Spar for the Course

Beneath a dull, gray sky, the 67th Masters begins today at Augusta National Golf Club, in what you would have to call extraordinary circumstances. The weather has been unseasonably cold and damp, but chances are that things are going to heat up around here.

Tiger Woods takes off in hot pursuit of his third consecutive Masters championship, something no one -- not Jack Nicklaus, not Arnold Palmer, not Ben Hogan, not Byron Nelson -- has been able to accomplish.

It is golf history at its finest, played out at what may be golf’s greatest patch of real estate.

But as Woods and 92 others try to claim the first major title of the year in what should be the most compelling story line of the week, they must share the spotlight.

The continuing controversy over Augusta National’s membership policy has landed virtually on the club’s doorstep, with demonstrations expected by such diverse groups as the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Ku Klux Klan, to name a few.

Augusta National, which has no female members and refuses to change, has been challenged by Martha Burk, chair of the women’s group, to admit a female member.

At a news conference here Wednesday, Johnson said once again that the club might invite a woman to become a member but that there was no timetable to do so. He also said the members of the club were comfortable with the status quo.

Johnson was strident in his final comments on the issue, pointing to the desktop in front of him.

“If I drop dead, right now, our position will not change on this issue,” he said. “It’s not my issue alone. And I promise you, what I’m saying is, if I drop dead this second, our position will not change.”

About 30 minutes later, Woods left the champions’ locker room with Mark O’Meara to play in the Masters’ par-three tournament.

So life goes on at the Masters as usual, or about as close to usual as it can be this week.

Woods, who has been drawn into the membership issue because of his status as the game’s top player and his race, says his opinion on the subject of female members at Augusta should be well known.

“Should they become members or should there be members? Yes,” Woods said. “But you know, I really don’t have a vote in how they run this golf course and this club.”

Woods, as the two-time defending champion, does have a say about what happens on the golf course. Only two others have been in his position before and neither Nicklaus in 1967 nor Nick Faldo in 1991 was able to win a third successive Masters.

So Woods has a chance to be the first, and if the course conditions remain unchanged, probably a strong chance.

Rain has softened the fairways and may all but eliminate roll on drives, so the course that was lengthened in recent years to 7,290 yards is, in all likelihood, going to play even longer.

Such conditions favor players like Woods, who naturally hit the ball high and long.

Even Woods had to admit the conditions were in his favor.

“Yeah, I think it certainly favors someone who is hitting the ball high and long and straight,” he said. “This week, you’ve got to keep the ball in the fairway. But you’ve got to get it out there.”

Sergio Garcia, another long hitter, listed Woods and Ernie Els as two players who should be able to take advantage of the soft fairways.

“There’s no doubt towards the longer hitters,” Garcia said. “It’s going to be less difficult [for them] because any guy that can carry it far is going to be having less distance to the green because you’re not going to get much roll.”

And there is another advantage to driving the ball a long way, said Davis Love III, who also should be included in the list of candidates with chances to win.

“It’s playing even longer than last year,” Love said. “It’s wet, the greens are soft and the field is certainly narrowed a little bit.

“The guys that hit it long won’t get worn down as fast as the guys that don’t hit it a long way.”

Last year, Woods won his third Masters title with a 12-under 276, four shots more than when he won in 2001 and six shots more than his record 270 when he won for the first time in 1997.

Woods played the second and third rounds in nine under, shooting a 66 on Saturday that put him in Sunday’s last group, along with Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh.

Singh faded with a closing 76, and Goosen could do no better than a 74, but that was good enough for second place.

“It was a great experience, obviously, playing with Tiger,” Goosen said. “And the biggest thing, really, is to try to block out the crowds and really focus on your own game. But I learned quite a bit. I really fell behind too soon early on.

“I think Tiger is very much what Nicklaus was. He’s able to block out everything that’s going on around him. And his focusing and concentration is so good that he can calm himself out there. And while other players might think of what’s going on and not really be focusing on their games, [they’re] really adding pressure on themselves.”

As for Woods, he is accustomed to the pressure of major championships. He has won eight since his first full year as a professional in 1997.

“I really would like to win this week,” he said. “And I think it would be huge to win three [consecutive] Masters. No one’s ever done it before. And I’ve been able to do certain things in golf that no one’s ever done before.

“If you’re ever in that position, you want to take advantage of it because it doesn’t happen all the time.”

Woods has faced questions about Augusta National’s membership. In an editorial, the New York Times urged him to boycott the Masters by way of taking a stand against the club’s exclusionary practices. Burk suggested he take a stronger stand.

Woods says athletes make personal choices about taking stands on issues unrelated to their sport.

“Certain athletes have their causes, and they’re very outspoken on that and others aren’t,” he said. “And that’s their prerogative. We don’t ask every single person to be outspoken on every single issue. Just because a person is in the limelight, people have had this need for them to have a voice and an opinion and a ‘where you stand’ on certain issues. And some people just choose not to.”

Meanwhile, Burk appeared on “Comedy Central” Monday night and then on Wednesday morning’s “Today Show” and has a news conference scheduled for today at the King Center in Atlanta. She plans to take part in a demonstration near Augusta National during Saturday’s third round. Reporters who might want to speak to her were urged to book interviews ahead of time, because space was going fast.

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Masters Champions

*--* Year Winners Scores Runner-up (Total) 2002 Tiger Woods 70-69-66-71--276 Retief Goosen (279) 2001 Tiger Woods 70-66-68-68--272 David Duval (274) 2000 Vijay Singh 72-67-70-69--278 Ernie Els (281) 1999 Jose Maria Olazabal 70-66-73-71--280 Davis Love III (282) 1998 Mark O’Meara 74-70-68-67--279 Fred Couples/David Duval (280) 1997 Tiger Woods 70-66-65-69--270 Tom Kite (282) 1996 Nick Faldo 69-67-73-67--276 Greg Norman (281) 1995 Ben Crenshaw 70-67-69-68--274 Davis Love III (275) 1994 Jose Maria Olazabal 74-67-67-69--279 Tom Lehman (281) 1993 Bernhard Langer 68-70-69-70--277 Chip Beck (281) 1992 Fred Couples 69-67-69-70--275 Raymond Floyd (277) 1991 Ian Woosnam 72-66-67-72--277 Jose Maria Olazabal (278) 1990 Nick Faldo 71-72-66-69--278* Raymond Floyd (278) 1989 Nick Faldo 68-73-77-65--283* Scott Hoch (283) 1988 Sandy Lyle 71-67-72-71--281 Mark Calcavecchia (282) 1987 Larry Mize 70-72-72-71--285* Ballesteros/Norman (285) 1986 Jack Nicklaus 74-71-69-65--279 Kite/Norman (280) 1985 Bernhard Langer 72-74-68-68--282 Ballesteros/Floyd/Strange (284) 1984 Ben Crenshaw 67-72-70-68--277 Tom Watson (279) 1983 Seve Ballesteros 68-70-73-69--280 Crenshaw/Kite (284) 1982 Craig Stadler 75-69-67-73--284* Dan Pohl (284) 1981 Tom Watson 71-68-70-71--280 Miller/Nicklaus (282) 1980 Seve Ballesteros 66-69-68-72--275 Gilbert/Newton (279) 1979 Fuzzy Zoeller 70-71-69-70--280 Sneed/Watson (280) 1978 Gary Player 72-72-69-64--277 Funseth/Green/Watson (278) 1977 Tom Watson 70-69-70-67--276 Jack Nicklaus (278) 1976 Raymond Floyd 65-66-70-70--271 Ben Crenshaw (279) 1975 Jack Nicklaus 68-67-73-68--276 Miller/Weiskopf (277) 1974 Gary Player 71-71-66-70--278 Stockton/Weiskopf (280) 1973 Tommy Aaron 68-73-74-68--283 J.C. Snead (284) 1972 Jack Nicklaus 68-71-73-74--286 Crampton/Mitchell/Weiskopf (289) 1971 Charles Coody 66-73-70-70--279 Miller/Nicklaus (281) 1970 Billy Casper 72-68-68-71--279* Gene Littler (279) 1969 George Archer 67-73-69-72--281 Casper/Knudson/Weiskopf (282) 1968 Bob Goalby 70-70-71-66--277 Roberto DeVicenzo (278) 1967 Gay Brewer Jr 73-68-72-67--280 Bobby Nichols (281) 1966 Jack Nicklaus 68-76-72-72--288* Brewer/Jacobs (288) 1965 Jack Nicklaus 67-71-64-69--271 Palmer/Player (280) 1964 Arnold Palmer 69-68-69-70--276 Marr/Nicklaus (282) 1963 Jack Nicklaus 74-66-74-72--286 Tony Lema (287) 1962 Arnold Palmer 70-66-69-75--280* Finsterwald/Player (280) 1961 Gary Player 69-68-69-74--280 Coe/Palmer (281) 1960 Arnold Palmer 67-73-72-70--282 Ken Venturi (283) 1959 Art Wall Jr 73-74-71-66--284 Cary Middlecoff (285) 1958 Arnold Palmer 70-73-68-73--284 Ford/Hawkins (285) 1957 Doug Ford 72-73-72-66--283 Sam Snead (286) 1956 Jack Burke Jr 72-71-75-71--289 Ken Venturi (290) 1955 Cary Middlecoff 72-65-72-70--279 Ben Hogan (286) 1954 Sam Snead 74-73-70-72--289* Ben Hogan (289) 1953 Ben Hogan 70-69-66-69--274 Ed Oliver (279) 1952 Sam Snead 70-67-77-72--286 Jack Burke Jr. (290) 1951 Ben Hogan 70-72-70-67--280 Skee Riegel (282) 1950 Jimmy Demaret 70-72-72-69--283 Jim Ferrier (285) 1949 Sam Snead 73-75-67-67--282 Bulla/Mangum (285) 1948 Claude Harmon 70-70-69-70--279 Cary Middlecoff (284) 1947 Jimmy Demaret 69-71-70-71--281 Nelson/Stranaham (283) 1946 Herman Keiser 69-68-71-74--282 Ben Hogan (283) 1945 No tournament 1944 No tournament 1943 No tournament 1942 Byron Nelson 68-67-72-73--280* Ben Hogan (280) 1941 Craig Wood 66-71-71-72--280 Byron Nelson (283) 1940 Jimmy Demaret 67-72-70-71--280 Lloyd Mangrum (284) 1939 Ralph Guldahl 72-68-70-69--279 Sam Snead (280) 1938 Henry Picard 71-72-72-70--285 Cooper/Guldahl (287) 1937 Byron Nelson 66-72-75-70--283 Ralph Guldahl (285) 1936 Horton Smith 74-71-68-72--285 Harry Cooper (286) 1935 Gene Sarazen 68-71-73-70--282* Craig Wood (282) 1934 Horton Smith 70-72-70-72--284 Craig Wood (285)

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* Won tournament in playoff