Masters off-course hospitality a big hit
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a stroke on the No. 13 hole during practice round 2 prior to the start of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
Augusta National rarely makes mistakes when it comes to planning, so it was no surprise to learn that its first off-property hospitality venture was a massive success.
Situated on the corner of Washington Road and Berckmans Road, a seven-minute walk from one of the entrance gates, Map & Flag costs $17,000 a ticket, and it's already getting rave reviews.
"It's Augusta. They did it perfect," a golf industry veteran told Golfweek. "First-year deal, you'd think there would be issues, but, no, it works, and my people love it."
The $17,000 price tag comes with a tournament ticket and remains open from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm, offering valet parking, shuttle drop-offs and breakfast services.
It's not quite Berckmans Place, the spectacular on-course hospitality area close to the fifth green where you might bump into a JP McManus or a Dermot Desmond.
Described as more laid-back, it's sold out this year and offers serious competition to other unofficial off-site hospitality sites dotted around the Washington Road area.
A first look at Map & Flag, the Official Masters Hospitality Experience. #themasters pic.twitter.com/siXUwU5XxC
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2024
Honorary starters
Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will get the Masters underway as Honorary Starters at 1240 Irish time on Thursday.
The legendary trio have won 11 green jackets in 140 appearances.
The custom of having Honorary Starters began in 1963 with Jock Hutchison (1963-1973) and Fred McLeod (1963-1976) performing the duties.
Byron Nelson (1981-2001, non-consecutive), Gene Sarazen (1981-1999), Ken Venturi (1983), Sam Snead (1984-2002), Arnold Palmer (2007-2016), Nicklaus (2010-present), Player (2012-present), Lee Elder (2021) and Watson (2022-present) have continued the tradition.
Aberg oblivious to Zoeller feat
Ludvig Aberg is making his major championship debut at Augusta, but unlike US Open champion Wyndham Clark, he's oblivious to one of the Masters' longest-standing records.
Nobody has won on their Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but the Swede admitted he wasn't even aware of the 35-year gap.
"I actually didn't know that stat up until just now, so I guess not," Aberg said when asked if it was a statistic that gave him pause of thought.
"But, yeah, I mean, I think that speaks to the difficulty of the golf course and the difficulty of some of the things that you might get thrown at you in the tournament. But I can't really do a whole lot about that."
Clark, on the other hand, was fully aware of Zoeller's feat.
"I mean, stats like that are meant to be broken," he said. "So I know it's a tall task. It's a challenging golf course. There's a bunch of good golfers. With that said, you have to still bring your game. So it's not like you can just flip a switch and win it.
"But, yeah, that would be an amazing accomplishment. And I like my chances. I really like myself on this golf course.
"I feel good on a lot of tee shots and approaches, and there's so much creativity. So I feel good coming into the week."
Koepka and Woods rule out 59 at Augusta
Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka do not believe a 59 is possible at Augusta National.
"If we played the old yardage and the old tee boxes, I would say yes," Woods said. "Not at 7,600."
Five time Major winner Koepka almost fell out of his chair when asked.
Koepka: "Have you played here?"
Reporter: "Not yet."
Koepka: "I can tell by the question."
Reporter: "What number is attainable in your mind? 63's the low."
Koepka: "I mean, now, anything's attainable. But, yeah, if you want to go play the members’ tees and maybe play like 15 holes, yeah, I could do that."
