Re-live the excitement of the 2007 Masters from Augusta National with Turner Sports’ Jim Huber.
Masters changes its regulations on who gets to play
Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne unveiled last April a new set of criteria for getting into the Masters that will make him very popular among the players. The changes also will add meaning to all events throughout the PGA TOUR schedule.
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta National Golf Club has always been noted for its rich tradition. Changes are made to the course each and every year, but go virtually unnoticed because of the seamless beauty.
But
last year, the biggest change was at the top and hasn't gone unnoticed -- Billy Payne replaced Hootie Johnson as the new Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters.
Payne, who was the president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1996, is just the sixth chairman in the history of the Masters and the first never to have met Augusta National co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts.
In his short time as chairman, Payne already instituted new qualifications for invitation to the Masters -- beginning in 2008 -- which will make him popular amongst players.
The new system will grant invitation to the winners of PGA TOUR regular season and playoff events that award at least a full point allocation toward THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola from the previous to current Masters. Also, those qualifying for the previous year's TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola are in, as well at the top-30 money winners through THE TOUR Championship and any of those players who crack the top-30 after THE TOUR Championship in the Fall Series who weren't already eligible.
Recently, PGA TOUR winners had not received an automatic invitation.
"Our goal is to have the strongest field possible, and these qualifications accomplish that objective," Payne said in his first formal meeting with the press at the Masters media building the Wednesday before the 2007 event. "We missed the excitement of the winner of a PGA TOUR event immediately qualifying for the Masters. Our qualifications also reflect golf's current landscape and we think they will serve the Masters well."
| STATEMENT FROM PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM |
|---|
| The PGA TOUR is delighted with today's announcement of the revised eligibility qualifications for the Masters Tournament. A restoration of the historic linkage between winning a TOUR event and gaining access to the Masters will be enthusiastically greeted by players and fans alike. We also appreciate that today's changes provide access to players who compete in the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola by virtue of their finish in the top 30 in FedExCup points. Also, the access granted to players who are ranked among the top 30 in our season-ending Official PGA TOUR Money List provides added meaning to the TOUR's Fall Series events. |
| We applaud Billy Payne and the Masters Tournament for these changes, and the PGA TOUR looks forward to the implementation of these new qualifications in 2008 and beyond. |
In his news conference, Payne stressed that the idea to alter the qualifications wasn't solely his, but was also a plan his predecessor had looked into but never carried out.
"I can remember innumerable times where winners of tournament events would be more excited to hear that they had automatically qualified for the Masters than to receive the first-prize money check," he said. "So it was an exciting component of golf that really only the Masters could offer, and we all thought it appropriate that we bring it back."
Payne's first Masters as chairman comes 40 years after he first set foot on Augusta National as a sophomore at the University of Georgia.
"A fraternity brother offered my current wife, then soon-to-be-wife when we were in college, tickets to the Masters," he said. "We drove down here in my pink Chevrolet coupe that I shared with my sister who was at the university then and attended the Masters for the first time, and we were honestly just blown away by the majesty and the beauty."
Has his perception changed since 1967?
"I've been to 110 countries of the world," he said, "and I've stayed in a lot of nice places, and I would call this the most beautiful piece of real estate in the world."
