Go beyond the scoreboard
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Everybody knows about the green jacket. That’s emblematic of Augusta National. But besides the jacket (for a year) and the $3.6 million in prize money, what else do Masters champions receive?
A lot of people don’t know about the silver trophy, a three-dimensional depiction of the clubhouse that weighs about 20 pounds and is roughly the size of a modest birthday cake. That’s a miniature version of the permanent trophy that is too large for one person to carry — well, maybe the beefy Bryson DeChambeau, if he could find a way to squeeze it out the clubhouse door.
The big one is so detailed that it’s accurate down to the number of rail posts on the balcony or individual panes in a given window. That trophy has been around since 1961 and is on display on the ground floor of the clubhouse, and features not just the names and scores of all the Masters champions but of all the runners-up. There aren’t many trophies that recognize who finished second.
There’s something cool about the scaled-down version the champions get. Those have the engraved signatures of every player in the field in that particular year.
Vintage Tiger Woods has been on display at times during the first two rounds of the Masters, and the 15-time major winner hopes to be in contention Sunday.
So how are those signatures collected? When players register for the tournament, they have to appear in person to collect all their information, credentials, etc. They can’t have their caddie or coach pick that up for them. During that process, the players are asked to sign a registration book. They might not be aware that those signatures go to an engraver, who uses them to decorate that year’s trophy.
(People have lots of different signatures. They might sign their tax forms in a different way than they scribble their name when checking into a hotel. So if they knew they were signing the Masters trophy…)
Champions have the opportunity to buy duplicate trophies for their home club, alma mater or the like, as long as that recipient is using that trophy to celebrate and promote the tournament in a positive way. They don’t want a champion buying a duplicate for his neighbor, or at all risking the chance that the hardware could wind up on eBay.
Likewise, the green jacket is not to be used for commercial purposes. Defending champions get to take theirs off property and keep them for a year, but then return them and wear them only on Augusta National grounds.
But champions get to keep their trophies. They get those around midsummer, and they arrive in a beautiful presentation box that’s lined with green felt and opens with swinging doors in the front that are held in place by a clasp. That lavish box is part of the whole experience.
In the Augusta National pro shop is a door that leads to a room filled by the storied green jackets unseen by non-members until the L.A. Times was given exclusive access.
The champions also get a gold medal that bears their name and Masters year on one side, and a depiction of the clubhouse on the other.
As part of that membership into an ultra-exclusive circle, the winners also receive a gold locket in the shape of the famous Masters logo — a map of the United States with a golf flag planted in Georgia.
That locket is presented at the Champions Dinner during Masters week. The defending champion gets to create the menu for that special night.
Oh, yes, that person picks up the tab too.
2
Tiger’s tailspin
(George Walker IV / Associated Press)
Tiger Woods hit the wall with a splat Saturday, and quickly slid into irrelevance.
After a 73 and 72 in his first two rounds, Woods shot 82 in a round that included back-to-back double bogeys.
The five-time Masters champion, who has finished only one full-field tournament since the start of 2023, looked fatigued and frustrated as he struggled through his Saturday playing 10 holes in bogey or worse. He is at plus-11 heading into Sunday.
“I was not hitting it very good or putting well,” said Woods, five years removed from his stirring 2019 Masters victory. “I didn’t have a very good warmup session, and I kept it going all day today. Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it.
“And I missed a lot of putts. Easy, makeable putts. I missed a lot of them.”
On Friday, Woods added to his robust legacy by making the Masters cut for a record 24th consecutive time.
3
Collin Morikawa and Max Homa in the hunt
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear, won a record six Masters championships.
Could this be the year of the Cal Bear?
Two former University of California standouts, Collin Morikawa and Max Homa, are hovering around the top of the leaderboard after three rounds.
But both trail World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who birdied 18 on Saturday to finish a shot ahead of Morikawa at seven under. Those two 27-year-olds, both major champions, will compose the final pairing Sunday.
Speaking at the Masters, Tom Watson says he can tell players miss the camaraderie they enjoyed until the PGA Tour players left for LIV Golf.
Morikawa, who attended La Cañada High, has won two majors, claiming the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open. At the Masters, he switched putters between the first and second rounds.
He had a rough start to the tournament and was two over after his first four holes, but didn’t allow that to define his Masters.
Homa, of Valencia High, is two shots back in third. His best finish at a major was a tie for 10th in last year’s British Open.
Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, went wobbly down the stretch with four bogeys and a double in his final 10 holes. But he had three birdies too during that stretch, including holing out a wedge shot on 18.
