TEE-TIME TALES

■ Ryan Fox was the early pacesetter on Thursday, shooting a 5 under 31 on the front nine. The New Zealand native is from a sporting family — his dad — Grant, was the All Blacks out-half in the 1987 Rugby World Cup triumph, scoring 17 points against France in the final. Ryan won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year and has a good record at the Irish Open — he was second at Mount Juliet in 2022 and lost a play-off at Ballyliffin in 2018.

■ The first green jacket for a tournament winner was presented 75 years ago to Sam Snead at the 1949 Masters. The jacket is worn by the winner for a year and then can only be worn upon visiting the course. The Masters logo is on the left chest pocket and also appears on the brass buttons. Typically, multiple winners wear only one jacket unless their size dramatically changes.

■ ‘Amen Corner’ is the stretch of Augusta taking in the second part of the par four 11th hole, the par three 12th hole and the first part of the par five 13th hole. The name was coined by writer Herbert Warren Wind in Sports Illustrated in 1958. That year would see ‘The King’ — Arnold Palmer — win his first Masters title.

■ Phones are not allowed on course at Augusta National but located 12 payphones near the 14th hole and was expecting cashless payment systems for calls. No. They are courtesy lines with the option to make international calls. I wonder how long it would take for the call to disconnect if you were gasbagging to your talkative aunt or uncle back in Ireland?