The chairman said
Masters chairman Billy Payne held his traditional pre-tournament news conference Wednesday, and he:
- Announced the Eisenhower Tree, felled in the 17th fairway in an ice storm two years ago, has been preserved genetically and a planting could be reintroduced at the course in the long-term.
- Reported that the Berckmans Road re-routing that will begin soon will become a significant beautification project, with the parking lot looking "as though it belongs inside the fences of Augusta National." He said further: "Imagine parking now, in a few years from now, in a very beautiful park, walking to the admissions gate without having any interference by cars or carts. It will be a straight, uninterrupted walk, a beautiful walk. We're pretty good at landscaping, as you know, so you can kind of imagine what it would look like (laughter)."
- Saluted 1970 champion Billy Casper, who died Feb. 7, and two-time winner Ben Crenshaw, playing his final Masters this week.
Withdrawal
Australian Marc Leishman withdrew from the field as his wife, Audrey, recovers from an illness that first appeared to be the flu but turned more serious. She is recovering, but he said it was important to be with their two sons, ages 3 and 18 months.
By the numbers
3 Successful defenders of their Masters title: Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02). Also, a victory not only would put Bubba Watson on that list, but also would give him three Masters titles in four years, something accomplished by Nicklaus (1963, '65, '66)
Twitterati
Rory McIlroy, @McIlroyRory, going for his third consecutive major victory and the career grand slam:
I’ve dreamed of winning all the Majors since I was a kid. I hope you are following your dreams #BetterNeverQuits
He said it
“We only get to keep it the year that we won. We have to leave it here at the club after that. But I would wear it to all the corporate functions and so forth. I would put it in my golf bag and if it was chilly in the morning, I would pull it out (laughter). So it’s just the little things like that that are fun to do when you have that jacket.” — Three-time champion Phil Mickelson when asked to tell his most memorable green-jacket story.
Did you know
A European player hasn't won since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999, despite Europeans dominating the other three major championships recently. Europeans have won 12 of the past 34 majors including Rory McIlroy (U.S. Open '11, PGA '12, British Open '14, PGA '14), Padraig Harrington (British 2007, British '08, PGA '08), Martin Kaymer (PGA '10, U.S. Open '14), Justin Rose (U.S. Open '13), Darren Clarke (British Open '11) and Graeme McDowell (U.S. Open '10).
Thursday’s forecast
High of 90 with a 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms, winds SSW at 8 mph.
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