Tom Watson showed the younger guys he can still get it done.
It’s been awhile since the 65-year-old faced a putt he really wanted to make at Augusta National. And it wasn’t for the lead, to make the cut or for a green jacket.
The putt Thursday from just inside 10 feet for a 1-under 71 allowed him to break par for the first time at the Masters since 2010.
“It’s fun to be able to at least be in red figures Augusta National,” Watson said. “At my age, it’s a minor miracle.” More good news for Watson: He tied defending champion Bubba Watson and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.
The two-time Masters champion opened with a 67 in 2010 and went on to make the cut. If he can make it to the weekend this year, he would be the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters. Tommy Aaron was 63 when he made the cut in 2000.
“Old age and treachery,” Watson said to explain his score. “I played the golf course enough times to know where I’m supposed to hit it and where I’m not supposed to hit.” _ By Jim Litke
___
How much for set of golf clubs?
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer handed over the 1-irons they used to win 10 Masters between them.
Tiger Woods chose a driver that factored in his four.
Gene Sarazen contributed the 4-wood he used to make a historic double-eagle in 1935.
Local boy Larry Mize turned over the wedge he chipped in with to win a playoff in 1987.
Every Masters champion, from inaugural winner Horton Smith (putter) to defending champion Bubba Watson (putter), has contributed at least one club to what just might be the most valuable set on display in the United States.
Better still: You can look them over while you chow down.
The collection is housed in five glass cases at Augusta National. Three of those cases _ filled with a dozen clubs each, from the mid-1950s on _ are in the grill room. The other two are in the trophy room.
The most-often gifted club is the wedge, followed by the putter. There are no 3-, 4-, 6- or 7-irons and only one complete set in the entire display _ it belonged to Grand Slam champion and Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones.
That makes it challenging for fans to decide how they’d assemble their own. Just make sure to bring along plenty of cash. _ By Jim Litke
___
How did Annika do at Augusta?
Annika Sorenstam ranks among the best female golfers of all-time. She’s still the richest, with career earnings of more than $22 million, despite retiring in 2008.
But what fans remember most about the Swedish superstar might be the time she mixed it up with the boys on the PGA Tour at the Colonial in 2003.
As Sorenstam took in the scene Thursday at the Masters, some wondered what score she might have posted playing Augusta National from the tournament tees. No need to wonder.
“I was under-par,” she smiled, then quickly added, “but I played it more for the experience. The first time I put my foot on the property, I was blown away by the beauty. … It was about 10 years ago, in May, the day before they close the course for the summer.
“So the greens weren’t nearly as fast as they are today. And the course wasn’t as long as it is now, either,” she added. “It’s a mile too long for me now.”
Sorenstam, 44, remembers Nos. 9 and 10 as particularly tough because of their length.
“The men hit 8-irons into those undulating greens. I needed a 5 or a 6 to get there, which makes the undulations more like a roller-coaster ride,” she said.
For all that, Sorenstam put down 71 on her scorecard at the end of the day. _ By Teresa M. Walker
___
Get your walk on
Maybe it’s not quite a P90X workout, but walking Augusta National can be challenging.
With the temperature hovering around 90 degrees, the humidity rising, a Fitbit _ along with a hat and some shades _ would be a nice compliment to your attire.
Whether it’s during practice rounds or now with the action underway, people fill up this course.
The easiest path from hole-to-hole is what is called a cross way, which cuts across the fairways. When players come through, volunteers pull up ropes blocking traffic until each of the threesome has hit his shot. That leads to people stacking up quickly on each side of the fairway.
Once the ropes are pulled back, people start walking toward each other.
Toni Drummond, an Augusta native who now lives in Oregon, found a couple of men to use as her blockers as she worked her way across the fairways at No. 1 and across No. 9.
“It’s like a salmon run,’’ Drummond quipped as she dodged people.
___
Tiger, Lindsey and the kids
Tiger Woods played in the Par 3 tournament at the Masters for the first time since 2004, and he made it quite a family outing with girlfriend and Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn at his side, and his children caddying for him.
Vonn certainly completed the family portrait on Wednesday with her flowing green dress matching Tiger’s shirt while Woods’ daughter, Sam, and son, Charlie, each wore green ballcaps and white caddie jumpsuits in their first turn in this event. Vonn sure seemed to handle the role as stepmom well, keeping a watchful eye on the children, often leaning down to talk with them.
Woods let his 7-year-old daughter help with the putting, and she showed her father she can certainly roll the ball.
It seemed like a good time was had by all. There’s no doubt Woods enjoyed himself.
“These were memories for a lifetime,” he said.
___
Eisenhower Tree lives!
Men in green Masters jackets gave a warm round of applause to a large wood chip Wednesday
It wasn’t just a scrap from any old tree. To be exact, it was a 6-inch-thick, 4 1/2-foot-in-diameter cross-section of timber cut from the Eisenhower Tree, a soaring loblolly pine that stood like a sentinel guarding the left side of the 17th fairway at Augusta National for some 80 years.
Tributes rolled in when the tree was felled by an ice storm in February 2014, in no small part because of its connection to former president and Augusta member Dwight Eisenhower. Masters officials eulogized the tree at the start of last year’s tournament as if it was a deceased family member.
“Since then, we have been challenged to create an appropriate lasting memory,” club chairman Billy Payne said during his annual “State of the Masters” address.
A moment later, an employee pulled the curtain off an 8-foot-tall display case housing the memento to applause from Payne and a number of Augusta members ringing the interview room. It was be on display at the tournament this week before being shipped to the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas. A second cross-cut section will be retained at the club.
Eisenhower joined Augusta in 1948 _ four years before he became president _ and hit the tree so often during rounds that he campaigned for its removal during a 1956 committee meeting. He was ruled out of order by co-founder and then-chairman Clifford Roberts and the tree remained where it was, 210 yards out from the tee.
Although the game’s big hitters were flying their tee shots over the tree for a decade or so, the tree continued to bedevil shorter hitters and club members until it fell. The club has preserved a seedling in its nursery, though Payne said it was too early to say when and where it will be replanted. _ By Jim Litke