Farewell Arnie........

[EDSGOLF]

I'm assuming Arnold will be not be playing this weekend, this Friday will be quite emotional, I'm sure I'll be full of goosebumps. I tried to post a pic of Arnie's practice round but was not able too.

[broken27]

I'm assuming Arnold will be not be playing this weekend, this Friday will be quite emotional, I'm sure I'll be full of goosebumps. I tried to post a pic of Arnie's practice round but was not able too.

Would be something if he made the cut, but unlikely for sure. I'm too young to remember Arnie in his prime, nor was I at all interested in golf until about 6 years ago, so I don't remember much of him until quite recently.

But, Arnold Palmer was one of the people I'd hear about here and there that I always said was bigger than even Wayne Gretzky. Even when I hated watching golf on TV, if it happened to be Arnie shooting, I'd check it out. He seemed to carry himself with such a gentleman's poise, and radiated sportsmanship.

Good luck in your future endeavours Mr. Palmer! Thanks for the memories!

Dan

[sensfan63]

I'm assuming Arnold will be not be playing this weekend, this Friday will be quite emotional, I'm sure I'll be full of goosebumps. I tried to post a pic of Arnie's practice round but was not able too.

Yeah, there's nothing quite like seeing a guy shoot 85 in a professional golf tournament...

I would have thought that Arnie would have shut it down by now, seeing as he's got no chance of making the cut. Is it just me, or has he gone through this before...playing his "last Masters," that is.

Funny, but I can't see Nicklaus playing if he knows he's going to fire two poor rounds. At least he's contended in the last little while (it was the year O'Meara won).

[Deep Woods]

I would have thought that Arnie would have shut it down by now, seeing as he's got no chance of making the cut. Is it just me, or has he gone through this before...playing his "last Masters," that is.

Except this is his 50th, and hes a golf legend.

Can anyone explain why they offer a lifetime exemption if they don't want to? Why not just change the rule?

[broken27]

I would have thought that Arnie would have shut it down by now, seeing as he's got no chance of making the cut. Is it just me, or has he gone through this before...playing his "last Masters," that is.

Except this is his 50th, and hes a golf legend.

Can anyone explain why they offer a lifetime exemption if they don't want to? Why not just change the rule?

I don't get that last part. Who was the last person offered a lifetime exemption? Do these get handed out often?

They don't have to change the rule, they just have to stop giving out these exemptions. It's probably likely that Tiger will get one of these, but there should only be that one in a million player who gets lifetime exempt status.

Dan

[Deep Woods]

I don't get that last part. Who was the last person offered a lifetime exemption? Do these get handed out often?

I was under the impression that all champions are invited back for life...

They don't have to change the rule, they just have to stop giving out these exemptions.

Yes, that was what I was getting at. Instead of asking "old guys" not to come, why not limit the exemptions.

[broken27]

I was under the impression that all champions are invited back for life...

Ah.... I don't profess to know, but this might be it.

Yes, that was what I was getting at. Instead of asking "old guys" not to come, why not limit the exemptions.

Yeah. I think that as time goes by, the field could end up being 10,001 people and the tourney would take place over a year and two months to complete.

Dan

[broken27]

Did some quick research, and it appears that Champions do get a lifetime invite to the Masters. Some guy named Bob Goalby gets to play, and I'm sure I've never even heard of that guy....

Maybe the rules DO need to be changed then....

Dan

[sensfan63]

Did some quick research, and it appears that Champions do get a lifetime invite to the Masters. Some guy named Bob Goalby gets to play, and I'm sure I've never even heard of that guy....

Maybe the rules DO need to be changed then....

Dan

Past champions ARE invited back for life. Some know when to bow out, and some do not...for example, Doug Ford had a habit of playing the front nine on Thursday and then withdrawing. He did this for a few years, and then Hootie started sending out letters to the older players saying that 65 was the age limit. Obviously this irked Jack and Arnie and Gary Player (two of whom can still play this game).

I think that Hootie rescinded that letter after awhile. Now champions are eligible to keep playing.

[Deep Woods]

I think that Hootie rescinded that letter after awhile. Now champions are eligible to keep playing.

Article in this months Golf Digest: both Arnie and Jack had to plead with Hootie.

Personally, I think it should have been the other way around. Thats just me broken, so don't lean into me.

[broken27]

Article in this months Golf Digest: both Arnie and Jack had to plead with Hootie.

Personally, I think it should have been the other way around. Thats just me broken, so don't lean into me.

To an extent I agree with you. These guys are legends, and bring history to the game and transcend generations of golfers. However, if they are taking spots away from someone else who can still compete against the field, maybe it's time for them to bow out gracefully.

I'll never really challenge Arnie's right to play WHEREVER he wants to, nor Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player for that matter. I'm just saying that in a competitive event, with as much prestige as the Masters, perhaps these guys are out of their depths now.

I'd still love to see them all play in the "fun" events like Skins games, and I'd even support opening up an extra dimension in the Ryder Cup for LEGENDS or something, but I don't want the cameras to follow these guys around to show them posting scores that are within my scoring range (albeit not necessarily at Augusta).

Cheers, we "somewhat agree" on something Deep Woods!

Dan

[NoBack]

Personally, I think it should have been the other way around. Thats just me broken, so don't lean into me.

Why lean into you for that. I'm with you on that statement 100%.

I also think it's because it's his 50th. Let him have something that will live on forever for a man who has done way behond what has been "expected" of him. This guy, and his buddies (Jack, Gary, Lee) deserve at least this much from anyone associated with golf. And Hootie should know this by now. Why does he not think Augusta is what it is today without these legends? Just my 2 cents.

[LobWedge]

Misters Palmer, Nicklaus and Player are the soul of the modern golf era, and as far as I'm concerned they should be given a lifetime exemption to whatever event they choose until they decide not to play any more. "The Big Three" (that's what they used to be called) have done more to promote the game of golf worldwide than any player before or since.

If not for the efforts and personalities of these men, there would be no Tiger Woods, no more Masters, and no multi-million dollar purses on the PGA Tour.

As far as Hootie Johnson goes, he was a complete jackass for setting an age limit. Big deal if Doug Ford and Bob Goalby are eligible to still play there, they WON the tournament. It just goes to show you how much that the membership at Augusta National thinks that the golf universe revolves around them.

[broken27]

As far as Hootie Johnson goes, he was a complete jackass for setting an age limit. Big deal if Doug Ford and Bob Goalby are eligible to still play there, they WON the tournament. It just goes to show you how much that the membership at Augusta National thinks that the golf universe revolves around them.

I don't know about that. Just because someone won a tournament and hasn't expired yet doesn't mean they should bog down the tournament. I agree with Nicklaus, Player and Palmer being there, but they can still navigate the course. At some point, you have to draw the line. Do you want 98 year old former champions taking 15 strokes per hole to reach the fairway?

Hootie's again within his rights, and I think the Masters will survive the mild negative "press" he generates for his club.

Dan

[Deep Woods]

Hootie's again within his rights....

Hootie is a dingleberry. He's done nothing for golf, he's a self appointed protector of NOTHING, and I don't watch golf to see Hootie.

Here's hoping Lee Trevino has one more errant ball meant for Hootie.

[broken27]

Hootie is a dingleberry. He's done nothing for golf, he's a self appointed protector of NOTHING, and I don't watch golf to see Hootie.

Here's hoping Lee Trevino has one more errant ball meant for Hootie.

I don't think anyone watches golf for Hootie. That wasn't my point. Without getting into the whole debate again, I was just saying that he is the guy who makes the rules at Augusta, and until that changes, he's allowed to ask old guys not to play.

Where do the rest of the Blowfish stand on the issue?

Dan

[NoBack]

Just for arguments sake, here how you get in to the Masters.

1. Masters Tournament Champions Lifetime
2. US Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
3. British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
4. PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
5. Winners of THE PLAYERS Championship (3 years)
6. Current US Amateur Champion (6-A) (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and the runner-up (6-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
7. Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)
8. Current US Amateur Public Links Champion
9. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion
10. The first 16 players, including ties, in the 2003 Masters Tournament
11. The first 8 players, including ties, in the 2003 US Open Championship
12. The first 4 players, including ties, in the 2003 British Open Championship
13. The first 4 players, including ties, in the 2003 PGA Championship
14. The 40 leaders on the Final Official PGA TOUR Money List for 2003
15. The 10 leaders on the current year Official PGA TOUR Money List published during the week prior to the 2004 Masters Tournament
16. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for 2003
17. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the 2004 Masters.


Now let's say they were to let a couple, not 30 or 20 or a dozen, but a couple of the legends play because they have won before; what does it mean?
It means the young guns have to just play a bit better to get into one of those highlighted groups, if you havent won anything yet.

[sensfan63]

Just for arguments sake, here how you get in to the Masters.


Now let's say they were to let a couple, not 30 or 20 or a dozen, but a couple of the legends play because they have won before; what does it mean?
It means the young guns have to just play a bit better to get into one of those highlighted groups, if you havent won anything yet.

The Masters has no limit set on the field in terms of numbers...it's the weakest field of the majors precisely because the field is so small. Usually between 90 and 105 players tee it up, or thereabouts. If Hootie allowed all the past champions to play, it wouldn't have an effect on the current PGA Tour players getting in...

Just think if Byron Nelson decided, gee, I'd love to play again. Nothing against him, he was a fabulous player, but JUST IMAGINE if you got a real hardass who wouldn't stop playing until he dropped dead...how does that affect the field? Pace of play, playing partners, etc. It would become a sideshow.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out when a player should stop playing the tournament...

[sensfan63]

Here's hoping Lee Trevino has one more errant ball meant for Hootie.

Lee Trevino never won the Masters...therefore he's not playing

[Colby]

Here's hoping Lee Trevino has one more errant ball meant for Hootie.

That was Sam Snead snap hooking one into the crowd and then commenting that he really got a hold of it.

He's dead.

[Deep Woods]

Lee Trevino never won the Masters...therefore he's not playing

I KNEW someone was going to bring that up. Maybe its a REALLY errant shot. I was actually refering to a shot Trevino made many years ago that affected his confidence...I'm not sure what the injury level was.

[broken27]

You know, I've re-thought my stance a little bit on this issue. I see the actual tee-off times, and some of the really old dudes that they had listed in the "field" on PGATOUR.com apparently have declined to take up the clubs.

With that being said, I can kind of see how Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and others of that calibre should continue playing as long as they feel like it and as long as their health permits. But it's kind of for a different reason than you might expect. It has nothing to do with how I feel about or view these guys. But I can imagine that for Alex Cejka or Toshi Izawa (playing with Nicklaus), Ben Crenshaw and to a lesser extent Larry Mize (playing with Player), and finally Nathan Smith and Bob Estes (playing with Palmer), it must be a tremendous experience.

It'd be like me getting to play hockey with Steve Yzerman, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Stastny and Mike Bossy (*although I never made it to a level where I'd be able to live my dream).

So, other than Hootie being the boss, I retract my statement and wish Arnie and the good ole boys the best of luck.

Cheers,
Dan

[Deep Woods]

You know, I've re-thought my stance a little bit on this issue.

MY HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!

[broken27]

MY HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!

I posted in another thread ("Sad To See...") that I thought Arnie should hang em up. I'm admitting that I was wrong... You haven't seen it yet because I've never been wrong before..... Says so at the bottom of page 1.

Just kidding. I'm man enough to admit when I am wrong.

Cheers,
Dan