Tag: Masters 2022

Forget Masters hats and pullovers — this is the merchandise everyone wants at Augusta National

Psychologists would have a field day. Marketers would want to study the phenomenon and bottle it.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – They move the little, ceramic elfin guy around the store. It’s a game played by the folks working in the quaintly named “Golf Shop’’ at Augusta National Golf Club. (The Golf Shop is bigger than the Garden Center at Home Depot.) If you want a “Gallery Guard Gnome’’ you better be willing to look for him. Consider that quest the patrons’ version of trying to read a Masters green.

“It’s kinda like a scavenger hunt,’’ one employee told me. What he didn’t tell me was his name, because he wanted to keep his job. We’ll call him Bobby Jones. “It’s crazy,’’ Bobby said Friday.

Everybody wants a Masters garden gnome. Nobody can tell you exactly why. They know that it’s a little weird to be standing outside the gates in the chill at 6 in the morning, an hour before the gates open. They know, too, that if they run even a step or two toward The Golf Shop, their patron day will end before it begins.

But they have to have this.

Forget glassware, coffee mugs, beer glasses, rocks glasses, wine glasses, head covers, polo shirts, T-shirts, wind shirts, blouses, sweaters, socks, belts, posters, prints, playing cards, golf towels, ball markers, pin flags, bag tags, divot fixers, key chains, candles, koozies, calendars, caps, visors, baby clothes and folding chairs. They’re all meaningless in the face of the garden gnome.

Fan experience at the Masters: What you need to know at Augusta National

Psychologists would have a field day. Marketers would want to study the phenomenon, bottle it and label it, “How to create an irrational desire for a frivolous item.’’

People who love bourbon understand this. Acquiring certain bourbons can become an obsession. How they taste is immaterial. Bobbleheads, too. The Reds sell lots of tickets on bobblehead nights, to people who get the bobbler, turn right around and walk out of the ballpark.

“This was the hardest gnome to get,’’ John Boyette said Friday. Boyette is the executive editor of the Aiken (S.C.) Standard, a former sports editor at the Augusta Chronicle and a veteran of 35 Masters. His quest this year started last week, at the Women’s Amateur, also at Augusta National.

He tried one day and the gnomes were already gone. He tried the next day, arriving at the gates by 7, and again he was too late. Early this week, he was told by a Golf Shop security guard that patrons would be getting first crack at the shop’s treasures. Media heathens would have to wait their turns.

It wasn’t until Wednesday that Boyette scored. “My long gnome nightmare is over,’’ he announced on his Facebook page.

The gnome is a foot tall. He sells for $50. You can get a shorter gnome, but nobody wants that one. Bobby Jones said they’re gone each morning in 15 or 20 minutes. “They only have like 350 of them,’’ he said. Like everything else in the shop, you can only get the gnome in the shop. Unless you want to get scalped on eBay. The gnome is going for $399.99 there.

The Irrational Desire Factor is on full display here. The lines entering the shop are so long, you could spend 10 minutes weaving through those Kings Island-style snakelines before even reaching the merchandise. They have hand-held baskets for holding your treasure. They should have grocery carts. Or U-Hauls.

I don’t know. But I’m guessing half the patrons here would rather score at the Golf Shop than watch the golf. You can always catch Tiger Woods making history. That’s what televisions are for. You can’t always buy a Gallery Guard Gnome.

Boyette already has “four or five’’ of them, he said. They’re on his mantle at home, trophies no less stalked than a lion on an African safari. Meantime, Bobby Jones spends notable time apologizing to patrons, for the one item among thousands they can’t buy.

He shrugs. “They need to get here early,’’ he says.

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Masters 2022: Here are 5 things to know heading into the weekend, starting with Tiger Woods’ slow ride

With two days in the books and two days still ahead of us, here’s a look at some of the top storylines.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — If Thursday at the Masters was like Christmas morning, with golf fans frenetically ripping the bow and wrapping paper off a Tiger Woods return, Friday was a day to exhale and catch a nap on the couch. The conditions at Augusta National got a bit trickier and the 2022 Masters became more of a battle than a sprint.

Well, perhaps for everyone who isn’t named Scottie Scheffler. While others tried to simply stay in motion, Scheffler just kept running and running, becoming the golf equivalent of Forrest Gump. His five-stroke lead is one few saw coming, even considering his recent hot streak.

With two days in the books and two days still ahead of us, here’s a look at some of the top storylines you need to know:

Lynch: Has Rory McIlroy maintained his unrequited love for Augusta National? It’s complicated

McIlroy indisputably owns the most impressive résumé of his generation, but …

AUGUSTA, Ga — In the greatest of careers, there comes a time when an athlete’s many accomplishments are disregarded as attention focuses on the one gnawing failure. There are exceptions, of course. Tiger Woods, for one. He swept every title of note early in his youth, several times. Roger Federer too. But there are many for whom that observation holds true, as Dan Marino can testify. Or Charles Barkley.

Which might explain Rory McIlroy’s complicated relationship with Augusta National Golf Club.

The green jacket awarded to a Masters champion is famously the only trophy of note missing in McIlroy’s storied career.

U.S. Open? Check.

Original Open? Check.

PGA Championship? Dos.

FedEx Cup? Ditto.

Players Championship? Uh-huh.

McIlroy indisputably owns the most impressive résumé of his generation, yet every arrival down Magnolia Lane comes with the burden of unfulfilled expectation, and every exit its particular disappointments. The passage of years—this is McIlroy’s 14th appearance in the Masters—have afforded him a philosophical ease in explaining his feelings about the only course whose conquest stands between him and a defining career grand slam.

“It’s one of the best places on Earth,” he said Friday. “It’s such a cool place that you can never hate it.”

He paused a beat and offered a wry smile.

“Sometimes, I hate the results of the tournament, but in terms of the place and the club and the membership, it’s wonderful, and I always have a great time here.”

Perhaps not quite always.

He didn’t in 2011, when his four-shot lead entering the final round melted like snow in a Georgia summer. Or in 2018, when he played in the final group on Sunday with Patrick Reed but stayed in neutral all day and wound up tied for fifth. His half-dozen top-10 finishes don’t necessarily suggest a wealth of wasted opportunities. A number of those were logged via the service entrance, courtesy of a strong final round when out of contention. Only the two aforementioned years really represent painful near-misses.

“It’s maturity. It’s experience. It’s walking away 13 years in a row empty-handed,” McIlroy said by way of explanation for his sanguine approach to Masters matters these days. “It’s just sort of go out and play and see what happens.”

Friday’s second round demanded that kind of attitude, as gusts provided the only element that seems to unsettle the world’s best golfers these days: doubt—manifested in shot choices, club selections, and trajectories. In such conditions, watching the guy playing in front of you can offer valuable insight. Other times, not. For McIlroy on the 12th at Augusta National, it was the latter.

“Jordan [Spieth] hit two in the water, so that wasn’t a great visual,” he said. Then Brooks [Koepka] hit it first and hit it straight over the green. The wind died.”

McIlroy made par at 12 then eked out a couple of birdies over the closing holes to finish at 2-over-par, still within striking distance of a longed-for addition to his closet this weekend, but with work left to do.

“I still feel like I’m right there. You go out tomorrow and you play a decent front nine, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” he said. “I’m in a decent position. I’d like to be a couple of shots better at least, but I’m still right there.”

His second-consecutive 73 was a tolerable return on what proved a troublesome scoring day that hobbled its share of pre-tournament favorites and looked certain to send some of them home early, including Spieth and Koepka. “I’m glad to be off the course at this point,” McIlroy said.

The four-time major champion has enough experience to know that Friday—and Saturday’s similarly cold and blustery forecast—isn’t a challenge particular to Augusta National, or to any venue, but to the ultimate prize itself. “This is what major championship golf is all about. It’s not easy, and it’s not supposed to be easy,” he said with a shrug. “I think the conditions look pretty similar tomorrow as well, so looking forward to that.”

Until then, he’ll spend the evening at home with his 20-month-old daughter, Poppy, but admits it won’t be with a head entirely clear of today’s frustrations, not least the double-bogey he carded on the 11th. “I’d like to say yes, but no,” he said, smiling. “No, I’m still playing with Poppy and thinking about the 6-iron on 11. So I’d love to say yes, but no.”

To an amiable suggestion that having more kids might make it easier to forget the demands of Augusta National, he replied, “One’s enough at the moment.”

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Watch: Stewart Cink masterfully uses slope on No. 16, makes hole-in-one

Cink, playing in his 20th Masters, struck an 8-iron and then enjoyed watching a magical moment.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Drinks are on Stewart Cink this evening.

The 48-year-old Cink made an ace at the par-3, 170 yard 16th hole at Augusta National.

Cink, playing in his 20th Masters, struck an 8-iron and then enjoyed watching a magical moment.

He already had started walking to the green after his ball landed some 30 feet right of the hole.

“Come on down,” patrons at the green can be heard pleading.

The ball did just that, catching the slope and as if pulled by a magnet funneling down the hill and into the right side of the cup for an ace.

Cink lifted both arms in the air and hugged his caddie, his son, Reagan. Then father and son slapped both hands. Fellow competitor Harry Higgs came over for a hug too, while the third member of the grouping, Brian Harman, settled for a congratulatory knock of the knuckles.

It was the 24th ace in Masters history at 16, and the sixth career hole-in-one for Cink in his PGA Tour career. That’s tied for the eighth-most aces on Tour since 1983 when hole-by-hole tracking started.

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Co-leader Charl Schwartzel watched footage of his 2011 Masters victory to help boost confidence

The 2011 Masters champion now finds himself with a share of the clubhouse lead.

AUGUSTA, Georgia – Charl Schwartzel saw this coming. Never mind the six consecutive missed cuts on the PGA Tour heading into this week. Schwartzel took a fortnight off, watched old footage of the Masters and felt his confidence begin to swell. The 2011 Masters champion now finds himself with a share of the clubhouse lead with overnight leader Sungjae Im (74) at 3-under 141 after a second-round 69.

“The bad results didn’t really determine how I felt coming in here,” said a reserved Schwartzel. “I actually took two weeks off, and as the two weeks went by, my confidence grew in belief that I could win this tournament because I was starting to hit it very good and just looked at old footages, and it’s still there.”

Schwartzel, 37, made tournament history 11 years ago when he became the first player to win the Masters by closing his round on Sunday with four consecutive birdies. The young South African had to fend off a host of contenders to do it, too. Eight different players held a share of the lead on the back nine that Sunday, including five at one time. His triumph came exactly 50 years after fellow South African Gary Player became the first international player to win at Augusta.

In a way, the challenging winds on a chilly day in Georgia helped keep Schwartzel’s mind from becoming too active. Schwartzel has spent too much time of late, he said, thinking about what can go wrong inside the ropes.

An 11-time winner on the DP World Tour, Schwartzel’s most recent victory on the PGA Tour came at the 2016 Valspar Championship. His last top 10 on the PGA Tour came at the 2021 3M Open in July, where he took a share of second.

When asked what he focused on coming into this week, Schwartzel said he’s been working on it the whole season.

“I haven’t felt like I’ve played as badly as my results, though,” he said. “I tried to tighten the swing up a little bit. Get the hands a little more passive. Hands were a little too active. I must be honest. These two rounds are one of the two best ball-striking rounds I’ve had in a very long time.”

2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson and Harold Varner III are one shot back at 2 under.

How tough was it out there?

Schwartzel said any player in the field would be happy shooting level par in Friday’s conditions. His 3 under was a bit of a bonus.

Lee Westwood, like first-round lead Im, shot 74 in Round 2 and pointed out the sand blowing out of a bunker during his post-round interview.

“I said to (Russell) Henley coming down 15,” said Westwood, “there’s so many smelly shots out on that golf course today that you need a bit of fortune to hit it at the right time.”

Johnson said he felt like he had to grind all day in the gusty conditions.

“Two under is definitely in a better position than I thought it would be,” he said.

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Brennan: ‘He’s an inspiration to us all.’ Tiger Woods has magical moments in Masters return

He missed some fairways and greens. But he fought. Did he ever fight.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Something was in the air, a murmur at first, a rush of sound far away from the first tee, growing louder by the second. Hundreds of heads turned. The galleries were as large as they could ever be at Augusta National, packed 20-25 people deep, waiting for one person, and that person, Tiger Woods, was on his way, magically enough, from the practice green to the tee box of the 2022 Masters.

Less than 14 months earlier, he crashed his SUV and thought he might lose his right leg or never walk again. Now, here he was, striding confidently, albeit with a persistent limp, in front of a massive Thursday morning audience to begin his first official round of golf since he last teed off at Augusta National Golf Club in the November 2020 Masters.

One of the most stunning sports stories ever told was unfolding before the hundreds gathered by the first tee. The 46-year-old Woods, who a year ago was in the midst of spending three consecutive months in a hospital bed, was on his way to a magnificent opening round, breaking par, finishing at one-under 71, tied for ninth when he ended.

There was only one conclusion to draw from this remarkable sports moment: Tiger is just so good at this and cares so much about it that he can do it, and do it very well, on a rebuilt right leg.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods plays from the fairway on the second hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament. Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

“I felt good,” Woods said on ESPN after he finished. “The whole idea was to keep pushing but keep recovering, that’s the hard part, every night to recover. I figured once the adrenaline kicks in, I get fired up and I get into my little world, I should be able to handle business.”

And so it was. “I fought back (from several mistakes),” he said, “and for the day to end in the red (under par), I’m where I need to be.”

Dozens of other golfers were on the course as Tiger was, but in some ways, they barely existed.

“You can’t help but watch him, he’s an inspiration to us all,” said Cameron Smith, a co-leader at 4-under-par, playing right in front of Woods.

As the clouds that brought fierce thunderstorms and two inches of rain to town cleared, Woods teed off to thunderous applause. His first drive was not a prize winner. The sound was not pure but thin, and the result was mediocre, short and right of the bunker on the right side of the fairway. But just as he was going to do all day, Woods persevered. He hit his approach just short of the green and made a 10-foot putt to save par.

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He was on his way. He parred the first five holes before a scintillating shot into the par-three sixth hole, leaving him just two feet for birdie. He was 1 under, and on the leaderboard. How much greater could this story get?

But golf giveth and golf taketh away. On the par-5 eighth hole, Woods made an ugly bogey, needing four shots from 50 yards away from the hole to go back to even-par. “A loss of concentration a little bit there,” Tiger said.

He came back on the par-5 13th, when he reached the green in two, was putting for eagle and settled for an easy birdie. His good fortune didn’t last as a drive into the trees led to a missed green and a two-putt bogey on 14.

But then, pure Tiger magic occurred on No. 16, the iconic par-3 that has seen its share of Tiger heroics over the years. Woods’ tee shot dropped beautifully onto the green, 29 feet from the hole. Of course, Tiger made the putt to go back to one-under par, and that’s where he stayed.

For much of the late morning and early afternoon Thursday, Woods was even-par. He had his moments, but most of all, while he wasn’t in the lead, he was on the leaderboard. He offered few smiles; this clearly was a grind. His tee shots were not as long as those of his playing partners. He missed some fairways and greens. But he fought. Did he ever fight, and when his 10-foot par putt fell into the cup for a closing par save on No. 18, he sighed deeply. He had done it, and he was done for the day.

He was asked what was next for him. He answered like a middle-aged man who had just walked 18 holes up and down hills on a leg full of pins and screws and plates.

Said Tiger, “Lots of ice.”

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Jason Kokrak, who’s in the early Masters hunt, used to workout with Xavier hoops coach Sean Miller

This is Kokrak’s third Masters and on Thursday, he played like a man who is growing comfortable.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jason Kokrak, Xavier grad, used to work out with Sean Miller when Kokrak was an undergrad and Miller was the boss of the Musketeers men’s basketball team. After Kokrak shot a highly credible 70 Thursday, for a spot on the Masters leaderboard heading into Friday’s second round, he had some thoughts on his erstwhile workout partner’s return to the Cincinnati school.

“Incredible coach,’’ Kokrak said. “Yeah, he got in trouble, but that has gone out the door these days with all the new rules.’’

Meaning players being paid is no longer an issue, now that Name Image and Likeness rules have taken hold.

“I’m very happy to see him back.’’

Plus, Miller has denied ever paying a player.

This is Kokrak’s third Masters and on Thursday, he played like a man who was growing comfortable with the golf course. It takes a while to learn where to hit the ball and, more importantly, where not to.

“Certain spots where I know not to miss, certain spots where (a hole) is get-able,’’ he said.

More: ‘Something that I have to do’: Sean Miller’s back. Here’s what happens next at Xavier

More: Live updates from the Augusta Chronicle

He made five birdies Thursday. None was more important than the one at the par-3 12th, on a putt from just off the green. “Kinda kick-started my round,’’ Kokrak said.

He’d just lipped out a 40-foot birdie try at 11. After the birdie at No. 12, Kokrak birdied both the par-5 13th and the 14th, to get to two-under par. He had another birdie try at 17, but he left the 20-foot putt a few feet short. “I gave it a little more respect than I needed to,’’ Kokrak said.

Kokrak tees off at 12:57 p.m. Friday.

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Lynch: Masters Honorary Starter Gary Player has done everything in golf. Just ask him.

A decade in a ceremonial role has not dampened Player’s love of the game — and of telling folks about it.

It isn’t bragging if you can back it up, Muhammad Ali famously said, but even the cocky old prizefighter might have had his tolerance for bombast tested Thursday at Augusta National.

There’s a pre-ordained order to things at the Masters. We hear from competitors on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday belongs to Augusta National’s chairman, and Thursday—at least the early morning, as play gets underway—is reserved for the honorary starters.

The Masters is celebrated for its immutability, underpinned as it is by tradition. One example is the honorary starters, legends whose ceremonial tee shots get things underway shortly after dawn. They are among the few things that do actually change at the Masters, and not just their names. Starters assume the role in the flush of their autumnal years and, while most everything around them remains the same as the years roll on, they grow stiffer of bearing, shorter off the tee and more fragile of health, though never less impressive in our collective memory.

The rookie on the roster of icons who opened the 86th Masters first came to Augusta National as an amateur competitor at the 34th Masters, in 1970. Tom Watson saw Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod act as starters that year. “It’s a wonderful memory to me,” he said.

Watson, twice a Masters champion, was insistently humble about accepting a richly-deserved honor. “I don’t belong in the same realm as these two players,” he said, gesturing to his right.

To his immediate right sat Jack Nicklaus, the winner of six green jackets and a ceremonial figure since 2010. He and Watson fought some of golf’s most thrilling duels in the ‘70s and ‘80s. They are men comfortable in their accomplishments and ill-disposed toward braggadocio, particularly when speaking in the first person.

To the far right sat Gary Player, a three-time winner here and an honorary starter since 2012. Player is a man of boundless optimism and considerable achievement. In addition to his three Masters victories, he has a pair of PGA Championships, a U.S. Open and three British Opens. The most enduring of those wins was 1968 at Carnoustie, but for reasons that did not become clear until the 1969 Open at Royal Lytham.

Back then, the Champion Golfer of the Year was responsible for having his name added to the Claret Jug. The R&A assumed that responsibility in 1969 for two reasons. Roberto De Vicenzo returned the trophy in ’68 without having had his name engraved, while Player brought it back in ’69 with his name chiseled in lettering considerably larger than any winner before (or since).

That bold personality trait was on full display Thursday morning at Augusta National, as the 86-year-old legend grasped every opportunity to remind us of his every accomplishment, from wins logged to miles flown.

“I remember when I was the first international player to win this great tournament,” he began, as a means of paying tribute to the defending champion, Hideki Matsuyama.

“I’ve been to Japan almost 30 times,” he added. Twice.

“You know, I went to Australia at least 30 times,” he said a little later, before dropping an oft-cited claim whose appeal surely lies in the difficulty of it being disproven: “Having traveled more miles than any human being that’s ever lived, it gives me a great thrill.”

That Player is well-traveled is hardly in dispute, and he is admirably quick with compliments for the nations he has visited. Today, it was the turn of India. “I love India, the intelligence, the technology, the manners, the so humble—the women dress so nicely. I’m so used to seeing women with damn dresses up their bum, and you don’t see anything like that in India,” he said, admitting an aversion to immodest dress among the fairer sex that may help explain the Golf Saudi logo adorning his collar.

Almost every great golfer in history has vowed to quit when they can no longer win, but none do so. That’s partly what makes them great, the belief that there’s one more round in the chamber for a Sunday gunfight in a major. The titanic threesome on the dais at Augusta National all said they knew when it was time to stop competing.

Player played his final Masters in 2009 at the age of 73. “I won’t mention players that played that they were shooting 90. Really embarrassing, “ he said. “I was still scoring pretty well, and I just said, ‘No, that’s it. I can’t win anymore.’ ” That sobering realization came 31 years after his last victory, 29 years after his last top-10 finish, and 11 years after he last made the cut.

A decade in a strictly ceremonial role has not dampened Player’s love of the game, of competing, and of telling folks about it. “If I may boast for a minute,” he said, with no discernible irony, “I’ve beaten my age over 2,000 times in a row. In a row!”

He confessed to being upset after a recent round when he narrowly failed to beat his age by a staggering 18 shots. “I was 6-under par with five holes to go. I could play the next holes in 2-over and beat my age by 18,” he said. “Nobody has ever beaten their age by 18!”

The veterans wrapped up their conversation with the press by musing on prospective winners of the Masters a few days hence, which offered Player one last, subtle opportunity to pat himself on the back. “I’d like to see Rory McIlroy win because I think he is basically the most talented player I’ve seen in ages,” he said earnestly. “And to have another Grand Slam winner I think would be just a big shot in the arm for golf around the world.”

The key word there is “another,” drawing attention as it does to the five men who can claim that most exalted of honors, three of whom are living, and one of whom was speaking. He rose from the podium and made for the clubhouse to meet and greet, a man in full, clad in a green jacket he had earned. Like Ali said, it’s not bragging if you can back it up.

Lynch: At Augusta National, even Fred Ridley’s non-answers carry a clear message

Fred Ridley’s comments were unconventional in that he raised a thorny topic before the assembled press did.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Pedants will tell you that Augusta National is a property, not a governing body, a depthless observation that is equally true of the White House, Downing Street and the Élysée Palace. Augusta National is golf’s real seat of power, not only in the public imagination but in its ability to set priorities and effect change. This is why the closest thing our sport has to a State of the Union address comes Wednesday of Masters Week, when the club’s sitting chairman offers prepared remarks to the media before fielding questions on pressing issues in the game.

The chairman’s scripted remarks are dependably careful, highlighting good deeds outside the walls of the club and minor changes within. Against that tradition, Fred Ridley’s comments were unconventional in that he raised a thorny topic before the assembled press did: that of distance.

In his State of the Union at the 2020 Masters, Ridley’s language on this subject had bordered on strident for a man occupying his position. He said golf is “at a crossroads,” and “coming closer to a call to action.” When the chairman of Augusta National hints that a call to action is imminent, it means that call has already been privately issued to those who needed to hear it in golf’s corridors of power. In this case, that means the USGA and R&A, whose joint Distance Insights project was delayed by the pandemic but recently resurrected with the announcement of further investigation and feedback in specific areas.

Unsolicited, Ridley addressed himself to the issue.

“We recognize this is an intricate topic that won’t result in solutions overnight, and we support the level of consideration displayed by the governing bodies throughout this process,” he said. “We look forward to further discussions during the comment period this summer as well as future recommendations and ultimately implementation.”

Ultimately.

Implementation.

Two words that communicate an expectation for decisive action when the talking is over. In the careful nomenclature of Augusta National, that constitutes a reminder that Chairman Ridley is a patient man, but that patience ain’t bottomless.

“I’m very committed to the objectives and design philosophies of our founder, co-founder, Bobby Jones and Dr. MacKenzie,” he continued, a gospel preached by all of his predecessors. There are many critics who believe the design principles of Jones and MacKenzie have been compromised by the distance modern golf balls travel, so Ridley’s reiteration of the dogma won’t have gone unnoticed by those responsible for regulating such matters, in particular Mike Whan and Martin Slumbers, both of whom are on-site this week.

However predictable the chairman’s scripted remarks may be, his (always his) answers to media questions are feverishly parsed for meaning.

Ridley was quickly asked about the elephant not in the room at Augusta National: Phil Mickelson. The three-time Masters champion went to ground after comments emerged in which he embraced the Saudi regime trying to launch a rival professional tour and casually dismissed its human rights atrocities because doing so afforded him leverage over the PGA Tour. Mickelson’s absence led to speculation that Augusta National had suggested he stay home, which Ridley dismissed.

“I would like to say we did not disinvite Phil. Phil is a three-time Masters Champion and is invited in that category and many other categories,” he said.

Which is true, as far as it goes. Angel Cabrera is also a Masters champion who isn’t here. Cabrera can’t compete since he’s currently incarcerated in Argentina, but his management team—which has in the past received his Masters invitation—didn’t get one this year. It may have been sent to his unoccupied home, of course, but the team didn’t receive an invitation last year either. If that one went to the wrong address, the Masters has not sought clarity on where it should be sent.

The situations of Messrs. Mickelson and Cabrera could one day have a tangential bearing on each other.

Asked how the Masters would look upon players who sign with a Saudi-financed breakaway circuit, Ridley signaled his support for the existing ecosystem.

“I would start by saying that our mission is always to act in the best interests of the game in whatever form that may take. I think that golf’s in a good place right now. There’s more participation. Purses on the professional tours are the highest they have ever been,” he said, the latter point sure to warm the cockles of Jay Monahan’s heart while providing Saudi frontman Greg Norman yet another Augusta disappointment, albeit on a Wednesday instead of the customary Sunday.

“We have been pretty clear in our belief that the world tours have done a great job in promoting the game over the years,” he added. “Beyond that, there’s so much that we don’t know about what might happen or could happen that I just don’t think I could say much more beyond that.”

On paper, a non-answer. In reality, rowing in behind the status quo. In the language of schoolyard scuffles, Ridley was telling players thinking of crossing that rubicon, “Try me, and you’ll find out.”

Hence the potential connection between the two MIA former champions.

Mickelson chose to absent himself from the 86th Masters. Cabrera can’t play, obviously, but it appears he didn’t even receive the courtesy of an invitation from a tournament that famously prides itself on courtesies toward its past champions. Which would then set an intriguing precedent of the Masters not extending an invitation to a former winner due to behavior deemed inconsistent with its values.

There may come a day when such conduct unbecoming includes willingly being a stooge for a murderous regime bent on using golf to sportswash its depredations. None of the 91 competitors in the field this week has yet publicly put himself in the position of testing Augusta National’s tolerance on that. There’s a fair chance that by the time of the 87th Masters Tournament, some player will do so. If that unknown soldier for the Saudis was looking for a sign that he will still be welcomed at Augusta National, Fred Ridley made sure he did not provide one.

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Phil Mickelson was not disinvited from the Masters, Augusta National chairman insists

Ridley said the three-time Masters champion informed him via text message that he would not be competing.

AUGUSTA, Georgia – Phil Mickelson was not disinvited from the Masters, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley told the media on Wednesday in his annual pre-tournament press conference. Ridley said the three-time Masters champion informed him via text message that he would not be competing in this year’s tournament.

Mickelson announced in February that he was taking a leave of absence from golf. He last competed in January at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open.

“Phil reached out to me, I think it was in late February, early March, and let me know that he did not intend to play,” said Ridley. “That was by way of a text. And I thanked him for his courtesy in letting me know. I told him that we certainly appreciated that and, you know, told him that I was certainly willing to discuss that further with him if he’d like, and he thanked me, and we had a very cordial exchange.”

Mickelson finds himself in the midst of a heated controversy for derogatory comments he made to Golf Digest and Fire Pit Collective about the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, as well as the Saudi Arabia regime that’s backing a breakaway league led by Greg Norman.

Mickelson told the Fire Pit Collective that he hoped to use the rival league as leverage against the PGA Tour and its “obnoxious greed.”

Ridley was asked to give his stance on rival leagues and whether or not a player’s participation would preclude them from an invitation to the Masters.

“I would start by saying that our mission is always to act in the best interests of the game in whatever form that may take,” said Ridley. “I think that golf’s in a good place right now. There’s more participation. Purses on the professional tours are the highest they have ever been.  Clubs and courses, I think are in healthy financial positions. … We have been pretty clear in our belief that the world tours have done a great job in promoting the game over the years.”

Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley speaks during the trophy presentation following the Augusta National Women’s Amateur golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Beyond that, Ridley said, there was not much more he could say.

In his statement from February, Mickelson said he has felt the pressure and stress affecting him on a deeper level.

“I know I have not been my best,” wrote Mickelson, “and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.”

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