AUGUSTA, Ga. – Vandini Sharma of Chandigarh, India, is the 16-year-old sister of Shubhankar Sharma, who makes his debut at the Masters this week. Her short stories have won literary awards. She has agreed to write a first-person account of her experience at the Masters for The Associated Press.

When reporters and all the new people who’ve recently entered our world ask my brother what it felt like to make the Masters at 21, Shubhankar gently shrugged, and said it wasn’t completely unexpected. After years of hard work and the magical last four months that have flown by, the sun is beginning to dawn on our journey’s horizons.

My first view of the Masters popped up like a jack-in the-box. I felt struck out of the blue. This was the first golf tournament I’d known as a toddler and memorized with care.

Its reputation was fortified by years of sleepless memories. My father and brother would sit rooted for hours, exhilarated and enthralled, before the blaring midnight TV screen. The Masters symbol was gradually emblazoned upon my mind; the classic soundtrack now hums through my dream world of hazy childhood memories.

The first time it really sunk in that Bhai, (brother in Hindi, as I address Shubhankar) would play the Masters came well after my father first shared the news.

And it involved a bit of mischief.

As little sisters do, I pickpocketed Bhai’s phone on the final day of the Indian Open as I was asked to take care of it. Then later, sneaking into a quiet corner with my back against the wall, I had a go at cracking the iPhone’s password. The first thing that glowed to life on screen when I touched it was the wallpaper. There was an invitation that began, “The Board of Directors cordially invites …’.

In that moment, I could imagine Shubhankar opening the email and taking a screenshot to pin up, and the sudden feelings of pride and exhilaration of his whole journey washed over me. With the whirl of tournament weeks and crazy time zones, we’d never got to talk about the moment he knew it was happening.

And this reflected everything Bhai felt.

Not to be outdone by fiendishly modern methods, though, the Masters officials sent an old-style parcel post weeks later. I picked it up coming home from school and the moment I read the words, “Augusta, Georgia,” my mother and I snapped it open. A neat stack of soft parchment letters inscribed in green ink slipped out – addressed to none other than Mr. Shubhankar Sharma residing in Sector 12 Panchkula, Chandigarh.

A memory was pulling itself loose in my mind, of being 6 years old and stepping into the shower to discover the mirror fogged up with water vapour. The previous 12-year-old occupant, my Bhai, had squiggled in cursive letters, “The Masters,” above a trophy titled “Shubhankar.”

The first thing I did was to spread out the letters from Augusta on our sofa, photograph them and send him a ceremonial video, prim, with a thick British accent. You could imagine the Harry Potter vibes of a first Hogwartsian letter. Our spiritually devoted mother then placed these precious cards in the home’s temple, and blessed them.

This homely celebration was humbly sweet, but it did little to prepare me for the actual press conference I’d attend at Augusta National on Tuesday. It was hosted in a vintage hall with a small set of senior journalists and the solemn gaze of great men hanging in oil portraits on the walls.

No matter how aware one is of the monotonously repetitive way sportsmen tend to drone on, a blinding haze of gleeful affection tends to take over when it’s your own brother at the mic.

“What does it feel like to be now known as the future of Indian golf?” he was asked.

In that moment a spotlight I hadn’t imagined lit in my mind.

Later on, Bhai described the kids playing back home and our small Indian golfing community. These were all the people I was familiar with, in my 16 years of following him around fairways and greens.

Although Bhai accepts the pressure with Zen-like calm, I knew the truth – the hopes of 1.3 billion people were riding the currents of history once more.

Everyone we’ve ever known would be looking on, as only the fourth Indian in history sets foot on Augusta National’s majestic grounds.

It’s moments like these I’m trying to begin to get used to that make my chest swell like a helium balloon.

Something of a merry tussle happens in my mind – between the goofy big brother I’ve known forever and the golfing prodigy, who was beginning on the path of legend.

This week I’ve also been determined to explore my privilege of being here.

The overwhelming maiden impression I had in the past 36 hours of the Masters was of old-school grandeur.

There was the famous oak tree, the cheerful staff and painted signs, plus ice-cold lemonade cups. A general whiff of elegance lingers everywhere you go.

I’ve sat on oak benches ten times my age. I have pretended to calmly hover as Tiger Woods walked by ten feet away. The American people, though, seemed as freewheeling, chilled and casually friendly as no others I’ve ever observed.

I also lucked out to get into the snowy white clubhouse, where the portraits of all past champions beamed down upon me.

This gifted me a profound moment of thinking about the significance of legends. In time, today’s champions would become history as well, and the game of golf would evolve on, rewarding the worthy and raising new heroes.

Seeing the bushing, poplin-skirted women captured around Jack Nicklaus in a portrait made it easier to imagine us modern girls being photographed for the memory of new generations.

It all seems surreal.

In writing this piece, I’ve attempted to remember any conversations with my brother on the Masters. It is a piece of work actually, in light of Bhai’s unwavering ambition to be as silly and non-serious as possible off the course. Thus naturally, I found something goofy to round off.

In late autumn three years ago, my brother was 18 and chatting about his favourite player’s Masters performance as we walked down the pot-holed neighbourhood roads, hand-in-hand.

“When I get to the PGA I’m going full Rocky mode. Just like go underground for six months and get ripped. Grow out my hair,” he said.

I laughed. “Your face will be hairy too, Bhai. Like a mountain savage.”

“Oh yeah. They won’t be able to recognize me,” Bhai shrugged with a bit of mock attitude. “I’d be silent and talking to no friends. Just playing m’game and winnin’.”

“Really, win your first Masters?”

“You’ll see Vanni,” he’d said. “I’m going to get us there one day.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta National went nearly 80 years before having female members. Now the club is inviting its first female competitors.

The Augusta National Women’s Amateur begins next year, a 54-hole event for top amateurs from around the world who will become the first women to play a tournament at the home of the Masters.

Fred Ridley, who took over as club chairman in October, said the new tournament will expand Augusta National’s goal to inspire young people, following in the footprint of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, the Latin America Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt competition for children.

He said the Augusta National Women’s Amateur was for a “segment of our sport that is … vital to the future of golf.”

“We believe this event will have a long-lasting impact on the game,” Ridley said.

Women have long played at Augusta National, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2012 that the club invited its first women as members – former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore. The latest member is former USGA president Diana Murphy.

“I’ve said many times that our country is a story of our great institutions evolving and becoming more inclusive over time,” Rice said. “This is one of the great institutions, not just American institutions but international institutions, so it’s evolved and it’s become more inclusive, and that’s very exciting.”

Ridley said the opening two rounds would be held at Champions Retreat in Augusta, with the final round moving to Augusta National on Saturday, April 9, extending the week at the Masters. The finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt would be on Sunday, followed by practice rounds for the Masters.

But the announcement caused one conflict.

The first LPGA Tour major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, typically is the week before the Masters in Rancho Mirage, California. The tournament invites leading amateurs, meaning they would have to choose between playing with the best on the LPGA Tour or a tournament with a final round at Augusta National.

“We have no intentions of competing or taking away from the ANA Inspiration,” Ridley said. “We think that to have one week where the future greats of the game and the current greats of the women’s game are all competing on a big stage, it’s just very exciting.”

He said he has spoken to LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, and that Whan “understands our motivations for doing this.”

Whan was on site at Augusta National, where cellphones are prohibited, and unable to respond to a request for comment. But the LPGA issued statement.

“We have a real opportunity currently to make the weekend prior to the Masters a celebration of women’s golf unlike anything we have experienced previously,” the LPGA said. “While this announcement may create some initial challenges for our first major, navigating multiple opportunities for women’s golf is a good problem to have.”

The 72-player field will be determined by winners of recognized amateur events around the world and by the women’s world amateur ranking. There will be a 36-hole cut to the low 30 scores before moving over to Augusta National.

Ridley said tickets would be sold by lottery, which is sure to attract by some margin the largest crowd for an amateur event simply for the opportunity to walk the grounds of Augusta National in the spring.

The winner will get a five-year exemption to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, provided she remains an amateur.

But she won’t get a green jacket.

“The green jacket certainly is an iconic part of the Masters,” Ridley said. “We plan to have a very distinctive award for the winner of this event, and we think in time that will become iconic. I can assure you it will be very, very nice.”

Annika Sorenstam was among those in the audience when Ridley announced the new tournament.

“Look at the big picture,” Sorenstam said. “Little girls knowing they have a chance to play on the biggest stage? That would send me to the range.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The recovery from the back injury took a lot longer than he imagined, longer than the sting of having to miss the Masters.

Dustin Johnson, with a history of misfortune in the majors, has a remarkable knack of moving forward.

If only everyone would quit reminding him.

“I get asked about it every day out here on the range or walking down the fairway,” Johnson said. “So I’m reminded all the time.”

The back injury getting most of the attention at this year’s Masters belongs to Tiger Woods, and for good reason. It was far more severe, requiring four surgeries over four years, the last one fusion in the lumbar area. More than keeping Woods from playing Augusta National three of the last four years, he hardly played at all.

Johnson’s injury was a freak accident at the worst time.

He had won his last three tournaments against three of the strongest fields of the year, which not only elevated him to No. 1 in the world, it made him the biggest favourite at the Masters since Woods was at his peak.

Then 24 hours before he was to tee off, calamity struck.

Johnson was still wearing socks after returning home from the gym. It was raining. His son was headed back from day care, so he ran downstairs in his rental home to move the car. The stairs were wooden, a bad combination with socks. Johnson slipped and crashed down the stairs, wrenching his back. His brother, Austin, was the first to reach him and still recalls the wild eyes of his older brother looking up at him.

Johnson tried to loosen up on the range. He went to the putting green. And then he had no choice but to withdraw.

“It was just a freak thing, and it happened. There’s nothing I can do about it except I’m here this year,” Johnson said Tuesday. “Hopefully, I can tee it up on Thursday. Definitely be looking forward to that.”

One year later, so much has changed. Johnson remains No. 1 in the world for the 59th consecutive week — only Woods (three times), Greg Norman (twice) and Nick Faldo have held the No. 1 ranking longer.

But he hasn’t won since the first tournament of the year, an eight-shot victory at Kapalua. He came close at Pebble Beach until Ted Potter Jr. beat him in the final round. He was not particularly close in his last start, losing all three matches in his group at the Dell Technologies Match Play.

He’s not worried about that, either, because Johnson doesn’t worry about much.

“Last year I was about as confident as I’ve ever been, so it was probably a 10,” he said when asked to compare his confidence level on a scale of 1 to 10. “This year it’s probably a 9 1/2. Starting to swing it a lot better. Feeling a lot better on the golf course, for sure.”

Just don’t get the idea there is any additional motivation. Johnson doesn’t look back.

“Why?” he asked. “There’s nothing you can do about it. Hopefully, I can get myself in a position where I have a chance to win. Last year has nothing to do with anything happening right now.”

What’s happening at this Masters is a wide-open race for the green jacket. Rarely have so many top players been on top of their games coming into the first major of the year, including past champions Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth.

Not to be overlooked is Woods, who hasn’t won this year but has shown he is plenty capable.

“I think that this year it feels like you probably have eight or 10 guys that are in good form, with a really good, solid chance of winning,” defending champion Sergio Garcia said. “So it’s kind of interesting to see how the week goes on, because every week is a different story. But at the moment, it’s quite exciting.”

Along with a green jacket, the No. 1 ranking is up for grabs.

Justin Thomas (No. 2), Jon Rahm (No. 3) and Spieth (No. 4) all have a reasonable chance to replace Johnson at No. 1 if they were to win. Thomas and Rahm already have had chances this year. Rahm needed to win at Torrey Pines and was one shot behind going into the weekend until he closed with rounds of 75-77. Thomas only had to win his semifinal match Sunday morning at the Match Play against Bubba Watson. He says he thought too much about No. 1 and it cost him.

Johnson, already home in Florida at that point, didn’t even bother watching. He was on his boat. There was nothing he could do about it.

He is proud of the No. 1 ranking, mainly for reaching the top.

“But most importantly, I want to stay here,” he said. “To do that, I’ve got to keep pushing myself and keep working hard.”

That starts with getting to the first tee on Thursday. Johnson was on the range Tuesday afternoon trying to sharpen his wedges. There is one more day of practice, a short day because of the Par 3 Tournament. Johnson already had plans for Wednesday.

“I’m going to take it really easy,” he said.

CARROLLTON, Texas – Maddie Szeryk set the tournament-low 70 in the opening round and never looked back, marching to a wire-to-wire victory at the Bruzzy Challenge on Tuesday at the Maridoe Golf Club.

Szeryk, a Team Canada National Amateur Squad member, finished the 54-hole at even par (70-72-74), four strokes ahead of the field. The Texas A&M senior collects her third NCAA victory in the process, something Team Canada Head Coach Tristan Mullally doesn’t take lightly.

“I’m really proud of Maddie—she has been close a number of times this spring and finally gets the win she deserves,” said Mullally, a PGA of Canada Class ‘A’ member. “She is getting better all the time and growing into a player who will gain success at the next level.”

Szeryk continues to impress in her farewell campaign with the Aggies—she’s now posted six top-5 events in the 2017-18 season leading into the NCAA regionals next month.

#TeamCanada's @mszeryk holds a 4-stroke lead with three to go at the #NCAA Bruzzy Challenge ? ? pic.twitter.com/VM039du1Kp

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) April 3, 2018

She’ll lead the Aggies next week  from April 9-10 at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla.

Click here for full scoring.

Canada’s Adam Hadwin will tee off in Thursday’s first round of the Masters alongside Patrick Reed and Charley Hoffman at 11:15 a.m.

Mike Weir, the 2003 champion, will tee off at 8:52 a.m.

Tiger Woods will tee off at 10:42 a.m. with Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas and amateur Doc Redman will be in the group behind Woods. Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson and Jason Day will tee off behind them, creating a star-studded stretch of golf at the year’s first major.

Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar will tee off in the afternoon, at 1:27 p.m.

Rory McIlroy, who is going for the career Grand Slam, tees off at 1:38 p.m., followed by 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is in the final group, which tees off at 2 p.m. Johnson had to drop out of the tournament last year after injuring himself in a fall.

The tournament will begin at 8:15 a.m. with ceremonial tee shots from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Click here for full pairings.

Brooke Henderson had just finished up the final round of the first major of the LPGA Tour season when she returned to her hotel room in California to watch the finale of the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition.

What she saw was, perhaps, the second coming of herself.

Vanessa Borovilos, an 11-year-old from Toronto, captured the title for girls ages 10 and 11 at the annual junior golf competition’s championship final at Augusta National, the host club of the Masters.

Borovilos came to the event with a wealth of experience, both international and abroad. 2018 marks her third appearance at Drive, Chip & Putt, in addition to finishing 2nd  in 2017 at the Canadian equivalent—the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge. Borovilos gave Henderson cause to get excited at the future of Canadian female golf.

“I was able to see Vanessa win the Drive, Chip, and Putt last night and was so proud of her,” said Henderson on Monday.

Borovilos said Henderson is one of her favourite golfers. She loves the way Henderson stays focused on the course and tries to bring some of that to her own preparation.

“I know every shot counts but for those shots that really counts, (Henderson) really focuses, and she plays really good,” said Borovilos by phone from Augusta, Ga.

Henderson said it was an honour to hear that Borovilos looks up to her.

“She had a great quote after the victory about how important practice is in order to succeed in competition. If she sticks to that advice, she’ll be able to follow her dreams on the golf course,” said Henderson. “Who knows, maybe I will see her out here on the LPGA one day.”

Borovilos, who was one of three Canadians to make the finals of the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition, attends Hollycrest Middle School in Toronto, where she is part of an elite athlete program that allows her to finish school each day before noon.

Canada’s Borovilos joins great company ???? #DriveChipPutt

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Apr 1, 2018 at 2:15pm PDT

She spends most afternoons at Peak Performance Golf – an indoor practice facility in Vaughn, Ont. – or at Mississauga’s Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, where she works under PGA of Canada professional Doug Lawrie.

Lawrie, who has coached Borovilos for the last five years, was in church Sunday during the finals of the Drive, Chip, and Putt and had his phone turned off. He returned home to watch the recorded coverage and then turned his phone on to a flurry of messages.

He said he is impressed by Borovilos’s work ethic, and that her game continues to get better. She weighs just 77 pounds, for example, and she swings her driver at 80 miles per hour.

“All of a sudden? boom. This young lady is thrust into the limelight of some pretty amazing stuff. It doesn’t hurt that she’s got the game to back it up, because it’s not like just she’s a Drive, Chip, and Putt person that’s been able to get through the qualifier and win,” said Lawrie. “She has the ability to take (golf) to wherever she wants.”

Borovilos’s father, Dino, was on hand at Augusta National. He said his daughter is committed to succeeding in the classroom as well and is a straight-A student.

Borovilos needed to roll her final putt closer than 2.1 inches in order to win the title, and the putt ended up two inches away from the hole, giving her the victory by the slimmest of margins.

“It was an emotional roller coaster all day,” Dino Borovilos said. “But it was literally the happiest win I’ve seen her have.”

The accolades and trophy took the backseat to a bigger victory came Monday, when she got Tiger Woods’ autograph after watching a Masters practice round at Augusta.

“I had to wait a long time,” she said with a laugh. “But it was worth it once I got it.”

With a whirlwind year behind him, Adam Hadwin feels better positioned to take a second shot at the Masters.

The 30-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., made his first appearance at Augsta National last year fresh off his first PGA Tour victory in early March – and just before a flurry of events in his personal life that included his wedding.

He ended up finishing tied for 36th, but he believes a more low-key schedule in advance of this week’s tournament will help him to put in a bigger performance.

“The year has flown by,” he said over the phone prior to travelling to Augusta, Ga. “Things have settled down since last March. We’re taking it a bit easier with not as many things going on off the golf course. Things are easier to control and handle but life’s good.”

Thanks to three top-10 finishes, Hadwin has already earned more than US$1.1 million this season. His best result was a tie for third at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January. Hadwin also finished in the Top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings last season.

Although Hadwin didn’t fly to Georgia for a practice round before this week, he said he is playing better overall than at the same point last year and this should help at Augusta National, where golfers need to have all facets of their game in top form.

“You need to hit some good shots, you need to get up and down and you probably need to make some tough five- or 10-foot putts to keep rounds going,” he said. “It’s definitely a plus going in (to the Masters) playing a little better.”

A year ago, he recognized he was struggling with his iron game, but he has tightened that up this year.

“Consistent ball-striking has taken the pressure off some other areas in my game,” he said. “It’s allowed me to stay patient and if I don’t make a few putts here and there, I’ll just keep hitting it well and giving myself chances.”

Mike Weir, who is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his 2003 Masters victory this year, makes up the other half of this week’s Canadian contingent.

Hadwin said he and Weir will play an 18-hole practice round together and will be paired in the Par-3 Contest. The 30-year-old plans to lean on his veteran compatriot for expertise around the Augusta National’s greens, which are notorious for being some of the most difficult on Tour.

Weir, from Bright’s Grove, Ont., was an assistant captain at last September’s Presidents Cup, where Hadwin was a member of the International team. Weir told The Canadian Press in January that he was impressed with Hadwin’s attention to detail, work ethic and “inner fire.”

“He wants to be great,” said Weir at the time.

Ultimately, Hadwin is looking forward to continuing his run of good play and to follow in Weir’s footsteps by becoming the second Canadian to capture an elusive green jacket.

“(My) game is in a really good spot right now,” he said. “I feel like I’m a better player this year than last year, and certainly there are no personal distractions this year heading in. I’ll be more rested and ready to play.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The mantra of practice makes perfect was the storyline for Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos on Sunday at the Drive, Chip & Putt finals at Augusta National.

Borovilos, playing in her third championship, won the Girls 10-11 age division by the slightest of margins with a one-point victory in the 10-player field.

“You have to practice a lot to win or to do well here,” said Borovilos in a greenside interview with Golf Channel.

Practice makes perfect – what a champion! RT to congratulate Vanessa ???pic.twitter.com/AkYXIdgThq

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) April 1, 2018

Borovilos finished 5th in 2016 and 4th in 2015. She plays out of Credit Valley Golf & Country Club and credits Brooke Henderson and Jordan Spieth as her favourite athletes.

With the win, Borovilos becomes the second Canadian to win a division at the Drive Chip & Putt finals—Savannah Grewal captured the 2017 Girls 14-15 division.

Local qualifying began in May, June and July, held at more than 260 sites throughout the United States. The top-three scorers per venue, in each of the four age categories in separate boys and girls divisions, advanced to 50 subregional qualifiers in July and August. Two juniors in each age and gender division then competed at the regional level in September and October, held at some of the top courses in the country, including several U.S. Open and PGA Championship venues.

The top finisher from each regional site’s age/gender divisions – a total of 80 finalists – earned a place in the National Finals.

The Canadian equivalent—Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event— will be contested on July 21 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. Borovilos finished 2nd in the 2017 Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Learn more here.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — A look at some of the anniversaries this year at the Masters:

75 years ago (1943)

Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided after the 1942 Masters to stop the tournament for the rest of World War II. According to the Augusta Chronicle, the club’s greenskeeper raised turkey and cattle on the grounds while the club was closed. Roberts said in his autobiography that the cattle destroyed several azalea and camellia bushes and ate the bark of several young trees. There were plenty of WWII connections to the Masters. Jones was commissioned as a captain in the Army Air Corps, and his unit landed at Normandy a day after the D-Day invasion. Leading the Normandy invasion was Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who later became a member at Augusta National during his two terms as U.S. president.

50 years ago (1968)

The 1968 Masters is best remembered for five words: “What a stupid I am.” Roberto de Vicenzo birdied the 17th hole in the final round to take a one-shot lead over Bob Goalby, only to bogey the last hole. The Argentine was so angry at his bogey that he didn’t properly check his card, which was kept by Tommy Aaron, and he signed for a 4 on the 17th instead of a 3. Under the rules, he had to accept the higher score, giving him a 66 instead of a 65. And instead of an 18-hole playoff the next day, Goalby was the winner by one shot. Goalby closed with a 66 to finish at 11-under 277. De Vicenzo had won the British Open a year earlier, but this scorecard blunder remained his most famous moment until his death last year.

25 years ago (1993)

Bernhard Langer won the 1993 Masters for his second green jacket, closing with a 2-under 70 for a four-shot victory over Chip Beck. His first Masters victory in 1985 was remembered for Curtis Strange twice going for the green when he had the lead and finding water. The 1993 Masters featured Beck choosing to lay up when he was trailing. Langer had a three-shot lead when Beck laid up on the par-5 15th from 236 yards away. He made par, while Langer followed with a birdie to stretch the lead. There was one other similarity to Langer’s victories. He was harshly criticized in 1985 for saying “Jesus Christ” in the Butler Cabin interview while expressing surprise at Strange’s lead. The controversy led to Langer becoming a Christian, and when he won in 1993, he said it again because it was Easter. “I sometimes joke that I’m the only one to mention ‘Jesus Christ’ in Butler Cabin twice,” he said.

20 years ago (1998)

Mark O’Meara became the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to birdie the last two holes for a one-shot victory in the 1998 Masters, which also was the last year the Augusta National gallery witnessed a Jack Nicklaus charge. O’Meara holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 67 to beat Fred Couples and David Duval, and at 41 he became the oldest first-time winner of the Masters. Couples had a wild back nine with a double bogey on No. 13 and an eagle on the 15th. Duval missed birdie chances on the 17th and 18th for a 67. He was in Jones Cabin watching O’Meara when Augusta National chairman Jack Stephens told him: “Don’t worry, David. Nobody ever makes that putt.” O’Meara made the putt. Nicklaus, 58, birdied four of his first seven holes and pulled within three shots of the lead, causing so many roars that even Tiger Woods in the group ahead backed off putts. But he had to settle for a 68 and tied for sixth.

15 years ago (2003)

“The Green Jacket is going north of the border!”

Mike Weir of Sarnia, Ont., captivated an entire country, becoming the first Canadian and left-handed golfer to win The Masters tournament. The Canadian Golf Hall-of-Famer missed the cut a week prior to The Masters, which eventually helped him get back to his fundamentals.. Playing over a condensed three days due to rain, Weir leaned on his accuracy and short game to put himself in position to win. Weir forced a playoff with Len Mattiace, a then two-time TOUR winner, back at the 10th hole. With Mattiace struggling, Weir had a safe two putts to win, becoming the 2003 Masters champion.

Weir captured the ’03 CareerBuilder Challenge as part of a three-win season — including the Masters — en route to being named the Lou Marsh Award winner as Canada’s athlete of the year. He’s the last golfer to win the honour.

10 years ago (2008)

Four months after Trevor Immelman had a tumor removed from his diaphragm, the South African won the 2008 Masters by three shots over Tiger Woods. And it wasn’t even that close. Immelman had a five-shot lead with three holes to play until hitting into the water for double bogey at No. 16. He closed with a 75 and joined Arnold Palmer in the record book with the highest closing round by a Masters champion. Only four players broke par in the final round. For Woods, it was his second straight year finishing as the runner-up at Augusta National in his bid for a fifth green jacket. Among those who had a chance were Brandt Snedeker, who briefly tied for the lead with an eagle on No. 2, and Steve Flesch, whose hopes ended with a tee shot into Rae’s Creek at No. 12.

5 years ago (2013)

Adam Scott won the 2013 Masters in a playoff over Angel Cabrera, and Australia had a Masters champion after more than a half-century of trying. Scott thought he had it won with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, only for Cabrera to stuff his shot into 3 feet for birdie as Scott was signing his card. They both made par on the first extra hole, and Scott ended it with a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 10 on the second playoff hole. Greg Norman, who knew nothing but hard luck at Augusta National, was watching from Florida and said when it was over, “I’m over the moon.” It was a wild week for Tiger Woods, who was on the verge of taking the lead on Friday when his wedge into the 15th hole hit the pin and went back into the water. Woods took his penalty drop in the wrong place, which was pointed out by a rules expert watching on TV. The rules committee at the Masters failed to act on the information, and when it was clear a penalty was involved, the committee gave Woods a two-shot penalty and allowed him to stay in the tournament despite having signed for an incorrect score. Woods finished four shots behind.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Pernilla Lindberg glanced at Poppie’s Pond walking off the 18th green Saturday at the ANA Inspiration, knowing she put herself in perfect position to celebrate her first professional title with the traditional victory plunge.

“I’ve played a lot of golf in my life and I just feel like the pieces are kind of falling together,” Lindberg said. “I’m just letting it happen.”

The 31-year-old Swede shot a 2-under 70 on another hot and mostly calm day at Mission Hills, pulling away when playing partner Sung Hyun Park collapsed on the back nine.

“I felt calm out there. I had fun,” Lindberg said. “I went out there today and said, ‘How often do you get this chance? So I’m just going to enjoy it.’ And that’s what I did.”

Amy Olson was second after a 68. The 25-year-old former North Dakota State star – and the LPGA Tour’s only certified public accountant – also is seeking her first victory as a pro.

Lindberg was two strokes behind Park after the fourth-ranked South Korean player made her third straight birdie on the par-5 11th. They were then put on the clock for slow play, and Park dropped five strokes in the next five holes.

“It was a rough day,” Park said.

The U.S. Women’s Open champion bogeyed Nos. 12 and 13, had a double bogey on the par-4 14th after taking two shots to get out of the back bunker, and bogeyed the 16th.

“There were a bunch of fairways that I (missed), so that was something that I am disappointed in my shots,” Park said. “But I had a lot of great play, a lot of good aspects in my game.”

Lindberg scrambled for pars on the first four holes on the back nine, ran in an 18-foot birdie putt on 14 and made a 25-footer for par on 15 for a two-stroke swing. Lindberg bogeyed the par-3 17th and then hit a wedge to 5 feet to set up a birdie on the par-5 18th. She broke the tournament 54-hole mark at 14-under 202.

Park finished with a 74 to fall into a tie for third at 10 under. She shot a 64 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Lindberg.

Inbee Park, the 2013 winner and a seven-time major champion, had a 67 to get into the group at 10 under with Moriya Jutanugarn (66), Jennifer Song (68), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) and Charley Hull (69). Inbee Park won the Founders Cup two weeks ago in Phoenix, playing the final 36 holes in 14 under.

“Definitely a much better putting day than the last couple days,” Inbee Park said. “Especially on the back nine, I was able to hit some good bunker shots and make those par saves.”

Lindberg made a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole, bogeyed the par-3 fifth for her first dropped stroke of the week, and rebounded with a 20-foot par save on the par-4 sixth. The former Oklahoma State player added a 35-footer for birdie on the par-3 eighth.

“My putter obviously saved me a few times,” Lindberg said.

Olson, from Oxbow, North Dakota, had five birdies and a bogey. Ranked 218th in the world, she won an NCAA-record 20 titles for the Bison.

“You have to learn to win on every level,” Olson said. “I’m excited to be in the position that I’m in and just give myself a learning opportunity.”

Ayako Uehara (70) was 9 under, and top-ranked Shanshan Feng (67) and Jessica Korda (73) were another stroke back.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (75) was tied for 41st at 2-under par to tie for 41st. Brooke Henderson (70) of Smiths Falls, Ont., sits 1 under to tie for 49th.

Stanford sophomore Albane Valenzuela shot 71 to get to 7 under and top the four amateurs to make the cut. Minjee Lee also was 7 under after a 64, the best round of the day.

“The first two days I was hitting it really well, but I just didn’t make any putts,” Lee said.

Lexi Thompson was tied for 17th at 6 under after a 70. She won in 2015 and lost a playoff to So Yeon Ryu a year ago after being penalized four strokes during the final round for a rules violation the day before.

Michelle Wie was 2 under after a 72. She has fought dizziness caused by a virus.