For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, if you hadn’t heard, the Masters begins in two days.

1. Bamberger: On ANWA participants and playing ANGC the way it was intended

Michael Bamberger amid his rollback missive for FirePit Collective/Golf Digest…”For the ANWA contestants, who had the stage on Saturday, the four par 5s were reachable in two—if you smash two shots. The downhill second was 500 yards. The uphill eighth was 470. The two iconic back-nine par 5s, 13 and 15, with greens protected by moats, were 450 yards and 470 yards. And when the women didn’t reach, they played shots that required exquisite finesse. Golf at its best is fiddly.”

• “The women were playing a course that has four par 5s, four par 3s and 10 par 4s. Yes, a true par-72 course. For the 125 years that American golf has had great championships, courses have had one-shot holes, two-shot holes and three-shot holes.”

• “Call me old-fashioned, but that is golf.”

• “Even at 7,545 yards, Augusta National’s new length, the course will play as a par-69 in the Masters, at least for Scheffler and his ilk. The only true par 5 is the eighth, and even then some of the players will get home in two. The 13th, now all of 545 yards with an extra 35 yards tacked on to it this year, will be a driver and a mid-iron for Scheffler. That is a par 4.”

2. Wet week ahead at Augusta

Miguel Legoad for the Augusta Chronicle…”This year’s Masters guests may have to swim to the Augusta National.”

• “As of Sunday, the Weather Channel forecast is calling for bad weather throughout the tournament. The Augusta area on Thursday can expect cloudy skies with a possible stray thunderstorm during the day. Scattered storms are being forecasted Thursday night through Friday followed by rain the rest of the weekend.”

• “The chances of rain are scheduled as follows:

• Thursday: 24% in the day, 40% in the night.
• Friday: 70% in the day, 80% in the night.
• Saturday: 80% in the day, 60% in the night.
• Sunday: 50% in the day, 40% in the night.

3. LIV players won’t wear logos at ANGC

James Corrigan for the Telegraph…”The LIV rebel players have agreed not to wear the logo of the Saudi-funded circuit at this week’s Masters.”

• “Telegraph Sport has learnt that there was a meeting between the 18 LIV golfers in this field who are contracted to Greg Norman’s league where they decided to ditch the branding on their bags, shorts and caps “out of respect to the tournament”.”

4. Jason Day resurgent?

Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com…”Now he rolls into the Masters Tournament after a one-year absence that ended a streak of 11 consecutive appearances at Augusta National. While golf comebacks are common, at Augusta National they can take on an almost mythical quality – Jack in ’86; Crenshaw in ’95; Tiger in 2019.”

• “Is Jason Day next?”

• “To see him claw his way back—I mean, that stretch of golf he played in 2015, 2016 was some of the best golf we’ve seen in the past couple of decades,” said Rory McIlroy. “I think we’ve always known he has the talent; it’s now to the point where it looks like he’s got his health in order, which is great to see. The game of golf is better when he’s playing well.”

• “It has been five years since Day, who once won seven times in 17 starts, has won on the PGA TOUR…”

• “Don’t look now, but recent indicators already point to semi-insanity. As Day prepped for Augusta last week, he was 13th in Strokes Gained: Putting and second in Scrambling.”

5. Koepka confirms group celebration plans

Paul Higham for Golf Monthly…”And Koepka agrees that it would be a huge statement for LIV Golf as an entity if one of their players were to win the Masters, and also confirmed that the rest of the players would be there to greet him at the final green.”

• “Yeah, I think if one of the LIV players does win, I think it’ll be definitely a huge statement for LIV, and I know that all 18 of us want to win,” he added.

• “I think when you look at it, if one of the guys does, I would be shocked if all of us aren’t there.”

6. Sargent’s special invite

Sean Martin for PGATour.com…”The calendar had just changed to 2023 when he received the phone call that changed everything.”

• “I didn’t recognize the number but it said ‘Augusta National’ under the phone number, so I was like, ‘I have to answer this,’” said Sargent, 19. The rest of the conversation was a blur as he tried to determine if he was the victim of a vicious prank.”

• “The news was made official a few days later when Augusta National announced that Sargent, the reigning NCAA champion, would be the first amateur in more than two decades to receive a special exemption to the Masters.”

• “Augusta National Golf Club isn’t known for making exceptions to its rules. The Masters field, the smallest of any of the major championships, is determined by detailed criteria. The tournament reserves the right to make special invitations, but there’s rarely more than one doled out per year and they go almost exclusively to international pros whose inclusion increases the global footprint of the tournament. The player invited alongside Sargent was Japanese pro Kazuki Higa. The last amateur to receive a special exemption, Aaron Baddeley in 2000, hailed from Australia and was invited to the Masters after winning his national open over a field that included multiple top-50 players in the world.”

7. Nicklaus suit seeking communication with Norman

Tom D’Angelo for the Palm Beach Post…”Norman was issued a subpoena by Nicklaus Companies on March 20 regarding his comments about Jack Nicklaus that appeared in a June 5, 2022, article in the Washington Post titled “The Shark Is on The Attack Again.”

• “In that article, Norman said Nicklaus sent him an e-mail that read: “The new tour had his blessing.” The e-mail was sent after Nicklaus attended a LIV presentation, according to Norman. The subpoena is for all documents regarding claims made in the article.”

• “Additionally, the Nicklaus Companies, which is suing Jack Nicklaus, is seeking all records of communications between Jack Nicklaus, the Nicklaus family, or their representatives and LIV Golf, but not direct testimony.”

8.”Golf but shorter”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”During Sunday’s LIV Golf broadcast, David Feherty did a short segment on the proposed rule change that would result in the bifurcation of the golf ball.”

• “In typical Feherty fashion, the commentary was a bit witty and sarcastic, but he hinted that if the rule change does indeed go through, that LIV would not adopt it.”

• “We’re golf but louder, so golf but shorter doesn’t really fit.”

9. Angel planning return to golf

Our Jason Daniels…”2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera has spoken of resuming his golf career when he returns from a prison sentence.”

• “‘El Pato’ was convicted on two accounts of assault on former partners, spending time in prison in Brazil and Argentina, but is now looking to return to the game he loves, a career that started with the help and sponsorship of fellow Argentinian golf legend Eduardo Romero.”

• “Charlie Epps, Cabrera’s close friend and coach, spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald to confirm he has learned a lot in jail.“

• “It’s been a rough go,” Epps said. “He was in prison in Brazil and then Argentina. He’s weathered the storm, and it’s taught him a couple of very important lessons. He’s admitted that.

• “He’ll probably get out some time in the summer and he’s already at a halfway house. He wants to continue his golf career, the good Lord willing. I always welcome him. We’re just waiting for him to come home.”