The Masters: "A Tradition Unlike Any Other"
Hello All,
We are back again with our second installment of ProGolfUSA’s coverage leading up to and during The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Georgia. This year features a star studded cast of golfers including Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and of course, last years champion, Jordan Spieth. Normally the Masters likes to keep their participants right around 100 golfers. The last time over 100 golfers took the pristine grounds of Augusta National Golf Club was 1966. This year is a little different and it seems as if they wont even hit the 90 mark. The current field sits at 89 golfers ready to tee off on April 7th and win the coveted green jacket. This may be a good or bad thing for your favorite golfer to win it all going against less golfers is always good, right?
Of course everyone thinks their favorite golfer is going to bring it home but let’s take a look and see what the true experts from Vegas think. As of, March 30th the current vegas odds have last weeks winner of the WGC Dell-Match Play event from Austin Texas, Jason Day, to win it all at 13/2 odds. For those of you who are not up on your betting lingo, that means you bet $100 to win $650. Some other notable contenders, according to the experts in Las Vegas, are Jordan Spieth (8 to 1 odds), Rory McIlroy (8 to 1 odds) and Bubba Watson (10 to 1 odds).
This years Masters is sure to be a hit even without Tiger Woods. But here are a few things you may not know about Augusta National and the Masters. For example, last year’s winner gets to pick the menu for the famous Champions dinner on Tuesday night of Masters week. This can get quite interesting with some of the international players in the tournament and their home country’s favorite dish. For those of you that are interested in joining Augusta National, the original membership fee to Augusta National would've cost you only a mere $350. In today’s dollars it would cost somewhere around $4,217!!!! Lastly, there is an old folk tale told by some of the locals down at their favorite watering holes that there is a natural spring between the 13th and 14th fairways, and is spouts gold dust when it rains. Some swear by it, others deny it so you be the judge and make the trip out to Augusta National.
Have you ever wondered where the phrase “A tradition unlike any other” comes from? Jim Nantz, a long time CBS sports announcer, is credited to have come up with it. You see this phrase on t-shirts, posters and constantly during their 30 second commercials on ESPN and CBS. You must be thinking that Jim Nantz has made a fortune off of this phrase after trademarking it. Well, you're right about the trademarking aspect of it, but it was not Jim Nantz who trade marked it. Augusta National Golf club actually filed for the trademark, which was first reported by ESPN in 2015. The phrase actually came up while Nantz was filming promos with a CBS golf producer.
The sport of golf has seen its ups and downs throughout the years but the Masters has been a mainstay for golf and sport enthusiasts for years. In today’s game there is a lot of younger golfers taking the field by storm. With the likes of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlrory, and Rickie Fowler some of sports biggest companies are taking an interest and beginning to change their approach. Nike (McIlroy), Under Armour (Spieth) and Puma (Fowler) are customizing their golf line for the younger golfer and beginning to move their marketing strategies to do so. Stay tuned to see what these companies are doing and the new clothing, shoe and other accessories these companies are unveiling. We will also reveal our expert panel of picks soon with who we think will take home the crown and be this years Masters champion.