AUGUSTA, Ga. – Harris English got his first Masters week off to an ideal start Sunday – he made an ace on the 12th hole.

And it came with a little help from Brandt Snedeker.

They played a practice round with Augusta National members Dave Dorman and Toby Wilt, who teamed with Snedeker to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last year. When they got to the menacing 12th hole, Snedeker hit a three-quarter 9-iron to the front-left hole location.

English’s caddie suggested about the same, and that’s when Snedeker stepped in with these words of advice: “Just rip a wedge.”

“I’m 1-for-1 as a caddie,” Snedeker chirped after the round. Turning to English, he said, “What have you been doing all year? This is easy.”

English is among a record 24 players playing the Masters for the first time, though Sunday wasn’t his first time playing Augusta National. He played every year in college at Georgia. Even so, it was a good way to ease into a busy week.

And it was a long time coming. English said it was the second hole-in-one of his life, and his first as a professional.

The other one?

“Huntsville Country Club, when I was 14,” he said. “I hit a 5-iron. Hooked it left and it kicked right.”

This was a wedge from 142 yards that covered the flag. And he was at Augusta National. Big difference.

HAPPY RETURNS: Adam Scott returned to Augusta National on Friday and took one last privilege as the defending champion. He took his father out to play the course.

“It was the highlight of his golfing life,” Scott said Sunday. “I think for him following me around here for so many years, to get to stand in the middle of the fairways and get the perspective was just great. And for me just playing with him, well, it was pretty special.”

Perhaps the best part was going down the 10th hole, where last year he hit 6-iron to 12 feet and made the birdie putt to beat Angel Cabrera on the second playoffs hole. It was a good time, as Scott said his coach told him, to “stop and smell the flowers.”

“Walking down there the last couple of days thinking about,” Scott said, still amazed at the feeling. “It’s had an incredible impact on me. Reliving it has been nice, even these last couple of days, as well.”

What he’s not looking forward to this week is leaving the green jacket behind – unless he was to win again.

Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods are the only players to win back-to-back at the Masters.

“I’m quite determined to not leave it here,” Scott said.

AN INSPIRING SUNDAY: By all accounts, the Drive, Chip and Putt competition was a huge success at the Masters. Club chairman Billy Payne said the idea was to inspire young kids to get involved in golf and be motivated to earn a trip to Augusta National.

Ian Poulter said his 9-year-old son, Luke, was watching from home.

“My son is home on the sofa watching,” Poulter said. “I told him, `This should get you excited to go play.’ Hopefully, he’s on the range.”

Poulter said he spent a good part of the morning watching the Golf Channel coverage and couldn’t imagine what it was like to be a parent.

“I remember my mum and dad watching me play here for the first time,” he said. “For the parents of these kids, they’ve got to be a complete bag of nerves. This is brilliant. It’s cool for the kids.”

Poulter was inspired for other reason. While watching coverage, he noticed one young boy wearing his clothing line.

“I’ve got to go find him,” Poulter said, and off he went.

DIVOTS: Matt Jones became the 97th player into the field by winning the Shell Houston Open on Sunday. That makes it a record 24 Masters rookies this week. … British Amateur champion Garrick Porteous has a rare distinction at Augusta National. He is the first Masters competitor to play the 17th hole without the Eisenhower Tree. Porteous played a practice round on Feb. 17, the day after the ice-damaged tree was removed.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson left Michelle Wie behind Sunday – off the tee and on the leaderboard in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 19-year-old Thompson closed with a bogey-free 4-under 68 at Mission Hills for a three-stroke victory over Wie. Thompson birdied four of the first nine holes to open a five-stroke lead and parred the final nine.

Wie birdied the final hole for a 71. She used her driver only four times, choosing to hit fairway-metal stingers on the other 10 driving holes – leaving her as much as 60 yards behind Thompson. When both hit 3-woods, Thompson also had the advantage.

Thompson became the second-youngest major winner in LPGA Tour history at 19 years, 1 month, 27 days. Morgan Pressel set the record in her 2007 victory at Mission Hills at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days.

Thompson finished at 14-under 274 for her fourth LPGA Tour victory. She opened with a 73, shot a tournament-best 64 on Friday and had a 69 on Saturday to tie for the lead with Wie at 10 under. The 6-foot Florida player had only one bogey – when she missed a 3-footer on the par-5 18th Saturday – in her last 55 holes.

Thompson won the 2011 Navistar LPGA in Alabama at 16 to become the youngest winner in tour history, a mark broken by Lydia Ko in the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open. Last year, Thompson won the LPGA Malaysia and Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The 24-year-old Wie made her 12th start in the event. She was ninth in 2003 at age 13, fourth the following year and tied for third at 16 in 2006. She also was sixth in 2011.

Wie has two tour victories, winning the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational and 2010 Canadian Women’s Open. She has been in the top 16 in all six of her starts this season.

Thompson hammered a drive 40 yards past Wie’s 3-wood on the par-4 opening hole and took the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt. Wie pulled even with a birdie on the par-5 second, chipping to 1 1/2 feet after leaving her second shot just short of the green.

Wie bogeyed the par-4 third, missing from 6 feet after a short chip.

Thompson birdied Nos. 4 and 5. She hit a 3-wood 30 yards past Wie’s 3-wood and made a 12-foot putt on the par-4 fourth, and holed a 5-footer on the par-3 fifth.

Thompson picked up another stroke on the par-3 eighth when Wie missed a 2-foot par putt, and pushed her lead to five with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth.

Wie birdied the first two holes where she used her driver, hitting it past Thompson on the par-5 second and 11th. Wie also hit driver on the par-4 13th, setting up a wedge that she hit to 4 feet. But she left the birdie putt short to remain four strokes back.

She cut it to three on the par-3 14th, holing a 12-footer, but dropped a stroke after hitting well right on the par-3 17th.

Stacy Lewis, the 2011 winner, had a 67 to finish third at 7 under. Cristie Kerr and Se Ri Pak tied for fourth at 6 under. Kerr shot 72, and Pak had a 72.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot a 2-over par 74 Sunday. The 16-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. tied for 26th with two others at 1-over 289. She’s currently ranked 6th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, but expect the defending Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion to jump a spot or two next week.

Notes of encouragement for Henderson came in from across the Twitterverse. Here is a brief sampling…

@TheGolfCanada Brooke Henderson @GAOGolf #incredibleperformance #veryproud

— Steve Carroll (@stevecarrollGAO) April 6, 2014

Fantastic day for #BrookeHenderson and so proud of our female Canadian golf star!!! #golf @TheGolfCanada @PGATOURCanada #futurewinner @LPGA

— JEN_M (@savagecookie) April 7, 2014

Congratulations to Brooke Henderson on a great performance! @TheGolfCanada #proud #incredibleperformance #lpgamajor

— Kathy St-Germain (@ckstgermain) April 7, 2014

Minjee Lee, the 17-year-old Australian who tops the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was low amateur. She closed with a 72 to tie for 24th at even par.

HUMBLE, Texas – Matt Jones earned his first trip to the Masters with a remarkable 42-yard chip-in on the first playoff hole, outdueling Matt Kuchar on his way to winning the Houston Open on Sunday.

The win is the first on the PGA Tour for the Australian, who made a 46-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to reach the playoff. He ended it one hole later, chipping over the right front bunker on the 18th and watching it roll in.

Kuchar, who bogeyed the final hole of regulation, then missed his bunker shot to give Jones the win – earning him nearly $1.2 million and a trip to Augusta National.

Jones, who began the day six shots back of Kuchar, shot a final-round 66 and ended the tournament 15 under overall.

In September, Jones lipped out an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole of the BMW Championship – a putt that would have earned him a trip to next week’s Masters by sending him to the Tour Championship.

He waited until the last possible moment to make amends for that miss on Sunday, doing so in impressive fashion.

Jones sent his tee shot on the first hole of the playoff into the right fairway bunker. He then landed just short of the greenside bunker with his second shot, while Kuchar found the bunker from the fairway.

It was the second straight miss of the 18th green from the fairway for Kuchar, who sent his fairway metal on the 72nd hole into the water before recovering to make bogey and reach the playoff.

Jones didn’t leave Kuchar any room for error in the playoff, sending his chip over the greenside bunker and watching as it rolled in – much to the delight of the Golf Club of Houston gallery.

Golfers were sent off in threesomes early Sunday morning for the second day in a row because of the threat of strong storms in the Houston area. The rain, heavy at times, began early during the final pairing’s round, but the pros finished without any delays.

Kuchar started the day with a four-shot lead over Garcia and Cameron Tringale, but he bogeyed the first hole and was 1 over on the front nine.

That allowed Jones, who began the day at 9 under, to briefly tie for the lead at 14 under following a birdie on the par-4 11th.

Kuchar answered moments later with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 10. The putt gave him a one-shot lead at 15 under, a lead that seemed solid until the final hole of regulation.

With Kuchar watching from the tee, Jones bounced back from a bogey on the 17th to make a 46-foot birdie putt on No. 18. That sent him to 15 under overall, one shot back of the lead.

Kuchar hit the fairway before his second shot found the water – opening the door for Jones to earn the win and his improbable trip to next week’s Masters.

It was the second straight final-round disaster for Kuchar, who shot a 75 in the final pair of last week’s Texas Open on his way to finishing fourth.

Garcia finished in third at 13 under, while Tringale was fourth at 12 under.

Rory McIlroy matched the low round of the tournament with a 7-under 65 on Sunday, finishing tied for seventh at 8 under overall.

Phil Mickelson, who won the tournament in 2011, was 1 under on Sunday and finished 7 under overall in a tie for 12th – a week after he was forced to withdraw from the Texas Open because of a muscle pull in his right side.

Graham DeLaet climbed four spots up the leaderboard Sunday thanks to a 2-under 70. The Weyburn, Sask. native finished 5-under-par, leaving him tied for 19th with four others, including Jonathan Byrd and former Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames carded a 4-over 76 on the day. He tied Bubba Dickerson for 74th at 9-over 297.

CADIZ, Spain – Unheralded Marco Crespi of Italy won his first European Tour title after carding a 3-under 69 in the final round to claim the inaugural edition of the NH Collection Open on Sunday.

Playing in his 25th European Tour event, the 35-year-old Crespi had five birdies to overcome a pair of bogeys on the final day to end two strokes ahead of nearest rivals Richie Ramsay of Scotland and Spaniard Jordi Garcia.

Felipe Aguilar and overnight leader Matthew Nixon finished three shots back.

Crespi stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the 12th and 13th holes, but he responded with a birdie on the 14th before making par down the stretch to take the win at La Reserva de Sotogrande Golf Club.

“I started very well today,” said Crespi. “I birdied the first and that gave me the confidence to go low. I just had to manage my pressure on the back nine.”

Crespi’s previous best finish was fourth at the South African Open earlier this year.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta National not only has female members, on Sunday it crowned its first female champion.

Nine-year-old Kelly Xu of Santa Monica, Calif., was the first of eight youngsters to win the inaugural “Drive, Chip and Putt” contest. The skills challenge took place at the home of the Masters, even as Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and others were preparing for the Masters.

There were four girls and four boys from various age groups that won out of 11 players in each division – including Canada’s Remi Chartier (Beaconsfield, Que.) and Nyah Kelly (Bobcaygeon, Ont.) The last putt each faced was from about 20 feet on the 18th green, the same spot where Scott made birdie in regulation last year when he won the Masters in a playoff.

Kelly competed in the Girl’s 7-9 category. She finished with a score of 16.5 and tied for 8th.

Chariter competed in the Boy’s 12-13 category and tied for 4th with a score of 19.5

Here is the full list of winners:

Girls 7-9: Kelly Xu
Boys 7-9: Treed Huang
Girls 10-11: Lucy Li
Boys 10-11: Leo Cheng
Girls 12-13: Natalie Pietromonaco
Boys 12-13: Bryson Bianco
Girls 14-15: Hunter Pate
Boys 14-15: Patrick Welch

Full results can be found here.

To learn more about the Canadians who qualified for the Drive, Chip & Putt National Championship, click here. 

Did you know: CN Future Links runs an annual National Junior Skills Challenge where participants from active CN Future Links sites across the country compete on the Junior Skills Leaderboard for a chance to attend the World Junior Girls Championship at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. where they will compete at the CN Future Links National Junior Skills Challenge against other top competitors in their age category. 

To find out more information on the CN Future Links National Junior Skills Challenge, click here.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson topped the Kraft Nabisco leaderboard, setting up a possible final-round showdown the LPGA Tour has been waiting for.

The 24-year-old Wie shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Saturday to match Thomson at 10-under 206 at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year.

The 19-year-old Thompson settled for a 69 after driving into a fairway bunker and missing a 3-foot par putt on the par-5 18th. She also missed two short birdie putts.

Charley Hull, the Englishwoman who turned 18 last month, was two strokes back along with five-time major champion Se Ri Pak. Hull birdied the 18th for a 66, the best round of the day in perfect afternoon conditions in the Coachella Valley. Pak shot 71.

Brooke Henderson shot a bogey-free 2-under par 70 Saturday to sit tied for 19th at 1-under 215 heading into the final round. The 16-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native is playing her second LPGA Tour major, having previously made the cut at the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open where she tied for 59th. The Team Canada member is also the defending Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion.

HUMBLE, Texas – Matt Kuchar didn’t have the result he had hoped for while playing in the final pairing at last week’s Texas Open.

The six-time PGA Tour winner, who closed with a final-round 75 on his way to a fourth-place finish last week, will have the opportunity to show what he learned from that disappointing finish at this week’s Houston Open.

Playing in the final pairing, Kuchar vaulted past a struggling Sergio Garcia with a 4-under par 68 on Saturday – overcoming windy conditions at the Golf Club of Houston to match the low round of the day and take a four-shot lead after three rounds.

Kuchar stands at 15-under overall heading into Sunday’s final round, four shots ahead of second-round leader Garcia and Cameron Tringale. The three will be paired together on Sunday.

“It’s a nice position to have played well last week, to have been in the last group with a chance to win and again to come back this week, completely different course, and have another shot to win,” Kuchar said.

Kuchar’s last win came at the Memorial last year, and he has eight top 10 finishes this season in 10 events.

He’ll have the opportunity add to that resume on Sunday, weather permitting, as well as fuel his surging confidence leading into next week’s Masters, where he finished in a tie for eighth last year.

The prospect of a winner’s share of nearly $1.2-million, however, has Kuchar locked in on this weekend first – even with the prospect of competing for his first major championship looming next week.

“I’ve been playing some steady golf for a couple of years now and feel like my chances of playing well tomorrow are pretty good,” Kuchar said. “Having a four-shot lead is a great position to be in.”

The golfers went off both tees in threesomes early Saturday morning in anticipation of severe weather in the evening, a format they’ll use again Sunday with hopes of avoiding a Monday finish leading into next week’s visit to Augusta National.

Garcia, who surged ahead with a 7-under 65 on Friday, began the day with a one-shot lead over Kuchar. That disappeared quickly after the Spaniard bogeyed the first to fall back to 11 under and into a tie with his playing partner, Kuchar.

That was just the beginning of the struggles for Garcia, who later put his tee shot into the water on No. 10. He finished with a 1-over 73 after matching the course’s low mark of 12 under after two rounds.

“Obviously, I didn’t play as well as yesterday with the difficulty,” Garcia said. “… It wasn’t that easy.”

Kuchar, meanwhile, birdied the first to move into the lead – a spot he didn’t relinquish. He added back-to-back birdies on No. 4 and 5 to move to 14 under, and he added three birdies in a row on the back nine.

He reached 16 under with a birdie on the par-3 14th before three-putting the 18th and settling for 15 under.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Ben Curtis, who is tied for 5th at 8 under with Rickie Fowler. “(Kuchar’s) on a great roll the last few years. Obviously, he’s playing very confidently, and that makes a huge difference.”

Kuchar missed his first four cuts at the Houston Open, but the American finished tied for eighth in 2010 and 2011 before not playing in the tournament the last two years.

His three rounds in the 60s this week have only been matched by Tringale, who shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday while playing in the next-to-last pairing.

Phil Mickelson, after withdrawing from last week’s Texas Open with a muscle pull in his right side, was inconsistent from the opening hole Saturday.

The five-time major winner left his opening two approach shots short of the green, the second of which found the bunker and caused him to slump over in the fairway. That led to the first of back-to-back bogeys, though he did recover with three straight birdies on the back nine before settling for an even-par 72 – leaving him in a tie for eighth at 6 under.

“I don’t know if I’ll have a good round tomorrow or not,” Mickelson said. “But it’s close, a lot closer than it’s been.”

Fowler matched Kuchar’s low round in Saturday’s chilly conditions, posting a 4-under 68 and moving to 8 under overall.

With rain forecast for Saturday night and throughout Sunday, the golfers will once again tee off in threesomes early on Sunday morning.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet shot an even-par 72 on moving day. He sits 3-under par and tied for 23rd.

Stephen Ames struggled to a 6-over 78 on the day. He fell 17 spots into a a tie for 72nd at 5-over-par.

CADIZ, Spain – England’s Matthew Nixon shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the third round at the NH Collection Open on Saturday.

Nixon had nine birdies to overcome a pair of bogeys in the best round of the inaugural tournament at La Reserva de Sotogrande Golf Club for an overall 8-under 208.

Marco Crespi of Italy is one stroke behind Nixon with Chile’s Felipe Aguilar another shot back in third.

Poor weather and then bad light had forced the opening two rounds to be suspended on Thursday and Friday, and the third round only got under way after 45 golfers finished their second round early Saturday morning.

Nixon says “I had a nice start and it just kept going.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson found a putting touch to match her power game Friday in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 19-year-old Thompson, already a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour, shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Mission Hills for a share of the lead with Se Ri Pak.

“This is my favorite tournament of the year,” Thompson said. “It’s so beautiful, like really nice weather, and the fans are amazing.”

Thompson had only 25 putts after taking 35 in a first-round 73.

“I just had a little bit of speed issues yesterday,” Thompson said. “I didn’t really commit to my lines and I came up short a lot. I just went out today and picked my line and sped up my tempo a little bit and went up to it and said, `I’m going to knock it in.'”

Pak birdied the final hole for a 70 to match Thompson at 7-under 137 in the first major championship of the year. The 36-year-old South Korean player won the last of her five major titles in 2006 and has 25 LPGA Tour victories.

“Everything has just been really solid,” Pak said. “I kept it fairways, greens, always the goal every hole. I had a lot of opportunities, but putting is not as good as yesterday. Still, just really smooth, solid round. I’m really happy about the way I finished.”

Michelle Wie was a stroke back after a 71.

“I’m really excited,” Wie said. “It’s fun being near the top of the leaderboard. But try not to look forward too much. It’s a long way `til Sunday.”

Thompson birdied eight of the last 13 holes after opening with five pars.

“I was just trying to stay in the moment and focus on each shot, not really think about what I was shooting,” Thompson said. “I had the same confidence over every shot, just committing to my line and just being confident.”

She made a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 17th – her eighth hole – and two-putted for birdie after reaching the par-5 18th in two.

Thompson holed a breaking 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 first, made a 4-footer on the par-4 third and ran in a 20-foot putt on the par-4 fourth after slashing out from under a tree in the left rough. She added an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh and closed with a 10-footer on the par-5 ninth after hitting into the greenside bunker in two.

“I’m really comfortable with the golf course,” Thompson said. “I get to hit a lot of drivers, so I just aim up the right side and hit my little draw.”

Wie opened with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 10th, and dropped a stroke on the par 13th after driving behind a tree in the right rough. She had a three-putt par on 18 – missing a 3-footer – after reaching the water-guarded green in two.

“It felt good to start off with a birdie,” Wie said. “After that, really just couldn’t get anything going. … But it felt good. Par is a good score out here.”

On the par-5 second, she made a 25-foot birdie putt after hitting a snap hook off the tee. Instead of going out of bounds, the ball hit a tree and ricocheted into the fairway.

“It was a pretty lucky shot,” Wie said. “I thought it was for sure OB.”

First-round leader Shanshan Feng bogeyed the final two holes for a 73 to drop into a tie for fourth with Cristie Kerr at 5 under. Kerr had a 70.

Thompson, Pak and Wie played in calm morning conditions, while the breeze picked up as Feng and Kerr finished their afternoon rounds on the overcast day.

“The wind kind of picked up, so it was actually tougher playing compared to yesterday,” Feng said. “I think I actually did pretty well. I did make two bogeys coming in, but I was still concentrating, and it just happens. Sometimes you make good strokes and they don’t fall on this course. I’m still positive.”

Anna Nordqvist, the winner in Thailand in February and Carlsbad last week, was tied for sixth at 4 under after a 69. Playing partner Stacy Lewis, the 2011 champion, had a 70 to join 16-year-old Lydia Ko and Hall of Famer Karrie Webb at 1 under. Ko and Webb, a two-time winner this year, also shot 70.

Defending champion Inbee Park was even par after a 70.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 68 to climb 46 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 36th at 1 over par. The 16-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native had just one blemish on her second-round scorecard – a bogey on the par 4 16th.

Brooke Henderson

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham failed to qualify for weekend action. The former Team Canada member shot an even-par 72 Friday to finish 8 over, tying for 92nd.

LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan weighed in Friday on Golf Digest’s provocative cover featuring Paulina Gretzky.

The cover photo shows Gretzky in skintight capris and a bra.

Known for provocative pictures on her social media accounts, Gretzky is former hockey star Wayne Gretzky’s daughter and PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson’s fiancee.

Former LPGA Tour star Lorena Ochoa was the last female pro to appear on the magazine’s cover in October 1992. Golf Digest featured Golf Channel’s Holly Sonders in May 2013 and model Kate Upton posed with Arnold Palmer for the December issue.

“It’s frustrating for female golfers,” Stacy Lewis said. “It’s kind of the state of where we’ve always been. We don’t get respect for being the golfers that we are. Obviously, Golf Digest is trying to sell magazines. But at the same time you’d like to see a little respect for the women’s game.”

The official statement from Whan is below…

Obviously we’re disappointed and frustrated by the editorial direction (and timing) Golf Digest has chosen with the announcement of its most recent magazine cover.

If a magazine called Golf Digest is interested in showcasing females in the game, yet consistently steers away from the true superstars who’ve made history over the last few years, something is clearly wrong.

Inbee Park wins 3-straight major championships in 2013.  Stacy Lewis, in 2012, becomes the first American to win Rolex Player of the Year since 1994.  Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko set historical benchmarks while blossoming as the Tour’s youngest ever champions.  And evidently, not one has been “cover worthy” for Golf Digest.  “Growing the game” means a need for more role models and in these exciting times for women’s golf, the LPGA is overflowing with them.

At this point, I’m done talking about it and I hope the attention of the media and fans will shift in the proper direction.  The true stars representing women’s golf have a grand stage this weekend at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.  I’m confident that the year’s first major championship will result in another compelling champion and the traditional Sunday leap into Poppie’s Pond will grab the media spotlight it so deserves.

Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest’s editor in chief, released a statement on their website regarding the cover.

“Sports figures, celebrities and models have appeared on Golf Digest covers since the magazine’s beginning,” stated Tarde. “Paulina ranks at the high end of the golf celebrity scene today, and she has a compelling story to tell. She also might get some new people interested in the game.”

The May issue, in which Gretzky demonstrates six golf-improvement exercises and discusses her myriad connections to the sports world, will be available in tablet edition April 8, and on newsstands April 15. You can see photos from Gretzky’s cover shoot here.