Georgia Golfer Makes Cut at 73rd Annual Masters Tournament

Larry Mize has made a comeback at the 73rd annual Masters Tournament, making the cut after the first two rounds, according to projections from tournament officials. Mize, an Augusta native, scored five-under-par 67 on Thursday and four-over-par 76 on Friday, his score slipping along with the scores of many other players.

Mize blamed wind for the higher scores on Friday.

Mize, who now lives in Columbus, won the Masters in 1987 and has only made the cut twice in the last ten years.

Ryuji Imada, who played on the University of Georgia golf team, also made the cut, but barely, according to the projections.

Oliver Wilson, who attended Augusta State University, and Stewart Cink, of Duluth, did not make the cut. Cink blamed both wind and pin placements by tournament officials for his score.

Masters Underway In Augusta

The Masters golf tournament is underway from Augusta this morning. The first threesome teed-off right at 8 o’clock--Ian Woosnam, Chez Reavie, and Briny Baird. The groups of golfers will continue to start their rounds into early afternoon. That includes Tiger Woods, who’s won four times at Augusta. Woods tees-off at 1:52 today. Last year’s defending champ, Trevor Immelman, starts in the group preceding Woods. Weather in Augusta this morning was fair and 53-degrees at the tournament's start. The Augusta-area is headed for a high of 77 under mostly sunny skies, with a west wind of 6-8 mph.

A programming note that GPB's Georgia Gazette will originate from Augusta and the Masters tonight--Mary Ellen Cheatham hosting. Join us on the GPB Radio network at 6pm, 7pm in Athens, or join us online at gpb.org to stream the show.

Masters Competition Opens Thursday

The crown jewel of the major golf tournaments—the Masters--opens competition with first-round action Thursday morning in Augusta. Today, it's the popular prelude to the serious competition--the Par-3 tournament.

The Masters is steeped in rich history, it has a unique mystique, and it typically provides intriguing storylines amongst the golfers once the action starts.

John Patrick is a longtime Augusta broadcaster who knows this event inside-and-out, having covered more than 20 Masters Tournaments. He spoke to GPB’s Edgar Treiguts.

Click below to listen to the interview:

Powered by Podbean.com

Tiger Preps for 15th Masters After Eight Months Off From Game

Fans gather at the Masters leaderboard on Tuesday.

Practice rounds for the Masters Tournament are underway in Augusta, and Tiger Woods is back trying to get his fifth green jacket.

Woods made a comeback recently, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Florida. That was his third tournament after knee surgery took him away from the game for eight months.

Woods spoke to reporters in Augusta on Tuesday.

Tiger Woods:

"I started hitting better and better, got my feel for the game again and went out and played at Bay Hill, which was nice. Those two tournaments prior to that allowed me to do that."

This is Woods's 15th Masters. He's matched with Stewart Cink, a player from Georgia and Jeev Milkha Singh in the first round of play on Thursday.


Hear Tiger Woods talk about his comeback, his thoughts on the Augusta National course and more:

Powered by Podbean.com

Powered by Podbean.com

Hear Phil Mickelson talk about his rivalry with Tiger and his prospects for 2009:

Powered by Podbean.com

Today is the last day of practice rounds. The Par 3 competition, a friendly game between golfers with their children serving as caddies, begins at 2 p.m. You can view it live at the Masters website. For more information on the Par 3 competition and the Masters, click here.

Homeowners near Masters golf course in Augusta get tax breaks

Seven homeowners near the Masters golf course will get the tax breaks.

That's thanks to a state law known as a traditional use covenant.

It allows exemptions for homeowners whose taxes have increased due to an unusual market influence. Such was the case when the Masters bought up land around its property and turned it into parking lots this year.

The Richmond County board of tax assessors voted to bring taxes around the Masters golf course back in line with other residential property nearby.

One homeowner says last year he paid $2000 in taxes for a third of an acre while the Masters paid only about $470 for the same amount of land. The homeowner's taxes this year will drop to $600.

100 million watch Masters Tournament

About 100 million people across the world watched the Masters tournament on television last week, according to Augusta National Golf Club.

The tournament aired in more than 190 countries. Television viewership increased by about 15 percent from last year.

The Masters website also got 5.4 million unique hits, up from 4.7 million last year, they said.

Augusta National says it wants to grow the game of golf internationally.

For more information about the tournament, go to masters.org.

Georgia sports for Monday, April 14th

There is a new champion at the Masters. Trevor Immelman earned the green jacket Sunday, becoming the first South African to win a Masters title in 30 years. Immelman faltered a bit with a '75' in the final round, but it was enough to hold-off a gaining Tiger Woods. For his day, Woods carded a '72' Sunday to finish 5-under-par for the tournament--Immelman finished 8-under. Stewart Cink and Brandt Snedeker tied for 3rd place, finishing 4 shots off the pace.

From major league baseball, after wins in the first 2 games of their series in Washington D-C, the Braves faltered in the finale Sunday with a 5-4 loss. Made tougher was the exit of starting pitcher Tom Glavine in the 1st inning after facing only 4 batters. Glavine left the game with a right hamstring strain, and hopes to avoid the disabled list for the first time in his career.

Georgia Tech has cancelled its Tuesday baseball game against Georgia Southern in Statesboro. The Yellow Jackets are dealing with the death of their teammate, junior pitcher Michael Hutts. The team will attend the funeral for Hutts on Tuesday. Michael Hutts' body was discovered Friday afternoon in his apartment in Atlanta. The initial report from the coroner found there was no obvious violent cause of death. A full report may not come for a few weeks. Tech expects to face Georgia Southern in a scheduled game Wednesday. Over this past weekend, Georgia Tech lost all 3 games to visiting Miami. Tech had postponed their Friday night game upon news of Hutts' death.

Immelman enters final round atop leaderboard at Masters in Augusta

Trevor Immelman enters the final round of the Masters Tournament in Augusta on Sunday atop the leaderboard again at 11-under par 205.

It's a huge comeback for the South African golfer, who was plagued with illness, and a stay in a hospital, during Masters Week in 2007. He managed to play that year, but ranked 55th.

Brandt Snedeker was second by the end of the third round on Saturday, scoring a 9-under-par 207.

Tiger Woods played better on Saturday, scoring 68. That comes after lackluster play in the first two rounds. He tees off in the final round on Sunday with a score of five-under-par 211.

Lightning interrupted the tournament for about 45 minutes during a thunderstorm on Saturday. The forecast for Sunday calls for sunny skies and a high of 68, but wind gusts up to 23 mph are predicted.

Georgia sports for Friday, April 11th

Round-2 of the Masters is on tap today from Augusta. Out of Thursday's round-1, it was a tie atop the leaderboard, as Justin Rose and Trevor Immelman led the field. Both fired opening-round 68's to go 4-under-par. There was a group of 3 golfers 1 stroke back at 3-under. The 2-under group, 2 shots off the top included defending champ Zach Johnson. The group 3 strokes off the lead included 2-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson. For Tiger Woods, he carded an opening '72' to start the tournament even-par, 4 strokes off the lead.

The Atlanta Braves will look to snap a 3-game losing skid when they open a weekend series at Washington tonight. The Braves' 4th game to close their series in Colorado yesterday afternoon was snowed-out--the contest will be made up in June. Tim Hudson is expected to get the starting pitching call against the Nationals this evening.

Tiger plays even in Masters tournament in Augusta

British golfer Justin Rose and South African Trevor Immelman are currently atop the leaderboard at the Masters Tournament in Augusta.

Today was the first of four rounds in the tournament.

Tiger Woods ended up behind the leaders, playing even and finishing with a par 72.

But the tournament is still early, and Woods is still favored to win.

Woods has set a major goal for himself. He has publicly stated that he wants to win all four championships this year.

British golfer Ian Poulter took an early lead tied for second during the day, but was bumped a bit down the leaderboard by the end of the day. He's tied for fifth.

In a celebrated play, Poulter scored a hole-in-one at the 16th hole.

Poulter had set his own goal. He said recently he thought he could be Woods's main challenger. His comments had been met with laughs and controversy.

"Amongst the guys, it was friendly banter," Poulter told reporters after finishing the first round. "But to open the newspaper and see the comments in there, and see what people think and compare you to Tiger, I wasn't comparing anything to Tiger."

Fog delayed the first round Thursday by an hour.

There are three more rounds in the Masters. The second round is Friday.

Georgia sports for Thursday, April 10th

The Masters tournament is underway today from Augusta. The first grouping teed-off at 8am. Defending champion Zach Johnson was scheduled to start at 10:23 this morning. Tiger Woods is aiming for a 5th win at the Masters--he was set to begin at 10:45.

Another tough night for the Atlanta Braves on the road, as the club sustained its third staright loss, 12-6 to the Rockies in Colorado. A bumpy first start of the season for pitcher Chuck James in taking the loss. The Braves and Rockies hope to close their 4-game series today, weather permitting. Temperatures in the 30's, with wind and snow is forecast. Before Wednesday's game, the Braves placed closer Rafael Soriano on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow tendinitis.

From college baseball Wednesday, the first meeting of the season between rivals Georgia and Georgia Tech. The win goes to the Yellow Jackets of Tech, 9-4.

Greens are ready at Augusta, officials say

Officials of the Augusta National Golf Club say the course is ready for the Masters tournament, which begins Thursday.

"It is truly in magnificent condition, certainly the best turf conditions of any Masters I have personally experienced," says Billy Payne, chairman of the Augusta National and the Masters.

"We are constantly monitoring the moisture content, the firmness of the greens, and we want them to be as much as possible the same greens on Sunday as the players see when they arrive on Monday," says Fred Ridley, chairman of the tournament's competition committee.

There have been concerns about the course, after the area received three inches of rain. There is a chance of showers again this weekend.

In 2007, the players competed on a course that was dry, making it firmer and faster. Players also had to contend with windy conditions.

Zach Johnson pulled off a surprise victory that year, but ever since has encountered arguments that his win was a "fluke."

Par 3 Contest takes place in Augusta

Children served as caddies for their golfer dads Wednesday in the Par 3 Contest at the Augusta National Golf Club.

The friendly competition between current and former Masters competitors is a tradition. The Masters tournament begins Thursday in Augusta.

The Par 3 Contest was broadcast nationally for the first time this year.

Tournament organizers are also offering free tickets to the Masters for girls and boys ages 8-16 who come with a patron.

They say it's part of an initiative to get children interested in golf.

"I thought what a great combination. Bring kids to see their heroes and at the same time expose them to the great attributes of how our fans act and behave and enjoy the game of golf, that it was a win-win," says Billy Payne, the Masters chairman.

But females are not allowed to compete in the Masters.

Payne declined to comment on that, saying that matter was private.

Georgia sports for Tuesday, April 8th

It was a frustrating loss for the Atlanta Braves Monday night in the opener of a 4-game series in Colorado, and start of a 10-game road trip. Matt Holliday's 2-run homer off Braves' reliever Blaine Boyer in the 8th inning was the difference for the Rockies' 2-1 victory. It wasted another fine effort by starting pitcher Tom Glavine, who threw 6-and-a-third innings with 3 hits and no runs allowed. Chipper Jones delivered an RBI-double to account for Atlanta's only scoring.

The Augusta-area is now within Masters week. Tournament play starts Thursday morning. Yesterday brought crowds of near 40-thousand people to Augusta National Golf Club for practice rounds, as golfers got their first chance to assess the course. How the course will play for the week is the question, as last weekend brought three inches of rain. Isolated thunderstorms are forecast for this weekend with higher temperatures.

Georgia Tech has given women's head basketball coach MaChelle Joseph a new 4-year contract worth 1.3 million dollars. Joseph in 5 years as Tech's head coach has complied an 84-66 record. The women's team this season made its 2nd-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Colbie Caillat and Josh Kelley to perform in Augusta

Pop stars Colbie Caillat and Josh Kelley will perform at the Drive for Show, Rock Fore! Dough concert in Augusta on April 8.

Caillat's hit "Bubbly" is currently on Billboard's Top 10 list. She spent four months as MySpace.com's top unsigned artist before signing a record deal.

Kelley, an Augusta native, recently recorded a new album, "Special Company," which will be available in February.

Hootie & the Blowfish will headline the concert.

The concert is held annually during the week of the Masters golf tournament, and benefits the First Tee of Augusta, which teaches children life skills and leadership through golf.

Information about ticket sales will be available in the coming weeks.

Hootie & the Blowfish coming to Augusta

Hootie & the Blowfish will headline the Rock Fore! Dough concert in Augusta on April 8, during the week of the Masters Tournament, event organizers announced Friday. The group will also headline the concert in 2009.

The concert benefits The First Tee of Augusta, which exposes children to life skills and leadership through golf.

For more information, visit www.thefirstteeaugusta.org.

Masters reaches out to youngsters

The Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club will offer youngsters aged 8-16 a ticket to the Masters each year beginning in 2008.

Masters officials say one child will be allowed in on tournament days for each accredited patron.

The Masters will also televise its Par 3 Contest on ESPN on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Children of the players serve as caddies in the contest, which is not a part of the official tournament.

Masters officials say these developments are part of a wider effort to reach out to a younger audience.

For more information about the Masters tournament, go to www.masters.org.