Tiger could not have picked his words more carefully in venturing that he, personally, would like to see such a move. Yet when his message was relayed to Johnson, it invoked the sharpest of responses: “I don’t tell Tiger how to play golf if he doesn’t tell us how to run our club.” In other words, as one British broadsheet put it, “Hootie tells Tiger to mind his own business.”
"Quiet With the Crisps"
Falling Foul
Men of the Masters (clockwise from top): Ian Poulter promised former Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson that his Masters debut wouldn't be highlighted by his highlights; Arnold Palmer bids an emotional farewell during his last round as a competitor in 2004; Jose Maria Olazabal's 1999 victory, his second, was one of the great comeback wins of all time; Luke Donald's chances of success in 2009 were scuppered by a bag of crisps, despite his brothercaddie's intervention. 48
HK Golfer・APR 2011
The then world number one received a formal dressing down from Billy Payne, the Augusta chairman, when he returned to the game after events of 2009-2010. Yet the truth is that it is not necessary to have “done a Tiger” to fall foul of Augusta officialdom. When, for instance, Bernhard Langer hit into a members’ four on the weekend prior to the tournament in the mid 1990s, this avid Christian could not have been in more trouble had he been caught digging up the greens. Back in 2004, Ian Poulter, while preparing for his first trip to Augusta, received a prior warning about the hair-do he might sport that week. The message came from Hootie Johnson, Payne’s predecessor as chairman, but was delivered by another. “I won’t,” promised Poulter when he was asked about it, “put a ‘colour’ colour in it. Out of respect, I’ll steer clear of the old blue and red stripes and stick to natural shades.” Woods knew what it was like to be rebuked by Hootie. Back in 2003, when Martha Burk, the feminist activist, was at her most trenchant and making much of Augusta’s insistence on remaining a male-only club, Woods was asked for his take on the subject. Since the club now had a couple of African-American members, did he not think that it should open its doors to women?
The rules for spectators at the Masters are pretty much similar to those at most tournaments. Mobile phones and cameras are not permitted, while no-one is allowed to break into a run. But unlike most events, these are very strictly adhered to. Yet there is a downside to having so welldisciplined and orderly a crowd. When, for instance, Luke Donald eagled the eighth in his final round in 2009 to be no worse placed than one shot off the lead, he was thrown off course by a lady eating a bag of crisps as he was shaping to his second at the ninth. Amid the otherwise almost eerie silence, this spectator’s
HKGOLFER.COM