Masters irretrievably part of our sporting landscape

AGUSTA, Ga. — The location seems part cathedral and part real estate development.  The name, which he did not choose, embarrassed Bobby Jones, the man who was responsible for the creation of the tournament.

And yet because of history and some mystery — how do you get into the club; how do you get a ticket — the Masters irretrievably has become part of our sporting landscape

As the late, very great Dan Jenkins wrote, the Masters is the championship of nothing, no league or nation or continent, and yet for golf, it may be the center of everything, loaded with names and memories.

The Masters is where enlisted men from nearby Fort Gordon, having finished their assignment posting numbers on the scoreboard, jumped into the gallery following a pro named Palmer. And still wearing their uniforms, unintentionally started Arnie's Army.

The Masters is where years later another young guy named Tiger Woods shook up his opponents and because of his style and success — and race, a black man in what primarily had been a white man’s activity — shook up a sport that can always use some shaking.

Down here near the banks of the Savannah River, familiarity, contrary to the cliché, breeds not contempt but appreciation. The same venue, many of the same competitors, on television, the same comforting reminders from the words of CBS’ Jim Nantz.

So many athletes and fans, people who have been there and with exception done that, and whether they ever swung a club or a racquet, or know a double bogey from a double fault, say the only two events they would like to attend once are the Masters and Wimbledon.

Magical names where over the decades there have been so many wonderful games, where stories of the losers — Greg Norman, Jana Novotna — were more compelling than those of the winners.

The stories leading up to this Masters, involved, of course, Tiger, now 47, and still as always will be recovering from the vehicle crash of February 2021 — a sheriff’s deputy said Woods was lucky to survive — defending Masters champ.

Scottie Scheffler and the LIV Tour remain at war with the PGA Tour.

Not that anybody outside of the players, particularly Michelson and Brooks Koepka and the LIV and PGA Tour really cares about the war.

Golf, like tennis, is constructed on personalities, who’s playing and where. Watson defected from the PGA Tour and joined the Saudi-funded LIV Tour, only an issue if Bubba can’t enter a tournament because of his affiliation.

And the Masters, happily for all, especially fans of the Masters, has no restrictions. If the golfers themselves can’t get along, well, that’s their problem.

For the rest of us, the only problem may be the weather for this Masters, so inviting from the beginning, is supposed to turn nasty by Friday. Unfortunately, thunderstorms also are part of Masters tradition.