TEEING OFF

Five things to look for on the professional golf scene:

1. AUGUSTA, Ga. -- He’s 72, he weighs 144 pounds and he says par for him at Augusta National is 80, but Gary Player isn’t afraid to do battle with the place for the 51st time.

That’s a record, an accomplishment that Player finds, well, rewarding.

“I’m so proud of it, if only for the fact that most people my age are dead,” he said.

“To be playing at Augusta National at my age is a triumph. Very few 72-year-olds could even walk around this golf course. I can tell you, it is not easy.”

Player won the Masters three times and missed the cut last year with rounds of 83-77. The 7,445-yard course is too much for Player, who said he can’t reach the seventh or 18th hole in two shots -- and both of them are par fours.

No one has played the Masters more times than Player, who prides himself on remaining in good physical condition. He’s 22 pounds lighter than when he was playing regularly on the PGA Tour.

As a pioneer advocating weight training for golfers decades ago, Player said it wasn’t easy being the first.

“Everybody said I was a nut,” he said.

Now, Player said he wants to push proper diet as the new technology.

“I’m sure they will say I’m a nut again.”

Player said he isn’t ready to retire and neither is he prepared to say this is his last Masters. He’s already planning on his next appearance.

2. No European has won the Masters since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999, but there are many who believe that drought may change this week, and Justin Rose is mentioned most often as a likely candidate.

The 27-year-old from England won twice on the European Tour last year and he tied for fifth in last year’s Masters, his third appearance at Augusta National.

Rose played nine holes of a practice round with only a sand wedge, lob wedge and putter.

“It’s a routine that serves me well, especially the majors, the premium to me is around the greens, and especially here at Augusta National.”

3. In his annual media conference, Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne said the Masters is moving into new technological areas, including the acquisition of the domain name Masters.com.

But that’s not all. Payne said the tournament is reaching out to a younger audience by televising the par-three contest for the first time and expanding its online content to include full-screen streaming video, photo sharing and blogs. Payne also said the Masters is asking for young people to comment on how to improve golf in an online survey on websites including Masters.org.

Plus, for the first time, children 8 to 16 will be admitted free when accompanied by a badge holder.

Payne said no one’s going to check the IDs of the youngsters but doesn’t expect anyone to abuse the program.

“There won’t be any bearded 6-year-olds slipping in,” Payne said.

4. Payne, who led the Atlanta Olympics, supports the inclusion of golf in the Summer Games. He hinted he’s also behind a Masters video game.

“We are not going to be included on other people’s video games,” he said.

5. As usual, Tiger Woods is getting most of the attention in the early part of the week, but Phil Mickelson hasn’t pulled out, has he?

Of course not. Mickelson is a two-time Masters winner and has 10 top 10s at Augusta National.

When he played a practice round Tuesday, Mickelson had two drivers in his bag. He’d rather stick to one driver and add an extra wedge, but that’s going to be a day-to-day decision, Mickelson said.

The hardest hole on the course, besides 11, may be the 450-yard seventh, Mickelson said.

“It’s long, it’s tight and it’s a green that was designed for a wedge and we’re hitting mid-irons into it,” he said.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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A SLICE OF LIFE

Padraig Harrington, asked when he started thinking about this year’s Masters:

‘Last year.’

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THE TOURNAMENTS

PGA TOUR:

Masters

When: Today-Sunday.

Where: Augusta National Golf Club (7,445 yards, par 72), Augusta, Ga.

TV: ESPN (today-Friday, 1-4 p.m., 5-8 p.m.) and Ch. 2 (Saturday, 12:30-4 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.).

2007 winner: Zach Johnson.

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LPGA TOUR:

Corona Championship

When: Today-Sunday.

Where: Morelia, Mexico

TV: None.

2007 winner: Silvia Cavalleri.

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All times Pacific

Associated Press

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STAT OF THE WEEK

There are 19 first-time players in the Masters field -- led by Shell Houston Open champion Johnson Wagner, above, who didn’t earn his invitation until he won Sunday -- but that’s short of the record of most first-timers of 23 set in 1935, the second year of the tournament.