Given the prizemoney at the Masters, the cost of the Champions Dinner is merely a drop in the champagne bucket for the green jacket winners. For us mere mortals, however, the figures are eye-watering.
Tiger Woods, who last teed it up in a PGA Tour event at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, was asked point blank at Riviera Country Club if playing in the 2026 Masters was off the table. His answer was blunt.
There will be a critical eye placed on Nos.45-55 in the world ranking over the next four weeks, with many heralded players occupying those spots teeing it up at a time they might otherwise be taking a break from golf to either protect, or improve, their respective positions.
For the first time in more than four decades, Verne Lundquist won’t be in the 16th hole tower at this year’s Masters. However, that doesn’t mean golf fans won’t hear another familiar voice at one of Augusta National’s most famous spots.
While Chamblee says he’s never felt Augusta is a perfect course fit for McIlroy’s game, he stated that the problems, particularly in the first round, seem more mental than physical.
The greens are how Augusta National confuses the best golfers in the game, pushing them outside their comfort zones. Almost every hole forces players to make a binary choice: Option A or Option B.
The par-5 second hole is a dynamic, fascinating test that’s emblematic of the evolved genius of Augusta National’s architecture, where hole location dictates the way the players strategise.