Agenda For The Augusta National Committee Meeting
The decision to extend an invitation to Ryo Ishikawa for this year’s Masters has been called “strictly a Japanese media buy” by one golfing journalist, and it’s a sentiment with which many in the media seem to concur. Is it even credible to give invitations out for a Major tournament? Probably not, but all golf fans are well aware that the powers that be at Augusta National do what they want. They always have, after all the event was conceived by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts as exactly that, an Invitational.
As a result, the Masters is unique. The Augusta National Committee holds every ace in the pack and the biggest pile of chips on the table. They can afford to dictate terms on television rights, sponsors, access, invitations, and pretty much anything else they choose. The problem is of course (and doesn’t the Committee know it), that if you take The Masters away from Augusta National, you don’t have a tournament. More to the point, you can’t take it away. The Master’s belongs to Augusta even more than The Open belongs to Britain.
The Chairman of the club always seems to become infamous in some capacity, too. From the famously obdurate Clifford Roberts who tragically ended his own life on the Par 3 course, to Hootie Johnson, who introduced 18 hole network television coverage, and Billy Payne, who sanctioned use of The Masters name, logo, and Augusta National golf course for a video game. Whatever their agenda may be, a signature of the Chairman’s tenure seems to be the necessity to leave a legacy. So what might the next Chairman introduce that fulfils this criteria? Let’s indulge the curiosity for a brief moment. Perhaps we can help throw a few ideas around for the committee and future Chairman to ponder.
Of these, one or two carry some weight; others I’ll concede might not make it to the ‘all those in favour?’ stage. Still, it offers an alternative to the annual ‘How to Play Amen Corner’ feature, or the ‘Hole by Hole Guide’. For any others you care to suggest, I’m all ears. I wonder if Billy Payne will be too.
Item #1: Change the exemption status of former champions. Nobody wants to see Larry Mize and Ben Crenshaw (amongst others) knock it around in 85, 79 to miss the cut by 15. Perhaps it’s time for a curtain call on this tradition. The Masters has a small enough field as it is, so isn’t it a waste to hand out life-long exemptions to non-competitive players? There is a place for former champions, for sure, but not in the main event any more. Some players, like Nick Faldo, know when to call it time. Others, I would suggest, could receive a hand on the shoulder from a man in a green jacket, and a quiet whisper in the ear.
Item #2: The admission of lady members. Big call this one. Following the row between Hootie Johnson and Martha Burk back in 2002, the then Chairman refused to rule out the future acceptance of lady members. But one suspects this was more a case of appeasing the feminist rights groups than outlining any future policy. Not only that, but even if the policy was changed, I doubt the welcome would be particularly warm. You’d presume the club would have to go to the trouble of building ladies’ locker rooms, and rewriting the dress code to allow skirts/blouses, etc. Sounds like far too much trouble for the Committee.
Item #3: Invite Yani Tseng to play in The Masters. Before you scoff, Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie both played on the PGA Tour, and although it would probably be frowned upon as a gimmick/publicity stunt, I’d argue all day with anyone that says the incredibly talented Yani Tseng wouldn’t have a better chance of winning than the likes of Sandy Lyle and Craig Stadler, both of whom are teeing it up next week. In terms of a public relations exercise, it could do wonders for the equality of women’s golf, whilst changing the perception of Augusta National as a stuffy, even bigoted institution. The younger generation of golfers and new audiences would welcome it, if not the traditionalists in their green blazers.
Like it or not, The Masters invite whoever they choose, and as highlighted above, they clearly invited Ryo Ishikawa for television purposes, so why not Yani Tseng? I’d bet that inviting her would have an even greater effect in that same, lucrative market.
Item #4: Allow an international corporation to sponsor The Green Jacket. Ah, the fabled Green Jacket. Nick Faldo was lambasted for wearing his on Wogan, Seve had to keep it from public knowledge that one of his two green jackets had escaped Magnolia Drive security and made it all the way to his trophy cabinet in Pedrena. Of course, this has the potential to be the greatest sell out in all of sport, but you wouldn’t have believed Augusta National would feature on a video game either! Just imagine the thousands of ‘replica green jackets’ being sold the length and breadth of pro shops all over the world. Bobby Jones would turn in his grave.
Any other items?…