He Must Have Been Dreaming About a Bad Day on the Course

From Jeff Rude of the Dallas Morning News: “Masters lore extends to the Crow’s Nest, the loft above the clubhouse, where amateur contestants can stay.

“Tom Watson and Lanny Wadkins stayed there when they were both collegians in 1970--and it was a memorable experience for Wadkins.

“ ‘Tom was screaming in his sleep every night,’ ” Wadkins said. “ ‘He had these blood-curdling yells. I don’t know what he was on at Stanford, but it wasn’t the same stuff I was on at Wake Forest.’ ”

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Trivia time: What is the highest score recorded on any hole in the Masters tournament?

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Watery grave: The par-five 15th hole was a nightmare for several players in Thursday’s opening round of the Masters.

Nolan Henke found the water fronting the hole and got a 10; Payne Stewart had a nine and Tom Watson an eight, among other soaring scores.

However, they didn’t break the record for futility on No. 15. That still belongs to Jumbo Ozaki, who got an 11 during the 1987 Masters.

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Slight omission: Barry Switzer, known for his rapport with players while coaching at Oklahoma, was criticized for being too lax. But as he said later:

“It never occurred to me to put up a sign in the dorm saying, ‘It is against team rules to commit a felony.’ ”

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Organ boy: Dusty Hoffman, 12, has this dream. He wants to play for the Cincinnati Reds. Play the organ, that is.

For now, he’s playing the organ at the home games of the Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Assn.

Although Thriller officials were concerned about his age, they gave him the job because they wanted someone who would stick around.

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Stunned: Was Dallas Cowboy cornerback Larry Brown surprised by Coach Jimmy Johnson’s departure?

“It’s like having a baby and not even knowing your wife was pregnant,” he said.

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Class-A New York: David Letterman, on Michael Jordan being reassigned by the Chicago White Sox to their double-A team in Birmingham, Ala.:

“For those of you who don’t follow baseball, that’s two levels below their major league team--and one level above the Mets.”

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Choirboys? Bruce Schoenfeld of the Sporting News reported that Utah Jazz officials are concerned about the character of the players who represent the NBA franchise:

“When the Jazz were considering drafting (Karl) Malone out of Louisiana Tech, they went so far as to ask his kindergarten teacher what kind of person he was.”

Jazz President Frank Layden said: “I think we’ve sacrificed a chance at the championship more than once by not picking up some of the jerks who have passed through the league and could play.”

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Runner-up again: From columnist Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Bill Clinton threw out the first ball in Cleveland and Nancy Kerrigan threw out the first ball in Boston, and Nancy had to settle for the silver medal because the judges felt Clinton had a better program, and better stuff.”

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Trivia answer: Tom Weiskopf and Tommy Nakajima each scored a 13 on the par-three 12th and par-five 13th holes, respectively.

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Quotebook: Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight: “If the NBA was on Channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on Channel 4, I’d watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy.”