Masters gets under way


AUGUSTA, Ga. — Where are we, the London Open?

When the Augusta National Golf Club gates opened this morning, the course was engulfed in the sort of pea soup fog that would have provided the perfect backdrop for a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Tournament officials delayed the start for a little more than an hour, pushing it back from 7:50 a.m. to 9.

Four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer hit the ceremonial first tee shot and keep is in the fairway.

There are only about four trios that have gotten under way so far. Columbus' Larry Mize is 1-over after the first hole, while Ben Curtis holds the top spot at the moment, even through four holes.

Of course, it's early.

Most of the heavy hitters won't tee off for at least another hour or two. Zach Johnson will start around 11:23, while Tiger Woods will follow two groups after his.

Who will I be following today?

Obviously I'll check in on Woods, but there's ample time for more detailed Tiger tracking. It's not as if he's going to miss the cut or anything. Johnson will be compelling as well, and not just because we share the same surname. The whole I'm Zach Johnson, regular guy from Iowa, who just happens to be a defending Masters champion thing makes him most interesting.

I'll also be watching Mize since he's local, as well as amateur Michael Thompson, a University of Alabama golfer, Augusta favorites Charles Howell III (Charlie Triple Sticks, we call him) and Vaughn Taylor, as well as those golfers who would fit in well with Larry the Cable Guy. In other words, I'll have keen interest in the efforts of Bubba Watson and former Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College golfer Boo Weekley, because it's cool that guys named Bubba and Boo can strip some of the pretense from what can be a very uptight sport.