Augusta Diary: Bonhomie and cookies to the fore during pre-tournament rituals

The L word – as in LIV – wasn’t a topic of conversation at all at the Champions Dinner, perhaps aided by master of ceremonies Ben Crenshaw starting the convivial meeting by reading a letter written by Ben Hogan to Masters founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts on the significance of being a member of the Masters Club.

“Surely this has to be the most exclusive club of all. Not only do a fortunate few of us have the tournament to look forward to, but the annual meeting of our club as well. Here, long after serious competition for some of us comes to an end, we can still get together and reminisce,” wrote Hogan.

A number of past Masters champions have defected from the PGA Tour to the start-up LIV Golf but any ill feeling between players was left outside the door.

“We all respect that we’re in that room because we played some great golf around this golf course at some point in our lives. I don’t think anyone’s silly enough to kind of make that not the theme of the night. It was nice that we were all there, and we all had a great time. The main focus there was to celebrate what Scottie did last year,” said Danny Willett, the 2016 champion.

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Scottie Scheffler, as defending champion selected a menu that included cheeseburger sliders, firecracker shrimp, tortilla soup, Texas rib-eye or blackened redfish and for dessert, a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie with milk and cookies ice cream.

A fun day out for the Finau family

No doubt who had the biggest entourage with him for the traditional eve-of-tournament par-three competition ... Tony Finau!

His wife Alayna and five children – Jraice, Leilene Aiaga, Tony Jnr, Sage and Sienna-Vee, who range in age from 11 years down to 21 months – all donned white caddie boiler suits and shared the task of caddying for him.

“It’s one of my favourite traditions that we have here. I get to have my kids inside the ropes with me and running around the course where they’re allowed to. They can get away with running on the golf course. It just makes it fun. I like that tradition a lot. It’s a big party.

“Some guys choose not to play it, which I totally understand. It’s a tradition that I like a lot, mostly because I get to have my kids in there. You never really have that opportunity on this type of stage or in this type of event. So it’s a cool tradition for us,” said Finau.

Belfast optometrist has his eye on the cut

There are seven amateur players in the tournament, including Belfast optometrist Matt McClean, who is a member of Malone Golf Club and an Irish international. McClean earned his spot after winning the US Mid-Amateur Championship.

“The goal is to make the cut, to be there for the Saturday and Sunday and then what comes with that is trying to win the low amateur. That’s my tournament,” said McClean of setting a realistic target.

McClean managed to get in practice rounds with Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy and, at 29, is the oldest of the amateur participants, who include world number one ranked Gordon Sargent, Harrison Crowe, Aldrich Potgeiter, Ben Carr, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira and Sam Bennett.

Kim a happy cookie

Kim Joo-hyung – or, as he is more commonly known, Tom Kim – was let loose in the concessions with a $20 note ... so, what did he end up buying?

Well, young Kim did well in picking up a pimento cheese sandwich, an egg salad sandwich, a peach ice cream bar, a zero-calories energy drink, and a white chocolate cookie all for $14, well inside his budget.

Except, he couldn’t use his money as all points of sale inside Augusta National are cashless. He was bailed out, as it were, by a friendly police officer who produced a credit card so Kim could take away his haul of goodies.

And his favourite? The cookie. “That’s a 10,” said a satisfied Kim.

Quote-Unquote

“It’s been really off. I’m struggling with my game. This is not a golf course to bring your B or C game. I’m going to struggle this week, but it’s part of life. It’s part of golf” – José María Olazábal, champion in 1994 and 1999, fearing the worst for what is his 30th appearance in the tournament.

Number: 35

That’s the distance added to the par-five 13th hole since last year’s tournament. The hole has been increased from 510 to 545 yards and, off the back tee, will likely make players question if they can go for the green in two.