Masters notebook: Fore, Four Eyes! Snead breaks fan's eyeglasses
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sam Snead participated in his 62nd straight Masters yesterday, hitting a ceremonial first tee shot that flew into the gallery and broke a spectator's eyeglasses.
Snead, 89, is recovering from strokelike symptoms that surfaced about six weeks ago. He has hit the opening tee shot every year since 1984, although this might have been the most eventful.
"I got it off the ground," Snead said after walking off the first tee.
Snead, a three-time Masters champion who holds the PGA Tour record with 81 victories, did not stop for interviews.
The man known for one of the sweetest swings ever made clean contact in more ways than one. The drive sailed to the right about 100 yards and hit Phil Harison between the eyes.
Harison was cut on the bridge of his nose. After several minutes, he stood, laughed and left with medical personnel to be checked out further.
Bubba, meet Tiger
Moments before he hit his first-ever shot at the Masters, Bubba Dickerson saw a sight that settled his nerves. His playing partner, defending champion Tiger Woods, sliced his tee shot into the bunker.
"To see a player that good hit a bad shot, that kind of loosened me up," Dickerson said.
It didn't take long, however, for the U.S. Amateur champion to realize the difference between great potential and a great player.
Dickerson, a confident 20-year-old from Hilliard, Fla., shot 7-over 79, forcing him to worry more about making the cut than sizing a new green jacket.
Standing underneath the big oak tree Wednesday, Dickerson proclaimed he had all the shots to win the Masters, if only he could "figure out these greens."
Is he that far from Woods, who shot a 70?
"I didn't feel like he hit the ball much better than I did," Dickerson said. "He just manages the game better, and has more experience."
Dickerson made mistakes, mostly on two par-3 holes on the back nine.
"If I could just get comfortable, play a little better and not hit three ridiculous shots, then I could be right there," he said.
Reavie conquers case of nerves
Chez Reavie, U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, finished at 74. He played with Tom Watson, who shot a 71, but played well under the radar on a day when galleries mainly followed Woods and Arnold Palmer.
"Chez came up to me on the first tee and said, 'I'm completely numb, I can't feel a thing,' " Watson said. "Somehow, he got it down there and had a great round. We had a good time. My first time here, I played with Doug Ford and he never said a word to me."
Watson, 52, is a two-time Masters champion.
Did he feel as if he was carrying the banner for older players?
"That might be a bit of a stretch," Watson said. "But I'm just happy to be under par, because I really wasn't expecting to do much, given the way I've been playing lately."
Andrade takes walk of shame
Billy Andrade took an embarrassing walk on No. 9. He hit his first putt completely off the heavily downsloping green. With his caddie on the other side of the green, Andrade walked over, grabbed his bag, took it to his caddie and then pulled out his sand wedge for the next shot.
Hands on the merchandise
Prestigious souvenirs for fans include shirts, hats or shot glasses to prove that they were at the Masters.
The tournament is the only one of golf's four majors that doesn't allow its merchandise to be sold away from the course, a decision that helps keep Masters tickets among the most exclusive in sports, but may cost Augusta National millions in potential revenue.
"A piece of clothing or a souvenir here is kind of special to the people who have been here," said Augusta National Chairman William "Hootie" Johnson. "While our merchandise sales are important to us, we don't feel the need to go on the Internet and trivialize it."
Masters officials won't disclose how much the private club makes annually in merchandise sales.
However, the longest line during the week of the tournament is typically found at the 8,500-square-foot store near the main spectator's entrance.