By TERRY LYONS
Can you imagine plotting and planning, scheming and teaming-up with some buddies to score tickets and attend The Masters at Augusta National only to have it rain? Worse that rain, it’s raw, damp and unpleasant … a.k.a “inclement weather,” which has suspended play in the mid-afternoon or both Friday and Saturday’s rounds.
The Masters is the jewel of professional golf’s Major tournaments, outclassing the PGA Championship, The Open and The U.S. Open. It is to golf what Wimbledon is to tennis or what the Boston Marathon is to long distance racing. It is the best.
With that tag, it is a very tough ticket.
That’s the way current Augusta National head honcho Fred Ridley and his predecessors – all good olde boys from the South – in Clifford Roberts (1931-76), Bill Lane (1977-80), Hord Hardin (1980-1991) – it was under Hardin’s era when the first black member of Augusta was approved – Jack Stephens (1991-98). Hootie Johnson (1998-2006) and Billy Payne(2006)-2017) – all wanted it.
The Masters evolved and improved with age. It awkwardly navigated the prejudicial ways of the past regarding African-American members and membership for women, as it wasn’t until Billy Payne’s watch when the first female members were introduced.
Despite it’s flaws, and its old-school policies all fighting modern technology and 24/7 sports coverage, the Masters remains pure and has proven-out the “less is more” theory of sports broadcasting.
Nowadays, there’s streaming coverage of the Amen Corner and Featured Groups, but the TV right are only in the pocket of CBS Sports. They’ll be on at 8:30am this morning and 2:00pm this afternoon to cover a rain-soaked tournament and hopefully tuck it in before “60 Minutes” starts at 7:00pm in the east.
Thankfully, unlike college basketball, CBS sports anchor Jim Nantz will stay on with his coverage of The Masters.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Masters – as stated above – is truly one of the “Bucket List” events for any sports fan. What are the others? Here’s a list facing this reporter and a list of Bucket List items already checked-off.
BUCKET LIST EVENTS to COME (Hopefully):
- The Masters
- Winter Olympic Games
- Super Bowl
- Pebble Beach golf
- Kentucky Derby
- French Open and Australian Open
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FIVE BUCKET LIST EVENTS CHECKED OFF:
- Summer Olympic Games (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens)
- NCAA Final Four
- World Series and Stanley Cup Final
- U.S. Open (golf and tennis)
- NHL Winter Classic
(Note: The BIG EAST Tournament in New York and the ACC Tournament (1990 in Charlotte) are high on the list, as was a UCLA vs USC game at The Rose Bowl). There are far too many NBA events to list, but I might place the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando with Earvin Magic Johnson’s return to play as No. 1 and the 2004 NBA China Games in Shanghai and Beijing with Yao Ming as No. 2).
LIV vs PGA TOUR: The playing of the 2023 Masters re-united the best golfers in the world as members of the upstart LIV Golf tour were permitted to compete alongside their former colleagues on the PGA Tour. “It’s good to be back,” said Phil Mickelson on his return as he’s currently T-8 with 71-69 in the books and EVEN par.
Off the course, LIV and the PGA Tour will still do battle in the court of law, as this past Friday, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated a Jan. 11, 2024, trial date and pushed back the start of the trial at least four months, citing reasons of the need for more time for discovery stemming from the coffers of the Saudi Public Investment Fund which has bankrolled LIV golf to absurd lengths of signing bonuses and payoffs for 54-hole tournaments.
The disputes involve eleven LIV Golf players who filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour on Aug. 3, 2022, accusing the tour of using its monopoly powers to squash competition.
On Sept. 29, the PGA Tour filed a countersuit against LIV Golf, accusing it of interfering with its contracts with players. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended more than 30 players for competing in LIV Golf tournaments without conflicting-event releases.
Meanwhile with LIV golfer Brooks Koepka at the top of the Masters leaderboard, it bodes well for the rival tour and its competitive business model.