First Sunday in April: The Masters
Grade: A

The GolfBlogger is a voracious reader, with an oeuvre that covers a wide range of topics: economics, history, science, medicine (yes, Mrs. GolfBlogger thinks this is weird, too), politics, the classics, science fiction, modern thrillers, and of course, sports. In short, I’ll read practically anything I can get my hands on, typically working through fifty or more books in a year. I just finished Julius Caesar’s Commentaries, and soon will start working on a biography of Thomas Moore.

One thing I’ve noticed in my literary travels is just how rich a body of work has grown up around the sport of golf. From Bernard Darwin, to Bobby Jones, P.G. Wodehouse, Herbert Warren Wind, Feinstein, Dodson, Jenkins and others, golf seems to inspire great writing. I think it’s in the very nature of the game—the way it lays bare our humanity. A round of golf can take a man from the depths of despair to the very heights of joy. It brings out the very worst, and the very best.

And perhaps nothing does it like the Masters at Augusta National. Indeed, with its legendary back nine, Augusta was specifically designed for triumph and disaster.

First Sunday in April: The Masters is a collection of stories, articles and reminisces of that legendary golf tournament. With contributions from professional writers, as well as from players, it is divided into sections: The Tradition, The Personalities, The Course, The Background, The Caddies, The Moments and The Controversies. For any one of these, the editors would have been able to put together enough to fill the book. It had to have been a hard task to choose a five to seven piece representative sample.

I enjoyed each of the pieces in the book—and all the more so because none was particularly long. They were perfectly suited for a few minutes read just before going to sleep. The breadth also was nice in that the book avoided being repetitive. The tone of the pieces range form humorous to serious to sentimental. Again, all welcome changes of pace.

The title of the book has been the bone of some contention in some circles: The first Sunday in April is actually the last day of the Houston Open, and the climax of the Masters is the second. But the book’s editors have a point, I think, in that the Masters is more than a Sunday; it’s a whole week of talk and prediction and preparation which just happens to culminate on the second Sunday. And in choosing such a wide variety of topics

That said, perhaps a better title would have been “One Week In April: The Masters”

ESPN has a look back at Mark O’Meara’s improbable 1998 victory at the Masters.
O’Meara has played at lot of top flite golf. Too bad he’s destined to forever be known as Tiger Woods’ best friend on tour.

Ninety year old Ernie Ball is the last survivor from the 72 players who were invited by Bobby Jones to the Augusta Invitational in 1934. That was the first playing of the tournament that would become the Masters.

If you—like me—are wondering why you didn’t get an invitation to play in the Masters, it’s because you didn’t meet one of the following criteria:

1. Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
2. US Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
3. British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
4. PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
5. Winners of The Players Championship (Three years)
6. Current US Amateur Champion (6-A) (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and the runner-up (6-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
7. Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)
8. Current US Amateur Public Links Champion
9. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion
10. The first 16 players, including ties, in the 2007 Masters Tournament
11. The first 8 players, including ties, in the 2007 US Open Championship
12. The first 4 players, including ties, in the 2007 British Open Championship
13. The first 4 players, including ties, in the 2007 PGA Championship
14. The 30 leaders on the Final Official PGA Tour Money List for 2007
15. Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
16. Those qualifying for the season-ending 2007 Tour Championship
17. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for 2007
18. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the 2008 Masters

All told, there will be 93 players in this year’s Masters. That’s a small field. But from a competitive standpoint, it’s even smaller. The (virtually) lifetime exemption for past Champions means that there are a dozen or so guys in the field who realistically have no chance of contending. Among them: Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Sandy Lyle. Bernhard Langer, Larry Mize, Mark O’Meara, Gary Player, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam, and Fuzzy Zoeller. Then throw in the four amateurs, and you’ve really got a field that’s more like 85 active professionals.

I have no chance of ever playing in the tournament. My only hope of playing Augusta is that one of the members will feel sorry for The GolfBlogger and invite him to a round.

In preparation for the true beginning of the golf season, here’s a list of great GolfBlogger posts on The Masters from the last four years:

The Origin of the Modern Majors. Why is the Masters one of the four “modern majors?” Ask Arnold Palmer.

A list of Masters winners, their score in relation to par, and their margin of victory.

A Listeners Guide To Augusta and The Masters What’s Rae’s Creek? The Eisenhower Cabin? The Hogan Bridge? Find out about these and more.

What’s The Course Record For Augusta National? No, it wasn’t set by Bobby Jones.

Augusta National Hole Yardages, Pars and Names Like an ancient Scottish links, every hole at Augusta has a name: Peach Tree; Flowering Dogwood ... Find out how long they are and what’s par.

2008 Masters Odds. Who’s the odds on favorite to win the 2008 Masters? Tiger of course. But who’s next?

The Amen Corner. What’s the origin of the term Amen Corner at Augusta National and the Masters?

The best players never to win a Masters. Lots of outstanding players have never slipped on a Green Jacket.

How to make an Augusta National Pimento Cheese Sandwich

The Green Jacket Other tournaments give trophies. Read more more about the Masters Green jacket.

Honorary Starters At The Masters Arnold Palmer has the honors now.

The Masters Champions Dinner Each year, past champions return for an exclusive night out.

The Greatest Masters of All Time. Jack Nicklaus’ surprise triumph at the 1986 Masters was the greatest of all time.