AUGUSTA DIARY

A WELCOME RETURN

HOW good to welcome Padraig Harrington back to Augusta after a year’s absence, complete with his weird and wonderful practice-ground routines. Yesterday he was at it again, but my favourite moment remains his plaintive lament after a mediocre round: ‘I’m focusing so much on my focus I’m over-focused.’

METH ON THE RISE

HEADLINE writers everywhere will be keeping fingers crossed that golf continues to prove an addiction for the highly rated US Public Links champion Byron Meth (right), who opened with a 74 on his Masters debut. As for the golfing scribes, we’re just waiting for the blessed day when he meets a lovely girl called Crystal.

PAR FOUR PROBLEMS

THE stats from a brilliant day one made fascinating reading. The par fives are the scoring holes and lived up to their billing since all of them had a scoring average under the regulation mark. The par fours, though, are where you hang on. Half had a scoring average of 4.2 or higher, with the 11th yielding just three birdies all day.

TAKING POETIC LICENSE

TOP marks to the Augusta Chronicle columnist who wrote a poem about the merchandise pavilion in the 1990s so good he decided to share it with his readers again yesterday. ‘They came, they saw, they bought souvenirs,’ it begins. I know how terribly disappointed you’ll be that space permits me from sharing with you the 23 stanzas that followed.

NICKLAUS OR ‘99’?

IN ADDITION to being able to buy an Arnold Palmer as your drink of choice in Augusta you can now have Jack Nicklaus ice cream for dessert. No word yet, however, on when Bubba Watson’s (right) Marmite or Ben Crenshaw’s treacle hits the shelves. As for Tiger Woods, he’ll surely launch his own iced lolly

AUGUSTA SEES REDS

IT IS not just former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp who’s enjoying these sacred acres this week but the club’s greatest ever player as well. I’m going to guess mad-keen golfer Kenny Dalglish was quite happy when wife Marina produced tickets as an anniversary present.