Tunnel vision will open up ‘pathway to the future’
Outside of Masters week, there’s lots of hammering and clattering goes on at Augusta National. In the past few years alone, they’ve re-aligned Berckmans Road, built a new press centre at a reported cost of $60 million and, 12 months ago, opened a new merchandise shop that rakes in a fortune.
Next on the construction front to help improve the experience at the season’s opening major is a tunnel under Washington Road, the main route in and out of the course. With construction set to start in a few weeks, it will lead to a new state-ofthe-art television and digital compound that is part of a multi-year development programme for the property
owned by Augusta National on the north side of Washington Road.
“The result of this project will be a pathway that will lead us into the future as we expand various tournament services,” said chairman Fred Ridley. It has been rumoured that on-site accommodation for players is also in the pipeline once that tunnel is in place.
It’s not just mobile phones that are banned out on the course at Augusta National. Players are also not allowed to use green-reading books in the Masters, something they can do in every other tournament.
“Good for them,” said Colin
Montgomerie, pictured, on hearing that this is the case. “Every other professional tournament should take note. They make golf even more pedestrian.”
After splitting the fairway with a peach of a drive to claim another “win” over his fellow honorary starter Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player also expressed his dislike of greenreading material. “If you can’t read a green, you should be selling beans,” said the South African.
Edinburgh man Gavin Scott is hoping to return from a dream trip to Augusta National a million dollars richer. The 63-yearold will join six other club
golfers aiming to hit the jackpot in the Million Dollar Hole in One final this weekend. Scott qualified by making his first ace playing in Portugal last year. “I’m really excited to have the chance to play for $1m – but I’m probably more excited to be going to The Masters for the first time,” he said.
Among those honoured at the Association of Golf Writers annual dinner this week was Doug Ferguson, whose byline appears now and again in this newspaper. Doug, who has been the Associated Press golf correspondent since 1998, received the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award.