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THE 19TH HOLE

12 little known facts about the Masters

May 21, 2015

The 2015 Masters is history and Jordan Spieth has won the Green Jacket, so now is a good time to explore twelve things you may not know about the Masters.

ONE: The Masters golf tournament actually got its start by accident. In 1932, Bobby Jones opened his Augusta National Golf Course and by 1934, he and the members and his investors wanted to host a major tournament.

When the USGA turned him down early in 1934 as the host of the U.S. Open, Jones and the members held their own tournament and called it the National Invitational Tournament (the name wouldn’t be changed to the Masters until 1939).

TWO: Jones and his investors wanted their course to be an art form, so they hired Dr. Alister Mackenzie to design it. In January of 1934, Mackenzie died and never saw the completion of his course or the first tournament.

THREE: The  Masters winners’ green jacket got its start in 1937, when the club members wore them to distinguish themselves from the common fans. It wasn’t until 1949, when Sam Snead won the Masters, that the first green jacket was given to a winner of the tournament.

Along with the honor of the green jacket, the winners receive a life time exemption from qualifying for future tournaments. In other words, you have a permanent invitation to play, no matter your age, but must make the cut to continue in the tournament.

FOUR: The Masters invented the format for tournament golf. It was the first 72 hole event played over four days and is still used to this day.

FIVE: During the TV broadcast of the Masters, viewers will not hear the following words: fans, championship, bleachers, sand traps, or how much money the winner actually receives along with the green jacket.

SIX: In 1994, commentator Gary McCord was taken out of the broadcast booth after he referred to the fast greens as “bikini waxed.” In the ‘60s, commentator Jack Whitaker covered the event until he referred to the patrons standing around the 18th green as “a mob.”  To get the following year’s contract renewed with Augusta, CBS had to drop Whitaker from the booth.

SEVEN: The top of  the Augusta National Clubhouse is called the “crow’s nest.” During the Masters week, four amateurs are invited to play and stay on the grounds. Notable past amateurs who went on to win in later years include Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson.

EIGHT: After years of controversy, African-American golfers were allowed to participate in the Masters tournament. In 1975, Lee Elder became the first African-American to play at Augusta, after winning the Monsanto Open.

NINE: Next time you see a closeup of Rae’s Creek on TV, remember the maintenance crew dyes the creek blue the first week in April to look good for the audience watching at home.

TEN: Attendance figures and gate receipts are never disclosed to the public. It has been reported that scalped tickets to the Masters go for as high as $12,000 apiece.

ELEVEN: From 1943-1945, the Masters was not played. During World War II, tournament play was suspended and the course was used to raise turkeys and cattle for the war effort.

TWELVE: Jack Nicklaus has six Masters wins, followed by Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods with four each. Five different golfers have three wins each.

19th Hole trivia

These fun facts did not make the top 12, but should be here in honorable mention.

• The winner’s green jacket must be returned to the clubhouse the following year and will stay there, unless he wins the tournament again.

• Bobby Jones’ main partner who invested in and helped start the Masters was Clifford Roberts.

• The first Masters winner was Robert Horton. He took $1500 for his first-place finish. Last year’s winner, Bubba Watson (2014) won $1.6 million.

• In 1975, the common beige sand in the bunkers was replaced with white feldspar and was shipped in from North Carolina.


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