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Friday 15 April 2016

The Masters Tournament

The Masters Tournament also known as The Masters or The US Masters is one of four major championships in men's professional golf and the first of the four to be played each year. The final round of the Masters is always scheduled for the second Sunday in April. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held every year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA.

The Masters Golf Tournament was the idea of the former leading US amateur golfer Robert Tyre ('Bobby') Jones (1902-71), who lived in Georgia. American Horton Smith won the first Masters Golf Tournament under the magnolia trees of Augusta National in 1934.

Bobby Jones, c. 1921
Bobby Jones wanted a 19th hole so that any casual golfer who lost a round would have a chance to win their money back. It was never built.

The course was closed during the Second World War to help the war effort. Instead it was used to raise animals and by 1943 had more than 200 cattle and 1,400 turkeys.

The winner of the Masters receives (for a year) a coveted green jacket as part of the prize. The green jacket was initially worn by members of Augusta National to distinguish themselves from patrons. The first champion to receive a green jacket was Sam Snead in 1949.

A golfer can possess only one Masters green jacket. If a golfer wins multiple Masters they just award the winner the same jacket. The winner also can't hold onto their jacket and must return it to the clubhouse.

In 2017, a famed green jacket from the Augusta National Golf Club was purchased for $5 at a Toronto thrift shop, then sold at auction for $139k

Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower is the only US president to have been a club member at the Augusta National. Ike's Pond occupies three acres near hole No.9 on the par-three course and is the site of the traditional par-three contest on Wednesday of Masters week.

The 9th hole on the par 3 course

21-year-old Tiger Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes on April 13, 1997. His score of 18-under-par 270 broke Jack Nicklaus' 32-year-old Masters record of 17-under-par 271. He also was the youngest Masters winner and the first winner of African or Asian descent.  Never before had so many spectators come to Augusta National, and never before had so many people watched it on television.


14-year-old Chinese teenager Tianlang Guan became the youngest player ever to qualify to compete in a major in 2013. He won the Asian Amateur Championship last year to book his place on the 2013 Masters.

Female members were at Augusta for the first time in 2013. In 2012 Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore became the club's first female members.

Source Daily Mail 

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