from “a pretty representative list of birds that are singing in the pine woods of central Georgia.”

Still, Fitzpatrick suspects that, while “the noise is definitely birds recorded there right on the grounds,” some “audio enhancement” may be occurring. Curious birders may want to keep their ears perked for questionable tweets and chirps during the Masters this year. For others, this strange case of avian antics will probably just remain a fun topic to gossip about while watching golfers line up a shot.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=137287]

10 best amateur performances at the Masters

With Sam Bennett tearing it up at The Masters, let’s look back on 10 other amateur golfers to succeed in Augusta.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 7, 2023. It has since been updated

Augusta National can test and break even the best professional golfers on the planet. Yet every once in awhile it seems like an amateur who gets into the field at The Masters starts sneaking their way up the leaderboard and into contention.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

In 2023, it was Sam Bennett who found himself eight under par on Friday and in third place. As the gates of Augusta open to the public yet again this week, here are the 10 best performances by amateurs at the famed course.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Masters on Fubo” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=1205322&subId1=FTW&subId2=Masters&subId3=2024″]

How a regular person can try to play a round of golf at Augusta National

It might actually be much harder than you think.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 7, 2023.

You’re watching The Masters, admiring the ridiculously green Augusta National course between shots and leaderboard check-ins, and thinking: Man, it’d be so cool to play a round of golf there.

It would probably be a major highlight for average golfers to try Augusta at some point. But too bad because the general public can’t just select an open tee time and play a round.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

Augusta National is a private golf club with an extremely problematic not-so-distant past with rampant racism and sexism. It’s very exclusive, so the only ways to play a round are to either be a member or be invited as a guest by a member.

And the only way to become a member is to be invited. That’s it.

HOWEVER…

As Golf Digest and Golf.com have noted, there are a handful of ways nonmembers can try to play Augusta. The simplest, though surely not the easiest, is to befriend a member of the club and get them to invite you. They have extensive recommendations, but some of the more creative options include:

  • Volunteer at the Masters
  • Caddie for Augusta National
  • Get a job at Augusta National
  • Work for a big-time sponsor
  • Write a book officially sanctioned by Augusta National

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Masters on Fubo” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=1205322&subId1=FTW&subId2=Masters&subId3=2024″]

How to make The Masters pimento cheese sandwich at home

Get more invested in the action with this classic treat.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 5, 2023. It has since been updated. 

The 2024 Masters start this week, and its traditions are unlike any other in sports. One of the more timeless, especially for those wandering the course as fans at Augusta, is the delicious pimento cheese sandwich.

It’s cheap, delectable, and an ideal little treat while watching some of the world’s greatest golfers duke it out in the sport’s premier tournament. It also goes without saying that if you’re not in attendance at Augusta, you can still make a pimento cheese sandwich at home!

And you should really try because:

1. It’s delicious.

2. You’ll feel more involved when watching from your couch.

Here’s a simple recipe for a pimento cheese sandwich — Augusta style, via Golf.com — to get you prepped for The Masters:

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Masters on Fubo” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=1205322&subId1=FTW&subId2=Masters&subId3=2024″]

3 cocktails to sip while watching the Masters for a real(ish) Augusta experience

Peach-infused Georgia cocktails and the unofficial official drink of the Masters.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 6, 2023

The Augusta experience is more than just watching golf. It’s also taking part in the most reasonable concession prices in any major American sporting event.

Of course, the lure of a $3 sandwich and a $5 imported beer is tempered by the $450 ticket price — assuming you can win the lottery for those and aren’t shunted off to a constantly absurd resale market — but still. The Masters is an iconic golf event whose appeal goes beyond the action on the course. And whether you’re in Georgia or just watching at home, it’s an affair that practically begs you to enjoy it with a cocktail in hand.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

So let’s take care of that. Thanks to my role as FTW’s booze scribe, I have a well-stocked liquor cabinet (and a fridge filled with entirely too many hard seltzers). Let’s whip up some drinks that’ll serve as a proper companion to that Tradition Unlike Any Other (tm … I’m assuming).

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the Masters on Fubo” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome?irad=343747&irmp=1205322&subId1=FTW&subId2=Masters&subId3=2024″]

The Masters: Are phones allowed at Augusta National?

Everyone’s got a cell phone, but are they allowed at the Masters?

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 2, 2023

Getting to attend the famed Augusta National for the Masters isn’t an easy task. The prestige tournament featuring golf’s finest is as hot of a ticket as they come and fans no doubt need to be on their best behavior while in attendance.

Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times

No one likes when cell phones interrupt the action of a sports game. Whether it be an unfortunately-timed call that ruins a moment or a fan who won’t stop taking pictures and blocking your view, phones can often be quite annoying at a sporting event.

Thankfully, to curb these bad fan practices, phones are strictly prohibited at the Masters.

According to the Masters, electronic devices such as phones and tablets are prohibited, but electronic and fitness watches are good to go. However, you cannot use those devices for calls, texts, emails, and data recording. Here’s how the Masters breaks down the rules on electronic devices.

Electronic devices (including phones, laptops, tablets and beepers) are strictly prohibited on the grounds at all times. Any device being used to record and/or transmit voice, video or data is strictly prohibited. Cameras are strictly prohibited on Tournament days. Violation of these policies will subject the ticket holder to removal from the grounds and the ticket purchaser to the permanent loss of credentials (tickets).

And there you have it!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=137287]

Jon Rahm reminisces on his Masters victory: visiting the Champions locker room and more

“It’s fun to think about it now, that four-putt.”

The night Jon Rahm won the Masters, he didn’t want it to end.

Who can blame him? It was one of the great days of the Spaniard’s life, winning his second major on the birthday of his countryman and childhood hero Seve Ballesteros by four shots over Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. Draped in his Green Jacket, Rahm wasn’t ready to leave Augusta National Golf Club just yet despite it being past midnight, so he made his big ask.

“It’s 1:00 in the morning, and I said, ‘If there’s a time to maybe get away with something, it’s right now,’ so I asked, ‘Can we go to the Champions locker room?’ ”

By ‘we’ Rahm meant with his wife, Kelley, and father, Edorta.

“Because I don’t know if they’re ever going to be able to go up there again,” he explained. “They said yes. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, to see people’s names on the lockers, to actually see the locker room, to see still the showcase they had for Scottie’s win, take a few pictures while I was up there.  It was really fun.”

That included walking out to the balcony and peering down Magnolia Lane in pitch darkness. A photographer captured the moment for posterity.

“I didn’t realize the camera was up there, and somebody from the corner took a picture of my dad and I talking, me with the jacket on, out on the balcony, and it’s one of the better pictures we have. Think it’s my dad’s or my mom’s WhatsApp picture, which is really cool to see, and then having Kelley up there for that, as well, is special,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to recreate that again with any of them, but I’m really glad that they let us do that and they got to see the history of it.”

2023 Masters
Jon Rahm is presented with the green jacket after winning the 2023 Masters. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)

Rahm hasn’t watched the full broadcast of his victory, which was recently added to YouTube, but he has seen the hour-long documentary the club annually produces. Asked to recall his favorite moment from last year’s triumph, he referenced his four-putt on the first hole in the opening round. “That’s always going to bring a smile to my face,” he said. “It’s fun to think about it now, that four-putt.”

What else stood out to him? “I had this image in my mind of how great I played all week, which I did, and then I watch the actual summary, and I couldn’t help to think, man, I missed a lot more shots than I thought I did, which I guess is a good lesson to have in mind, right, not only that I could play better in theory but the fact that there’s a mental lesson there.  It’s just mainly that you’re going to miss shots out there and you just have to figure out how to minimize the damage.”

Rahm, who defected to LIV in December, is just weeks away from making his title defense at Augusta National and a lot has changed for the reigning Masters champion. Last year, he had made eight starts before the Masters, winning three times, while this year he’ll be down to five and has yet to win any of his starts on the 54-hole limited-field LIV schedule. Another change for Rahm: Last year, he didn’t play the week before the Masters while this year he has a LIV event he’s required to play at Trump Doral in Miami.

“But I’ve done it in the past and done well. It’s hard to say what’s better or not. It’s a little different. I’m glad that this year we’re going to a challenging golf course before playing a major because that I think gets you prepped very, very well for a major tournament,” he said. “I feel like my game is in really good position. I have not played my best yet. But I can see it every tournament getting a little bit better and getting to a point where I like where I’m at coming up to the Masters.”

Rahm announced his menu for the Champions Dinner, which he said was the easy part; it’s the speech he’ll have to make at the Tuesday night dinner he’ll host for the past champions that has been weighing on his mind.

“This has definitely been rent-free in my head,” he said. “I usually have no issues with public speaking, no problem. I’ll get up there and talk about anything. Just the image of standing up and having everybody in that room look at me and having to speak to all these great champions, it’s quite daunting.”

Rahm added that he’s not one to prepare remarks; he’s better at speaking from the heart.

“That’s usually what delivers the better speech,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, but hopefully one or two glasses of wine help me get a little bit more fluid in that speech.”

Jon Rahm gives early look at what’s on his Masters Champions Dinner menu

The Masters champions will be treated to a little Spanish flavor.

[anyclip pubname=”2122″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8171″]

The two questions Jon Rahm gets asked the most are what was he thinking when his tee ball hit the branch on No. 18 at the Masters and what is he going to serve for his Champions Dinner after he eventually won?

The two-time major champion was a guest on the Pardon My Take podcast and said he hasn’t given the menu as much thought as some may think.

“The first few weeks it’s all I thought about for some reason,” said Rahm ahead of this week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields in Illinois. “After that, I haven’t. I know the dessert.”

Rahm said the menu will include Milhojas, which is a layered pastry dish. He also said the cocktail reception will include a Spanish ham, Jamón ibérico.

“Everything in between I have no idea,” he said, while also noting he has an idea for the wine, but he’s not sure if it needs to be part of the wine cellar at Augusta National.

The 28-year-old Spaniard won the Masters in April by four shots over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson for his second major championship after previously winning the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm currently sits atop the points standings as he enters this week’s second of three FedEx Cup Playoff events, where he’s paired with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler for the opening two rounds outside Chicago.

[pickup_prop id=”33031″]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1375]

‘It really kicked my butt at Augusta’: Jason Day explains vertigo bout at the Masters and why he’s ready to contend at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship

“I feel that my game is starting to round into some really good form,” said Day.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jason Day was surging down Magnolia Lane ahead of the 2023 Masters.

The Aussie had finished inside the top 20 in all seven of his starts in the new year, including a fifth place showing at the WM Phoenix Open and T-5 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Day was solo second late during the second round at Augusta National and was in position to finish inside the top 12 and punch his ticket for 2024 over the weekend.

Then vertigo hit on Sunday.

“We had to finish our third round Sunday morning and then I was sitting in the caddie hut and that’s when I got vertigo,” said Day, who first struggled with the issue at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. “It really kicked my butt at Augusta. That was like kind of the time where I had to take a step back.”

The 35-year-old made four double bogeys over a five-hole stretch to shoot an 8-over 80 and finish T-39. He then was forced to pull out of the RBC Heritage to run some tests, which led to a three-week break.

“I’ve been playing a lot better so there’s obviously more stress and when you have more stress, your immune system can get compromised and for me it was just unfortunate that happened in the last round,” Day explained on Wednesday ahead of the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. “It’s never really the mental side or the actual me going out there and trying to work harder that stops me from golf, it’s typically my body saying, ‘No, you can’t do that anymore.’”

Refreshed with a new diet and some much-needed rest, the 2018 Wells Fargo champion is back in action and making his seventh career start at the event, which has been elevated to one of the Tour’s 14 designated events for the season and offers a $20 million purse, with $3.6 million going to the winner.

“I think a lot of the decisions we’ve made, the Tour and the policy board has made over the last year, there obviously has been a reaction to what (LIV Golf) has brought to the table. To be honest, I think everyone’s better for it. I mean, we’re playing for more money on both sides,” said Day of the schedule changes. “What’s more sustainable, I’m not sure, but I’m looking at the picture right now and it feels pretty good. I’m just trying to get back to winning at the end of the day and leave the decision making to (Rory McIlroy) and those guys.”

[pickup_prop id=”33353″]

It’s tough to believe that Day’s last win came five years ago at the Wells Faro Championship, especially since he won 10 times between the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open and the 2018 event here at Quail Hollow – including the 2015 PGA Championship and 2016 Players Championship –  and rose to world No. 1.

“I need to get back into the winner’s circle, I know that. I feel that my game is starting to round into some really good form where I know that I can win more consistently, it’s just a matter of putting myself into contention a little bit more,” said Day. “Not too worried about it too much. To be honest, I’ve got past the point of like thinking about winning and more of the point of just trying to go through the correct process every single day and then at some point it’s going to yield more confidence and better play.”

“When that happens, it’s going to happen a lot, which would be nice.”

Day has been a horse for this beast of a course but was left off Trevor Immelman’s International squad for the 2022 Presidents Cup held last fall at Quail Hollow. A four-time member of the worldwide All-Stars, Day didn’t watch the event, and was happy he didn’t get the call from the captain.

“I was just trying to gain more confidence in myself and my game, just trying to build my game back up. Like I was kind of glad that I didn’t get the call from (Immelman) because my game was not in a position to be put on stage, a large stage like the Presidents Cup,” said Day. “There would have been a lot of holes exposed and I feel like I’m better off now for it.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1375]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01f5k5vfbhv59szck1 image=]

Rory McIlroy opens up on his Masters disappointment and why he’s OK with being docked $3 million for missing two designated events

“I honestly thought I was going to have the best Masters I ever had,” McIlroy said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rory McIlroy shot 5 under on the second nine at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters and said he never felt more ready to win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.

“I honestly thought I was going to have the best Masters I ever had,” McIlroy said on Tuesday evening at a private event at Puttery, the indoor modern spin on mini-golf of which he’s an investor.

And yet as golf fans know all too well, the quest for the elusive Green Jacket goes on as McIlroy missed the 36-hole cut.

“It sucked,” McIlroy said. “I shouldn’t be thinking about if I’m going to be having a good week or a bad week. I should only be thinking about that first tee shot on Thursday. That’s getting ahead of myself and feeling really good about my game but having those thoughts of, jeez, I’m going to have the best week I’ve ever had at Augusta isn’t the right mindset going into it. You need to be thinking about staying in the present. I feel like at Augusta I didn’t do a good job of that because of how well I was playing. I was almost too – not overconfident – but maybe got ahead of myself.”

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]

McIlroy remained coy about why he skipped the RBC Heritage, his second missed designated event. Players are allowed one absence, which he took at the season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions. The second miss means forfeiting 25 percent of his $12-million Player Impact Program bonus, or $3 million.

“I knew the consequences that could come with missing one of those. It was an easy decision. It was worth that for me to get some other things in place,” McIlroy said. “I had my reasons to not play Hilton Head and I’ve expressed those to Jay. Whether he thinks that’s enough to warrant – again I understood the consequences of that decision before I did it. So whatever happens, happens.”

UPDATE: Monahan confirmed he would be docked $3 million and called the decision “cut and dry.”

When McIlroy passed on the first designated event of the season in Hawaii, he didn’t envision a scenario where he’d miss another. “My mind wouldn’t have been there. It was more important for me to be home,” he said of electing to bypass Harbour Town. “I would’ve been doing myself a disservice and I would’ve been doing the people around me a disservice if I had gone to play.”

McIlroy used his extended three-week break to reset, reassess and put his disappointment at Augusta in the rear-view mirror. He said he didn’t touch a club for two weeks. He spent one of those weeks in Manhattan celebrating his anniversary there with wife Erica. To hear McIlroy tell it, he was desperate for a mental escape from the game.

“I feel like it’s totally consumed my life for the last 12 months. There’s other parts of my life that are important as well,” he said.

Despite the $3 million fine, which is a drop in the bucket for a guy with McIlroy’s earning potential, his decision seems sensible in the bigger picture except for the fact that McIlroy signed off on the designated events being mandatory and when there initially was player pushback after it was announced in August at the Tour Championship, McIlroy took a strong stance. In a meeting with PGA Tour chief tournaments and competitions officer Andy Pazder captured in the Netflix documentary “Full Swing,” McIlroy said if he was willing to do it, they should too. “I say to these guys, ‘No other athletes in the world get to choose when and where they play.’ We’ve all just gotten a little soft.”

But on Tuesday, McIlroy was quick to point out that the burn out he’s been suffering from had little to do with his golf. His involvement as a director on the PGA Tour policy board and his unofficial role as Tour spokesman during the civil war with LIV Golf has taken its toll. He still managed to win the FedEx Cup in August and regain World No. 1 for a stretch, beginning in October, but all those demands eventually caught up to him even if he said he still was able to attend a seven-hour board meeting and nearly win the Arnold Palmer Invitational a few days later.

“It was everything that we’ve all had to deal with in the golf world over the past 12 months and being right in the middle of it and sort of being in that decision-making process that’s what gassed me,” he explained.

“I’ve always thought I had a good handle on the perspective of where golf fits within my life and trying to find purpose outside of golf in some way. I think over the last 12 months I lost sight of that. I lost sight of the fact that, you know, there’s more to life than the golf world and this little silly squabble that’s going on between tours and all sorts of stuff. I think I just gained some perspective. Once I disconnected, I could see things a little clearer and where everything fits within my life. It was a good reset.”

A refreshed McIlroy picked up the clubs last Monday and expressed excitement about going back to work at Quail Hollow, where he’s won the Wells Fargo Championship three times. As McIlroy put it, “there are three more majors ahead, the entire golf season still to play.”

[pickup_prop id=”33313″]

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.