Players buy in to Augusta tradition

Now that all the furore over ticket scalpers at the US Masters has died down for another year, it may be appropriate to look at how it affects the players. The fact is, Augusta National run the only professional tournament for which competitors have to buy tickets for members of their family.

Players are limited to purchasing the series badges at $100 each for their immediate family, which means their wife and children, plus a maximum of eight more. Darren Clarke had to do it, though the matter was handled by his manager, Andrew Chandler. He had sufficient for his family and friends, except for one detail.

"The only clubhouse pass I got was for my wife, Heather," he said. "I couldn't get any for my mum and dad." Clarke added: "I'm not complaining: that's just the way it is."

And what about having to pay for them? "Details like that would be the least of my worries, certainly at a place like Augusta," he replied.

But not every player adopts such an easy attitude. For instance, 1996 British Open champion Tom Lehman, who, as it happened, missed the cut last weekend, said: "I love the tournament, but the policy (on badges) is pretty archaic. They're doing all right. In fact I think they're making a few bucks out of the tournament."

He went on: "They could at least give the players as many complimentary tickets as they need, within reason. But I'm not going to argue. I'm just happy to be playing."

Fred Couples, Masters champion in 1992 and joint runner-up last Sunday, said: "At the US Open, you get four free tickets. Then you can buy, I don't know, a couple more."

Couples added: "If I happened to have an extra Masters badge, I would never let anyone know. But it's different at the US Open. I might be able to get my hands on a couple of tickets. And I might be able to get two from Colin Montgomerie, because he wouldn't have that many people coming to the US Open, then give him two at the British Open. But start talking about Augusta . . ."

Scott Hoch, who was beaten by Nick Faldo in a play-off for the 1989 Masters, pinpointed sponsors as his main problem. "I have six sponsors who come on tour with me and I feel obligated to get them tickets. You want to do it, but sometimes you can't."

And would he charge them? "No," replied Hoch. "I wouldn't charge my business partners and friends for the tickets. That's out of my own pocket." Then he concluded: "The Masters is one of the toughest, if not the toughest ticket in all of sports or entertainment." So now you know.

On being told recently that the great fighter, Joe Louis, had a flair for the fairways, current world champion Evander Holyfield, who happens to be a novice at golf, replied: "I heard he lost a lot of money because he thought he was a great golfer."

Jack Nicklaus is turning his attention to other, more enduring matters, after a particularly impressive performance at Augusta National last weekend. Indeed some might feel that it represents a far more realistic dream than the possibility of a seventh Masters triumph.

Subject to official approval, the Bear has his heart set on a highly ambitious golfing development, already being dubbed Muirfield South. With a group of partners, he has acquired 369 acres in northern Palm Beach County, Florida, only 10 minutes from where he has lived since 1968.

"I've always wanted to build a fine, private golf club right here in my backyard, and now it's about to happen," he said. The exclusive Bear's Club, where work is expected to begin this summer, will have fewer than 300 members and a limited number of so-called estate lots. Late 1999 is the time set for completion, and Nicklaus will serve as the club's chairman.

Twenty-three years ago, Nicklaus and a group of friends built Muirfield Village in Dublin, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Though the finished product, which played host to the 1987 Ryder Cup, has been an enormous success, he refers nowadays to its financing and construction headaches as "a painful learning experience". Developments at Palm Beach are expected to go much more smoothly.

Jerry Higgenbotham would have received a minimum of around $60,000, and more than likely $100,000, for carrying Mark O'Meara's bag to victory last Sunday. So, he did what any self-respecting caddie would have done on meeting his peers at Harbour Town. "Let's go boys, I'm buying," he told them, to a predictably enthusiastic response.

It wasn't the first time this week that he had celebrated his employer's success. In a downtown Augusta bar on Sunday night, Higgenbotham ran up a bill of $500 in an hour. Having worked for O'Meara for the last nine years, he had regular causes for celebration, albeit of a more modest nature, courtesy of 11 other tournament victories since 1989.

Laura Davies believes in living life to the full. And the gambler in her was drawn to a decidedly novel idea for her challenge in the LPGA City of Hope Myrtle Beach Classic this weekend. It resulted from meeting up with her father, Dave, who lives in the Irmo suburb of Columbia, South Carolina.

Four of his friends are caddying for Laura, one in each round. "She got to know them through me and was behind the idea 100 per cent," said her father. "Her philosophy is to have fun when she competes. She's playing better than ever and all she needs is for the putts to start dropping again."

Mark O'Meara is considered by his fellow professionals to be something of a contradiction when it comes to handling money. He lives in a 9,000 square-foot, $3 million house as a neighbour of Tiger Woods in Isleworth, Florida, yet foregoes four-star accommodation at tour stops to stay in $50 per night motels.

On the road, he is sensibly conservative, to the point of making regular use of complimentary, clubhouse food. Colleagues say that he chooses modest lodgings for business purposes, rather than throw money around on temporary comforts.

But at home with his wife and two children (Michelle, aged 11 and eight-year-old Shaun), he spends liberally. For instance, his 12-car garage contains a new, $100,000 Porsche along with a Land Cruiser, a Mercedes S500 and a Mercedes utility vehicle.

"I like to surround myself with nice things," says the player, whose tournament earnings exceed $9 million. "I like to buy toys for myself and my family to enjoy and I'm fortunate in being able to do it. On the other hand, I wouldn't say I'm overly cheap (tight-fisted) on the road, but I like to watch what I spend."

Arnie Burdick, tourna ment information director of the MCI Classic, shares my love of strip cartoons. Which would explain the message that awaited me in the media centre this week. Under the greeting "Top of the morning," the latest Peanuts offering had been cut out of the local newspaper and taped to my desk.

Sitting on a bag of golf clubs, Charlie Brown addresses Snoopy, the irrepressible beagle, who is about to drive off the tee. "I've often wondered have you ever been invited to play in a pro-am?" inquires Charlie. "I've never even been invited to a pro-dog," comes the reply. Making for an ideal start to the day.

This day in golf history . . . In 1966, Carol Mann won the Raleigh Ladies Invitational tournament by one stroke when Kathy Whitworth, who was president of the LPGA at the time, called a two-stroke penalty on herself on the final hole. As it happened, Whitworth gained generous compensation by winning nine tournaments that year on her way to a career total of 88 titles, an all-time record for women or men.

Mann also had a highly successful 1966 season, with further victories in the Peach Blossom Invitational, the Baton Rouge Invitational and the Waterloo Invitational. Standing 6 ft 3 in, she was a larger than life figure in every sense of the term. Like Whitworth, she too was president of the LPGA and is credited during the 1970s with taking the organisation into the modern era.

Teaser: In strokeplay, B, in playing a stroke at his ball in a bunker, accidentally hits A's ball which was also in the bunker. Both balls come to rest outside the bunker. A plays his ball from the spot to which it has been moved by B's stroke. What is the ruling?

Answer: A was required to replace his ball in the bunker (Rule 18-4). A's breach of Rule 18-4 was a serious one and he should have been disqualified under Rule 20-7b, unless the serious breach was rectified as prescribed in that rule. B incurred no penalty (Rule 18-4).