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| Masters golf |
The Par 3 competition has been a tradition since 1960 and is a nice, friendly way to warm up for the four-day tournament. But since no preview is needed for this contest, which features the current participants, non-competing past champions and special guests, SB Nation New York figured it'd be a good idea to brief the casual sports fan on some common themes that will be talked about during this year's Masters TV coverage. We will start with the date 1986...
1986: This is the year that Jack Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket at the age of 46 (a record on both accounts). This year, is the 25th anniversary and below is a brief highlight video of Mr. Nicklaus' amazing back-nine run to victory.
2005: The last time Tiger Woods won at Augusta National. Even more shocking is the fact that Woods hasn't won a major since June of 2008. That's 10 major championships ago.
15-16-17: Are considered the best closing holes in all of golf. No. 15 is a reachable Par 5, No. 16 is that famous Par 3 that Woods made his miraculous, birdie chip-shot in '05 (below), while No. 17 is a tricky Par 4. A lot can happen in these three holes (a string of birdies or maybe a few bogies), especially come Sunday when the pressure is at its peak.
Amen Corner: Holes No. 11, 12 and 13 at Augusta National.
"The name was coined in a 1958 Sports Illustrated article by Herbert Warren Wind, who wrote that it was composed of the second half of hole No. 11, all hole No. 12 and the first half of hole No. 13. Wind was searching for an appropriate name for the location where the critical action had taken place in that year's Masters. He borrowed the name from an old jazz recording, "Shoutin' in that Amen Corner."
Butler Cabin: Is where the winner of the 2011 Masters tournament traditionallyreceives his green jacket and conducts a post-tournament interview with CBS announcer Jim Nantz.
"The more famous Butler Cabin, a conservative, two-story edifice situated near the par-3 course and 10th hole of the tournament venue, was built in 1964 and was first used as the broadcast studio the following year. Outside of the membership and certain guests, this storied locale has not often been frequented by outsiders and remains as shrouded in mystique as anything associated with ANGC.
"I had never been in there until I won," said Mark O'Meara, the 1998 champion. "The part where they do the ceremony is downstairs, and it's all cleared out in the living room area. It's just a quiet little area, where you could put a pingpong table if you wanted."
Sources: http://newyork.sbnation.com
