Tag: Augusta National

Did Hurricane Helene damage Augusta National trees? Here’s what we know.

What happened to the trees at Augusta National after Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Helene has done a ton of damage after making landfall, with a reported 22 people dead to go along with floods, debris and electric outages.

There’s also a lot of buzz about what may or may not have happened at Augusta National.

The golf club that hosts the Masters every year is in the Georgia town that got hit hard, with scenes of damage shared on social media. But as for talk of the trees downed at the course? We don’t have any absolute confirmation here, only rumor and speculation.

Once we get more information, we’ll update this, but here’s what’s being talked about (again, these are just unconfirmed rumors):

Here’s the awful scene from the town:

Thinking of everyone there and anyone else who was affected by the storm.

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Man charged with illegal transport of Masters merchandise, memorabilia taken from Augusta National

Richard Globensky was charged with transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen merch over a 13-year period.

Masters merchandise is some of the most coveted gear in the sports world, and it’s got one man in some potentially hot water.

According to a Tuesday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Richard Globensky has been charged with transporting millions of dollars worth of Masters merchandise and memorabilia over a 13-year period from 2009-2022 from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia across state lines to Tampa, Florida, “knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

If convicted, Globensky would forfeit any property and cash from proceeds traced to the stolen items. Augusta National has yet to comment on the case.

Last weekend saw Scottie Scheffler win his second Masters in three years by four shots over Ludvig Aberg in the 88th playing of the annual event.

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Why a ‘sweet woman’ bought Max Homa’s Chick-fil-A on the way to the RBC Heritage

“I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — One day after finishing tied for third at the Masters and cashing a check for more than $1 million, Max Homa had a fan pay for his Chick-fil-A at the drive-thru.

“It was kind,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 RBC Heritage. “I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf. I feel very fortunate for that.”

Homa drove from Augusta, Georgia, where he shot a final-round 73 to record his best finish at a major. On Sunday night, he celebrated his wife Lacey’s upcoming birthday early and on Monday he made the three-hour drive to Harbour Town Golf Links for this week’s 69-man, no-cut signature event, and stopped along the way for a bite to eat.

“I absolutely demolished Chick-fil-A on my way down,” Homa said. “I was in the drive-thru by myself and I went to order and the person taking the order told me that the woman in the row next to me had paid for whatever I was going to get. She said that her son is 3 or 4 and I’m his favorite golfer, so it was pretty cool. I don’t know, those kinds of things I still pinch myself.”

Homa added that it was the typical busy two-line drive-thru set-up that runs like clockwork. Somehow, she managed to recognize Homa, who climbed into the top 10 in the world (No. 9) with his strong performance at the Masters. That three-way tie for third earned him $1.04 million for his 72-hole total of 4-under 284, matching Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood.

“She paid for it, I rolled my window down, we chatted for a minute or so, and then I ate it,” Homa said.

Homa deserved a treat after a memorable week. His record in the majors before the Masters was abysmal. It was an important week for the former Cal product to prove to the golf world – and himself – he can perform at golf’s biggest events, too.

“It was fun to wake up for a couple days and think, there’s a pretty decent chance I might be wearing a green jacket on Sunday and to still excel and feel good about my golf,” he said. “It reinforces that my golf game is good enough. I think most anybody who plays a major, it is. But until you get to feel that, you don’t know.”

He added: “Maybe a little bit of the monkey is off the back. I know I can, and the work I’m doing is right. It just comes down to the mental for me. I didn’t change anything about my golf game last week. I just really changed my head and got out of my own way and just played some golf.”

Homa is scheduled to tee on Thursday at 10:50 a.m. ET, in a pairing with Fleetwood.

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Only three rookies have ever won the Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 being the last

First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — First-time participants in majors rarely make much of an impact.

They are expected to show up, perhaps make the 36-hole cut and go quietly about their business. To get into contention would be a bonus.

To actually win is virtually unheard of, Ben Curtis and Keegan Bradley being the exceptions. Their victories in the 2003 British Open and 2011 PGA, respectively, were their first starts in major championships.

Frank Urban Zoeller, affectionately known as Fuzzy by his peers, paid little attention to the conventional wisdom at the Masters.

The native of New Albany, Indiana, got into contention in 1979, hung around to the end and won a historic playoff in his first visit to Augusta National Golf Club.

Zoeller joined Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen as the only men to win the Masters in their first attempts. Smith won the inaugural event in 1934, and Sarazen, already one of the game’s established stars, won a year later with his famous double eagle on the 15th hole.

Ed Sneed, who was only slightly better known than Zoeller coming into the 1979 Masters, appeared to be on his way to his first major title. His first three rounds of 68, 67 and 69 put him five shots clear of the field heading into Sunday.

And for 15 holes, Sneed appeared to be a good bet to slip on a green jacket. Despite charges by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Sneed still had a three-stroke lead with three holes to play.

A three-putt for bogey cost Sneed a shot at the 16th, then he missed a short par putt on the 17th. Suddenly, his lead was down to one.

Sneed hit the fairway on the 18th, but his approach finished next to the greenside bunker. He chipped to about eight feet below the hole, then watched in disbelief as his putt hung on the lip, refusing to drop for par and the win.

Zoeller, meanwhile, had finished with 70 to join Watson and Sneed in the Masters’ first sudden-death playoff.

Like Sarazen 44 years before, Zoeller took a risk on the 15th hole to help force the playoff. He went for the green in two, even though the shot was longer than the distance he normally hit his 3-wood.

“Now, I’ll tell you exactly how far I can hit a 3-wood. I can hit it 235 yards without any wind,” Zoeller later told reporters. “I don’t know how it got there.”

The playoff began on the 10th hole, and all three men made par to advance to the 11th.

Zoeller hit the biggest drive, then watched as Sneed’s approach flew into the back bunker and Watson’s came up wide right. The Masters rookie then calmly hit his iron shot to inside 10 feet.

“Two balls right and don’t leave it short,” was caddie Jariah Beard’s advice for Zoeller, according to Ward Clayton’s book Men on the Bag, which chronicles the stories of Augusta National caddies.

After watching Sneed and Watson play, Zoeller coolly rolled his birdie putt into the cup and earned his place in history. He flung his putter into the air and jumped for joy with outstretched arms.

“I’m on cloud nine, and I guess I’ll be up there for three or four weeks,” Zoeller said afterward.

He had extra motivation for making the birdie to end the playoff on the 11th hole.

“I said if I don’t make it, we have to play No. 12, which I don’t want to do,” Zoeller told the media corps. “I’m 3-over-par there this week.”

Zoeller, who retired from Masters competition in 2009, thinks someone will come along and join him, Smith and Sarazen as Masters winners in their Augusta debut. In 2014, Jordan Spieth almost joined the club after sharing the lead going into the final round.

“You never say never,” Zoeller said. “It is amazing when you think about all the talent that has walked through from that practice range to that first tee and it hasn’t happened.

“Can I explain why? No. Will it happen again? Somebody will do it.”

Jack Nicklaus had a sweet flag bag during the Masters 2024 Honorary Starters ceremony

What a flex.

The Honorary Starters ceremony is one of the best parts of Masters week.

The event is steeped in tradition, and when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson take to the tee, thousands show up and surround the first tee box at Augusta National Golf Club to watch the legends kick off the Masters annually.

This year, the trio again striped their tee shots after a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, but the 88th Masters is underway.

However, one of the coolest parts of the Honorary Starters ceremony was Nicklaus’ bag. The 18-time major champion and six-time winner at Augusta had a sick flag bag. The bag was made with different flags from around the country, including a Masters one and St. Andrews flag.

Flag bags are common in certain parts of the country, but seeing arguably the greatest golfer of all-time using one to begin the Masters was pretty cool. What a flex.

The Duke baseball team considers what they would shoot at Augusta for Masters week

With The Masters in full swing and golf on everyone’s minds, do any Duke baseball players think they could break 100 at Augusta National? The team posted a short social media clip with the answer.

Duke’s baseball team has three games this weekend, but the entire sports world has golf on its mind during Masters week.

The first men’s golf major is finally here at the iconic course in Augusta, Georgia, and the Blue Devils leaned into the fun by asking some players on the baseball team what they would shoot in a round at Augusta National.

Most of the Duke players interviewed weren’t very optimistic. Six of the eight Blue Devils in the video said they’d shoot something in the triple digits, with freshman AJ Gracia having maybe the most relatable answer.

“At least 100,” Gracia said instead of trying to zero in on an actual score. “At least.”

Two Duke players seemed a little more optimistic about their chances, however. Catcher Alex Stone thinks he can shoot in the mid-90s (though he did emphasize that no one on the roster would be any lower than that). Chase Krewson agreed that he could break 100.

While the tournament goes from Thursday through Sunday this week, the Blue Devils have a three-game road trip to Pittsburgh beginning on Friday.

Honorary Starter ceremony kicks off 88th Masters Tournament: ‘I did it’

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jack Nicklaus lifted both hands into the Georgia air and said three words.

“I did it.”

And with that, the 88th Masters Tournament was underway.

The annual Honorary Starter ceremony was delayed two hours Thursday morning by weather, but at 10:10 a.m. local time, Nicklaus, along with Gary Player and Tom Watson, walked from the clubhouse to No. 1 tee.

First to hit was Player, who planted his tee in the ground and told his audience, “Not so easy to put the ball on a tee anymore.”

Nicklaus countered with, “Put mine in too.”

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

After Player found the short grass, Jack took his turn.

“Watch out to the left and right,” Nicklaus said.

There was no need.

The six-time Masters winner striped his ball down the left side of No. 1, and then gave way to Tom Watson.

“Just one thing,” said Watson, as he prepared to strike his shot. “Jack, you’ve never hit a hook off this tee in your life.”

Nicklaus, laughing, said, “That was a neck pull.”

On hand for the ceremony were former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, and current head man Jay Monahan.

Also in attendance were past Masters champions Nick Faldo and Tommy Aaron, as well as CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Nantz, who has covered the Masters since 1989, calls the annual tradition, “My favorite moment in golf.”

“It’s such a rich moment of nostalgia,” Nantz said. “It’s a passage of time. You look at these champions — these iconic figures who you looked up to so much in your youth. Every year, this ceremony is a moment of reflection.”

The Masters – Notre Dame’s Tournament Record Holder

What’s the opposite of a Green Jacket?

Welcome to the greatest annual weekend in golf as the 2024 Masters gets underway from Augusta, Georgia.  Before you start feasting on Pimento sandwiches this weekend, let’s take a moment to look back at Notre Dame’s record holder at the world’s most famous golf tournament.

When you think of Notre Dame athletics you likely think of football stars like Joe Montana and “Rocket” Ismail, a dynastic women’s basketball team, maybe some solid basketball squads Digger Phelps and Mike Brey put together over the years, or perhaps even the reigning national championship men’s lacrosse team.

Golf is perhaps among the last sports you associate Notre Dame with being great at.

Now the Fighting Irish may not have Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus in their golf record books, but they do have 1970 Masters Champion, Billy Casper.

Casper was one of the best golfers in the world at his prime as he won 51 times on the PGA Tour, the seventh most all-time.  27 of those victories came between 1964 and 1970 which were two more than Nicklaus during that time and six more than Arnold Palmer and Gary Player combined to win in that window.

Casper was also a short-lived Notre Dame athlete, attending the University for one semester on a golf scholarship.  He chose to leave college and pursue a career as a professional golfer and as you know by now, that certainly was a wise choice by him.

Casper won that 1970 Masters in a playoff over Gene Littler which led to his record performance at Augusta 35 years later.

How so?

Remember with The Masters, when you win you get a lifelong invitation to keep playing in the tournament regardless of your age or skill set, even if some are encouraged to stop doing so on occasion.

Casper continued to play in the tournament up until 2005 when he played his final round of competitive golf at Augusta.

Casper, who was 73 at that time, was perhaps more than just a little bit past his prime.

USA TODAY Sports – Guide to the 2024 Masters

You won’t find it in any record book because he never actually turned in his first-round scorecard in 2005, but Casper shot what would be a record-high for a single round at The Masters with a score of 106.

His scorecard that round read as follows:
6-5-5-5-6-5-5-6-6-7-7-3-6-4-6-14-5-5=106

If you’re familiar with Augusta you’re aware that the 16th hole is a par 3 and you’ll notice his 14 on that hole alone.   As could possibly guess, had it been an official round Casper would also hold the record for the highest score on a single hole.  Since it wasn’t three other golfers are tied for the record high by scoring a 13 on various holes over the years.

Casper never turned in his scorecard that April 2005 afternoon however so his Masters record isn’t technically even an official one, but we won’t let technicalities get in the way of a good story.

Now, who said Notre Dame’s golf isn’t loaded in tradition?

Want to go to the 2025 Masters? Here’s how to get tickets to Augusta National

You can go to the Masters next year. Yeah, you.

You can go to the Masters next year. Yeah, you.

The Masters Tournament is one of the hottest tickets to get in sports, but it’s also one of the hardest to get your hands on. That’s because Augusta National Golf Club holds a selection process every year for the Masters, Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.

The applications for tickets to all three events generally opens around the first week of June. The first step is as easy as creating an account on the Masters, ANWA and DCP websites (it’s one account, but you’ll need to visit each individual site and log in to apply for tickets to each event).

Hopeful patrons can apply for multiple days at each event but are only eligible to secure tickets for one day. Applications are also limited to one per household.

MASTERS: Live updates | Thursday tee times | TV, streaming

Prices fluctuate, but the 2024 ticket cost was $100 for practice rounds and $140 for tournaments rounds. For the final round of the ANWA, it was $100; the DCP National Finals tickets were $25.

Hard to beat that value.

The only way to pay for tickets is through the website. Augusta National will inform those who have been selected in late July.

More information can be found on the official Masters website, which includes this message for anyone thinking about reselling tickets:

As a reminder, Augusta National, Inc. is the only authorized source/seller of Masters® Tickets. The resale of any Masters Ticket is strictly prohibited. Holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament.

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Masters 2024 first round delayed by inclement weather on Thursday

For the third year in a row the Masters has been impacted by inclement weather.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the third year in a row the Masters has been negatively impacted by inclement weather.

Augusta National Golf Club announced on Wednesday night that forecasted weather during Thursday’s first round had delayed not only the opening of the patron gate but the round itself. The club sent an update shortly after 7:30 a.m. ET on Thursday morning that noted the first round would start at 10:30 a.m. ET, instead of at 8 a.m. ET as originally planned. Patron gates open at 9:30 a.m. ET and the Honorary Starters Ceremony featuring Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will start at 10:10 a.m. ET.

Rain has now fallen during 48 of the 88 tournaments, including each of the last six. Eight days of play have been postponed, but four days were made up by scheduling 36 holes in one day in 1936, 1938, 1939 and most recently 2003. The last Monday finish due to weather occurred in 1983.

MASTERS: Live updates | TV, streaming

Last year inclement weather suspended play for 21 minutes on Friday before it was ultimately suspended for the day later in the afternoon. Play was once again suspended on Saturday afternoon due to more heavy rain.

Thursday’s forecast calls for morning thunderstorms with a 95% chance of rain, upwards of 20 mph winds and a high of 80 degrees.

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