The Masters Golf Tournament

Forty-eight-year-old Kenny Perry bogeyed the 72nd hole of the Masters forcing a three-way playoff with Angel Cabrera (photo courtesy of AP) and Chad Campbell as all three players finished regulation play at 12-under par.

After both Perry and Cabrera parred the first extra hole while Campbell missed a four-footer to remain in the playoff, Cabrera two-putted for a par and the victory on the second playoff hole when Perry pulled his second shot badly to the left and couldn't make four.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods electrified the Masters crowd with some terrific shot making during the final round. Mickelson tied a course record with a 30 on the front nine but hit a poor tee shot on the par-3 12th hole and dropped two strokes to par. After making birdie at 13, Mickelson missed a short eagle putt at 15 and then missed again withing 5 feet for birdie at 17 and finished the tournament at 9-under par.

Woods played his best round of the championship on Sunday. He eagled the par-5 8th hole en route to shooting a 33 on the front side. Tiger narrowly missed making eagles on 13 and 15 winding up with three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine to finish with a 68 on the round and 8-under for the championship.

This victory marks Cabrera's second Major title having already won the 2007 U.S. Open Championship. In falling just short, Perry missed becoming the oldest player to ever win a major championship.

South African Trevor Immelman kept his composure during the final round of the 2008 Masters Golf Tournament fending off Tiger Woods and other challengers to win the first Major Championship of the year by three strokes.

Uncharacteristically, Tiger Woods putting let him down on the back nine Sunday from holes 13 to 16 and he finished second for the second year in a row at the Masters ending his goal of winning golf's Grand Slam in 2008.

Immelman shot a final-round 75 to finish at eight-under-par and became the first South African to win the Masters since Gary Player captured the 1978 event.

Immelman's 75 was the highest score posted in a final round by the tournament winner since 1962.

History, Facts and Figures for The Masters Golf Tournament

The Masters is one of golf's four major championships (U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA are the other three majors). Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held every year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club. It is a tournament revered by golfers everywhere.

2009 Masters:

• When: April 9-12 (Do you have your tickets? See below)
  
• Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.
  
• Defending champ: Trevor Immelman
  
• TV: ESPN/CBS
  

The Masters was started by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, who designed Augusta National with legendary course architect Alister MacKenzie.

The Masters has the smallest field out of the major championships at around ninety players. Although it's an "invitational" event, these days invitations are largely issued on an automatic basis to players who meet published criteria. For example, the top fifty players in the Official World Golf Rankings are all invited. Past champions are eligible to play, but in recent years the Augusta National Golf Club has discouraged them from continuing to participate at an advanced age. Nevertheless Gary Player played in 2006 at the age of 70.

In line with the other majors, winning the Masters gives a golfer several privileges which make his career more secure.

Masters champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors for the next five years, and earn a lifetime invitation to the Masters.

They also receive membership on the PGA Tour for the following five seasons and invitations to The Players Championship for five years.

After a rough first nine holes, Tiger Woods brought August National to its knees with a record-shattering performance that left other golfers searching for superlatives to describe how he won the 1997 Masters Tournament by 12 shots.

Woods made the victory look ridiculously easy, combining a power and finesse game never seen before at the famed Augusta National.

He shot 70-66-65 and closed with a 69 on Sunday for a record 18-under-par 270 total. If not for a 4-over-par 40 on the front nine in the opening round, Woods may have reached 20-under-par for the tournament.

For the final 63 holes of the tournament, Woods was 22-under-par. He played the back nine in 16-under-par, breaking Arnold Palmer's 1962 record by four shots. In fact, Woods unbelievably didn't have a bogey on the back nine in the entire tournament.

Woods led the field in averaging driving distance for the week at 323.1 yards and tied for 13th in putting, averaging 29 putts a round on the slick Masters greens.

When the Tiger barrage on Augusta National was over on Sunday evening, there was a tournament record and a 12-shot victory, over Tom Kite, a three time Masters runner-up.

The victory margin is the largest in the history of major championship golf going back to 1860 with the British Open.

Kite, who was playing in the group ahead of Woods, stayed around to watch Woods play the 72nd hole.

"I wanted to see him finish," Kite said. "It's a very historic moment to see somebody shoot the tournament record at a major championship. That was an incredible finish."

Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus finished his 39th Masters as Woods was just beginning his final round.

"He's out there playing another game on a golf course he's going to own for a long time," Nicklaus said.

Prophetic words as Tiger Woods has gone on to add three more Masters titles (in 2001, 2002 and 2005). He is the favorite again in 2008 to win his fifth Masters crown.

One of the greatest Masters tournaments ever occured in 1975. That year, 1973 U.S. Open Champion Johnny Miller and sweet-swinging 1973 British Open Champion Tom Weiskopf dueled Jack Nicklaus over the final 36 holes of the tourney.

Miller shot an incredible 65 on Saturday including birdies on the first six holes to draw within four shots of the lead going into the final round after trailing Nicklaus by 11 shots following rounds of 75 - 71 on Thursday and Friday.

Weiskopf had his game in high gear after firing a 66 on Saturday and entered the final 18 holes leading the Masters by one shot over Nicklaus who was looking for his 5th Masters crown.

What happened on Sunday was truly remarkable. Weiskopf and Miller were paired together in the last group of the day with Nicklaus right ahead of them so they could all keep an eye on one another throughout the Georgia afternoon.

Miller began the final round on fire firing a 32 on the front nine. Nicklaus went out in three under and Weiskopf made the turn in two under. So with nine holes left to go, Jack and Tom are tied with Miller now just two back of the lead.

If you ask any Masters afficianado, they will tell you that the tournament doesn't really begin until the back nine on Sunday.

What transpired on that back nine on Sunday, April 13, 1975 is the stuff legends are made from.

Each of these three golfing greats took their best shots at capturing the 39th Masters.

Miller continued to play inspired golf and finished the afternoon shooting a 66 despite missing a two-footer for bogey on 11 and narrowly missing a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have put him in a tie for the lead.

Weiskopf on the other hand found water on 11 and bogeyed 16 with poor iron shots. Yet, on the 72nd hole he found himself crouched over an eight-foot birdie putt to force a playoff with Nicklaus.

Meanwhile, Nicklaus took the lead for good by crushing a long-iron shot on the par-5 15th for a two-putt birdie and then rolling in one of the great putts in Masters history, a 40-footer on the par-3 16th that had Jack and his caddy jumping in the air in celebration.

With Nicklaus in the clubhouse possessing a precarious one-stroke lead, and after Miller had missed his 20-footer on 18, Weiskopf approached his putt to force a playoff.

A stunned golfing world watched in utter amazement as Weiskopf's eight-foot birdie putt on the final green stayed above the cup when it had to go slightly left, drop and force a playoff. Moments later, 1974 Masters champion Gary Player was helping Nicklaus put on the Green Jacket for the 5th time, a Masters record.

Afterwards a dejected Weiskopf would add, "I can't believe I lost this tournament. The luck balances out. It comes down to the last hole and you hit a good drive, a good approach shot and good putt and it stays out. All I know is, one of these days the putt is going in and I'll win a Masters."

Regrettably for Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller that day never arrived as neither player ever won The Masters. In fact, Weiskopf was the Masters runner-up four times. However, for Jack Nicklaus, he would add one more Masters title to his resume winning the 1986 tourney at age 46.

Augusta, Georgia is known for one great thing- The Masters Golf Tournament. The Augusta National golf course is filled with beautiful flowers and landscaping and explains why Augusta is nicknamed the Garden City. It is just a week away and the people of Augusta have only one thing in mind- the tournament.

Augusta pulls it together very well but the preparation that goes into the Masters is unbelievable. People are scrambling for tickets, hotels are booked to capacity, businesses are pulling golf-carts in front of their buildings, and homeowners are cleaning their houses from top to bottom. The city of Augusta will increase by 30 percent the week of the Masters. Where does Augusta put all of the people?

Continue reading "Preparing for Tiger".

As with many other courses, Augusta National's championship set up has been lengthened in recent years. In 1998 it measured approximately 6,850 yards from the Masters tees but by 2006 it was almost 600 yards longer at 7,445 yards.

The 2006 changes attracted many critics, including the three winningmost players in Masters history, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. Woods claimed "Shorter hitters are going to struggle".

Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson was unperturbed and stated, "We are comfortable with what we are doing with the golf course".



Former Masters Champion Gary Player defended the changes saying, "There have been a lot of criticisms, but I think unjustly so, now Ive played it.... The guys are basically having to hit the same second shots that Jack Nicklaus had to hit [in his prime]".

In 2008, further changes have been made to four holes on the course:

Hole No. 1: Ten yards were added to the front of the Masters tee providing more flexibility in the event of a strong northwest wind. Back of the tee was reduced to ease patron movement. Masters scorecard remains 455 yards.

Hole No. 7: Green was changed for agronomic reasons and approximately six feet added to the left of the green allowing the possibility of 2-3 additional pin placements.

Hole No. 9: Green was changed for agronomic reasons and right pin placement softened on first and middle plateaus.

Hole No. 11: Consistent with last year, several trees were removed. The result allows for enhanced patron viewing.

As Bobby Jones, course designer of Augusta, said a while back, "There isn't a single hole out there that can't be birdied if you just think. But there isn't one that can't be double-bogeyed if you ever stop thinking."

Tiger Woods has commented that Augusta National in some ways plays easier now because the rough keeps errant shots from running away. Meanwhile, the changes haven't fazed him.

"It doesn't matter what type of course it is, he'll (Tiger) figure it out," Tom Fazio, the Masters consulting architect for the past 20 years said. "He might be the greatest of the greatest, so there's nothing he can't adapt to. Look at all the different courses where Nicklaus won his majors. Tiger's the same. He can play any shot there is, and if he hasn't played it before, he'll think it out and find a way."

Shortly after winning the tournament, the Masters champion is awarded the traditional Green Jacket during a victory ceremony by the previous year's champion.

However, what most golf fans don't know the Champion only gets to keep the Green Jacket for a year. When he returns the following year to defend his title, he gives the jacket back to Augusta National Golf Club officials.

Now, here's the interesting part. Going forward, the champion has "visitation rights" to his Green Jacket. The jacket is considered his, and when he visits Augusta National at any point thereafter, he can retrieve and wear his jacket.

The Masters official website explains a little further:

"Near the conclusion of the Masters, several Jackets are selected which could fit the possible winner during the presentation ceremony. The winner will have his measurements taken at the Club's Golf Shop or may provide measurements so that a custom made Green Jacket can be tailored.

Typically, a multiple winner will have only one Green Jacket unless his size drastically changes."