About Augusta National
For golfers, spring begins with the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Course in Augusta Georgia. The course is already getting ready for the 2009 tournament, to be held April 6-12. To get you in the spirit of the Masters, here are a few facts about the event:
The first event was held in 1934, with Horton Smith winning the tournament.
The Masters was originally called the Augusta National Invitational Tournament.
Horton won $1500; last year’s winner, Zach Johnson took home $1.3 million.
No tournament was held during WWII (1943-1945). Chickens and turkeys were raised on the grounds to support the war effort.
Jack Nicklaus has the most Masters victories (six); Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods both have four.
Jack Nicklaus was the oldest player to win the Masters (his sixth win in 1986); Tiger Woods was the youngest (in 1997).(photo © flickr user: pocketwiley/cc license)
2 Comments
Talking about the Masters, this past week I was watching some of the action from the Zurich Classic at New Orleans and I saw Larry Mize in the field. Never really heard much from the guy but for his amazing win in the 1987 masters where he upstaged Greg Norman with an unbelievable Chip and Run at a point when it looked very very unlikely that he would get up and down in two and looked certain that Norman would get to wear the Green Jacket. That was Larry’s only Major victory and he has won only four other tournaments on tour. That 140 foot chip and the celebrations after that next to the 11th green at Augusta still brings goose bumps each time I see the video. One can only imagine how Norman must have felt after that went in.
I dream of playing here!