Flash: Tiger, Steiney Acknowledge Other Human Being-Americans

You know something's up when those two are on the grounds of Augusta National and acknowledging other beating hearts.

Jim McCabe on Monday's practice round with Fred Couples.

At the par-3 fourth, for instance, Woods was wide right and in the bunker. Not good, but better than his next one, which he nearly pulled into the grandstands. Choosing to play his first one, Woods failed to get that shot out of the bunker, after which he played he played three shots.

It was, after all, what practice rounds are about, no?

Only this one was about more than the actual playing of golf. What set it apart was his first real public appearance since his world came crashing down upon him. So intriguing was this moment that Augusta National chairman Billy Payne came out to watch Woods hit his first tee shot and several high-profile club members walked along.

They were there, perhaps, to measure the crowd reaction, to get a sense of what Woods is in for. That seemed to be Mark Steinberg’s intentions, too.

As he walked down the first hole, Steinberg remarked that he couldn’t “remember the last time I walked a practice round,” and at several occasions Woods’ agent stopped to talk to key Augusta National members.

John Paul Newport writes:

Unlike Woods’s typically tuned-out response before the events of the last few months, he frequently made eye contact with the people who called to him, nodded his head and said, “Thank you.” It wasn’t quite the Phil Mickelson Show. Neither is walking to a Monday morning practice round the same thing as a competitive round. But Woods was notably more responsive than he has have been in the past.

John Boyette at Augusta.com has a slightly different take:

Overall, fan reaction is positive for Woods.
 
Woods hit his shot at No. 6 within 20 feet of the pin, which elicited applause for the increasing gallery.
 
"We love you Tiger," a man yelled as Woods walked past the bank of azaleas, which are not in bloom.
 
A woman then yelled, "Good luck Tiger."

Of course, if you believe the Daily Mail, that's the only thing Tiger will hear this week if the gallery is as loaded with ex-G-men as they claim:

Tiger Woods will be guarded by a ‘ring of steel’ of 90 private bodyguards – including former FBI and Secret Service agents – as well as armed deputies on his return to golf at the Masters tournament this week.

The unprecedented security is in place because of fears he may be confronted by one of his 15 alleged mistresses.

The bodyguards are thought to have been given photos of his alleged lovers, including porn star Joslyn James who has threatened to picket the tournament with a group of friends with megaphones.

One guard said last night: ‘None of these girls are allowed anywhere near him. If one photo comes out of a beautiful lady touching him, it would be a disaster.’

Fred Vuich files this gallery of morning Tiger images at golf.com.

The Invitations For Monday's Show...

Eat your heart out, tech journalists getting an ipad for review before Saturday's launch. I bet you didn't get one of these:

Good evening,
 
I hope this e-mail finds all of you well. I’m writing tonight in regards to the Tiger Woods interview on Monday at 2 p.m.
 
Augusta National has taken great care to reserve space for those accredited Board members of the GWAA and AGW. I’d like to offer each of you a seat in the room, provided you will be here and interested in attending. Other accredited Board members not on this e-mail were likely already tapped by their respective publications to attend or not able to be present.
 
Please reply to this e-mail with your level of interest at your earliest convenience. It will be a pleasure to see you all very soon.
 
All the best,
 
Steve Ethun
Director of Communications
Augusta National Golf Club
2604 Washington Road
Augusta, GA 30904

One can only imagine the hilarious seat chart they've got going right now, with GWAA and AGW board members, the one seat from each outlet and of course, the various riff-raff seat fillers.

"What %$#@!&^%$ fool put a %$#@!&^%$ bunker right in the %$#@!&^%$ center of the fairway?"

It didn't make the story, but another fun trace of the Old Course in the original Augusta National design came on the eleventh hole. It existed for a few years back when the tee was to the right of the tenth green, and when the hole doglegged right. It played much shorter then with a fairway sloped away from the tee. (Long before Hootie made an awful mess of it (right image).)

Jones and MacKenzie planned a 415-yard dogleg right par-4 where drives down the left side were rewarded with a better angle to the green. To inject the ultimate St. Andrewsian touch, Jones insisted on a small, blind pot bunker in the fairway center. He found out on opening day in 1932 that not everyone was enamored with the mystery, vagaries and quirk of the Old Course.

In The Making of The Masters, David Owen shares the story of Jones’s father, Colonel Bob Jones, driving into the bunker while playing with his son and Clifford Roberts.

“When the Colonel found his ball in the sand, he shouted, ‘What goddamned fool put a goddamned bunker right in the goddamned center of the fairway?’ or words to that effect.

One can only imagine how much delight that gave Bobby Jones!

"Woods is not invited to stay on the course grounds overnight during the tournament, as he apparently had requested"

Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News buried this lede in a column today, perhaps because it was coming from one source. Though it wouldn't surprise me since it would cut down on what figures to be an excessive security tab next week:

Woods is not invited to stay on the course grounds overnight during the tournament, as he apparently had requested, according to a source.

Only amateurs and members - Woods is an honorary member, which only gets him into the champions' locker room - are allowed to stay overnight on the course. The amateurs lodge in a 30x40 foot Crow's Nest above the clubhouse, which sleeps up to five.

The cabin arrangement would have been extremely convenient for Woods, who surely wishes to avoid the hassles of commuting and media exposure.