Sudden-Death Playoff Would Begin on 18

If there is a sudden-death playoff this year at the Masters, it won’t look the same.

Instead of beginning at the 10th hole, then continuing to the 11th and the 12th hole, a playoff would begin at the 18th, then move to the 10th and alternate between the two holes. Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson revealed the new setup Wednesday at his annual pre-tournament news conference.

The 30-minute session was vintage Johnson, whose answers were courteous and brief.

For instance, when he was asked why the playoff format was changed, Johnson said: “Well, we just thought it was best.”

And then when he was asked the pros and cons of sudden-death playoffs compared with other formats, Johnson was equally succinct.

“Well, we just like sudden death,” he said.

Johnson said he had no reaction to the campaign by Martha Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, who was pressuring Augusta National to admit a female member.

“Let’s just talk about golf,” Johnson said. In another question concerning Burk, Johnson said, “Why don’t you just ask Martha Burk?”

Johnson said he wouldn’t talk about whether the club is closer to admitting a female member, that television advertisers will be brought back at some time, that Michelle Wie would be welcome to play the tournament if she qualified and that Arnold Palmer could be an honorary starter if he wanted to.

*

Last year, Mike Weir had one three-putt green when he won.

Darren Clarke said it’s going to be difficult to avoid three-putting this week, because the course might play hard and fast and the greens may be extremely firm.

“Everybody is going to miss it in the wrong places at times,” he said. “Everybody is going to have a three-putt because it’s so difficult. The greens are so difficult. There’s going to be a lot of grinding this week, a lot of people just keep on going, make the best out of the round as you can.”

*

There’s no reason, Ernie Els said, to look beyond the hole he is playing. Els won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997 and the British Open in 2002, and he has come close at the Masters -- second by three shots to Vijay Singh in 2000 -- but he thinks he can do better than that if he keeps his mind on his business.

“I definitely don’t want to think about Tiger Woods this week. I want to definitely just play my game.

“From the first tee, I don’t want to think about Tiger or Davis [Love III] or Mark O’Meara or Robert Allenby, for that matter. I want to forget about everybody else. You know, you’ve got to shoot your number.”

*

Palmer said any wobble that Woods might be experiencing hasn’t affected his appreciation of Tiger’s prowess.

But whether Woods will match Jack Nicklaus with 18 major titles or win the Masters 11 times -- once more than Palmer and Nicklaus combined -- could be another story.

“My opinion of Tiger and his golf and where he’s going is not less than it ever was. I think that he has the ability and the stamina and all of the things he needs to go on. But to break Jack’s record or to win more than Jack and I won together, that’s a tough situation.

“I think that those of us who knew Tiger and know him as we do, know that somewhere along the way there are going to be some hitches and those are going to affect how he plays.

“I can’t crawl in his brain and tell you. I’m not sure he can crawl in his own brain and tell you what that’s going to mean. But it’s going to have an effect.

“[Now] there are other interests which are natural, and that’s part of maturity and that’s the thing you’ve got to face.”

*

Hey, these guys are good.

There were four holes in one in Wednesday’s annual par-three tournament. Woods and Jay Haas aced No. 9, Weir scored his hole in one at No. 2, and Phillip Price had his ace on No. 7.

Woods, Padraig Harrington and Eduardo Romero tied with scores of 23. Woods, citing a previous engagement, declined to participate in the playoff that Harrington won over Romero on the third hole.

After his win Harrington remarked, “I would prefer to do this [give a speech] on Sunday.”

No player who has won the par-three tournament has gone on to win the Masters.

*

Everyone knows Palmer is playing his 50th and last Masters. But is this also the last year for six-time winner Jack Nicklaus, making his 44th start?

“I have no idea whether I’ll play next year,” Nicklaus said Wednesday. “I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

Nicklaus did say his days at Augusta National are definitely numbered.

“I don’t think I’ll ever match Arnold’s 50,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

*

Times staff writer Chris Dufresne contributed to this report.