Augusta National Golf Club Chair Billy Payne yesterday said that every patron entering the grounds this morning for the start of The Masters would "receive a special Commemorative Badge honoring the late Arnold Palmer," according to Chris Gay of the AUGUSTA CHRONICLE. Payne in his annual pre-tourney press conference said that the badges are "Commemorative Arnie’s Army buttons." Since last year, Augusta National has "made significant changes to its property," as improvements were "made on the western edge of the club." A new Press Building was also "erected at the end of the tournament practice area." But asked if the club could name the building after Palmer, Payne said, "We just finished this building two days ago and, quite honestly, we just haven’t thought about that yet." Payne also addressed Augusta National's continuing ban on cellphones on the course, saying they are "an irritation to not only players, the dialing, the conversation, it’s a distraction and that’s the way we’ve chosen to deal with it" (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 4/6).
FIRST-NAME BASIS: In Newark, Steve Politi noted ANGC has "inserted microchips in each of the reporter's badges this year, so the moderator [at press conferences] knew exactly who was sitting in every seat in the room." Augusta National Dir of Communications Steve Ethun said that the new technology is "being used on a trial basis to personalize the press conferences, allowing members to use a reporter's name instead of saying something along the lines of 'you in the blue shirt' when calling on them." Ethun: "It was done primarily -- exclusively -- for that reason" (NJ.com, 4/5).
COUCH RULING: Masters officials yesterday said that they "won’t immediately prohibit television viewers from participating in the governance of the tournament" in wake of the LPGA penalizing Lexi Thompson last weekend at the ANA Inspiration. Masters Rules Committee Chair Fred Ridley said, “We hope very much that something appropriate, an appropriate solution to this, would be reached." Golfer Rickie Fowler said, "There’s no other sport where people can call or email in or contact officials regarding an issue. ... You look at someone like Tiger [Woods], who has spent his entire career -- obviously every shot, every movement, has been on camera. If we go back and look at video of all kinds of players or things through the years, you probably can find rules infractions" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/6).
WEATHER DELAY: In Boston, Ben Volin noted fans who flew into town for the Par 3 contest yesterday "left disappointed, as the event was canceled for the first time" since '60 and the course "closed for most of the day because of inclement weather." Thunderstorms closed the course at 10:00am ET, and after reopening at 12:30 and "attempting to start the Par 3 tournament at the same time, officials canceled play and closed the course at 1:30." Rain subsided for the tournament start today, but the first two rounds are "expected to be played in chilly weather with 20-40 mile-per-hour winds" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/6).
OTHER ISSUES ON THE AGENDA: USA TODAY's Christine Brennan notes Payne yesterday spent as much time "talking about Augusta National’s enduring no-cell phone policy as he [did] about the prospect of bringing in more women members." Brennan writes ANGC is "green and lush and everyone appears to be happy." Brennan: "The game of golf is good -- at least here, under the bubble. Occasionally, though, reality enters through a crack." Brennan notes the "bubble clamped down tight when the subject of politics, particularly President Donald Trump, came up" (USA TODAY, 4/6).
CHEERS TO THE KING: In Augusta, David Lee notes Tuesday's Champions Dinner, the first since the passing of Palmer, "featured a mix of emotion and celebration." Tom Watson said, "Ben Crenshaw presided and gave the traditional first-year winner’s pin to Danny Willett. Danny spoke, then people spoke about Arnie Palmer after that. Several people got up and spoke and told stories about Arnie." Watson said it was a "heavy dinner" without Palmer there (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 4/6).
