Augusta National Golf Club announces postponement of the Masters

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – It may be called the rarest of birds, but not for Johnson Wagner. He holed a 3-wood shot Thursday to make the third albatross of his PGA TOUR career and fourth as a professional. His three albatrosses tie Tim Petrovic for the most on TOUR since 1983 (when the PGA TOUR started keeping hole-by-hole scores). Wagner also made one on the Korn Ferry Tour. RELATED: Leaderboard | Plantation Course’s new look for The RSM Classic The latest came in Thursday’s first round of The RSM Classic. Wagner was even par for his first 14 holes on Sea Island’s Seaside Course. He parred three of his final four holes but signed for a 3-under 67 after making a 2 on the par-5 15th. “I just wanted to make sure I could give it a go because it’s an eagle pin,â€� he said. “The wind was in and off the left. I had to hit it as hard as I could. As soon as it came off, I knew it was going to be good. It hit just short, took a nice bounce, then we saw it hit the stick and disappear. It was awesome.â€� Wagner also made albatrosses at the 2010 Sanderson Farms Championship and 2017 Wyndham Championship. He holed a 3-iron shot on the seventh hole at Annandale Golf Club and a 5-iron on the fifth hole at Sedgefield Country Club. He hit a 3-wood for his albatross on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2006. “I think it’s luck more than anything,â€� he said.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday for using a non-conforming club, violating Equipment Standards Rule 4.c(3). Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, the other members of the group, were left to play as a twosome. The modification in question was a Liquid Paper-like substance on the face of Matsuyama’s 3-wood. One of his equipment people had applied it as an alignment aid, but it made the club non-conforming in that it could have changed the spin and other flight characteristics of the ball. “Don’t paint the face of your clubs,” said Chief Referee Steve Rintoul. “You can have a Sharpie marking for alignment, but that much substance is above what the Rules allow.” An online picture of the club came to the attention of Rules officials shortly after Matsuyama teed off at 1 p.m. Matsuyama could have avoided disqualification if he’d merely been carrying the club, but when an official caught up to him at the second tee, he said he’d used it on the first. “He was very honest and forthright about it,” Rintoul said. But the damage was done – if the club was in fact non-conforming. Rintoul met with Matsuyama on the fifth hole, took pictures of the 3-wood, and told the Japanese star to keep playing as the committee met and even consulted with USGA Equipment Standards staffers. In the end, there was simply too much substance on the club. Matsuyama, who captured the first of his eight PGA TOUR titles at the 2014 Memorial, had shot a 3-over 39 on the front nine when he was notified of the disqualification on the 10th tee. “I think after we talked about in the 5th fairway,” Rintoul said, “I’m not going to say he was expecting it, but it wasn’t as much a surprise as it would have been if it had been unknown.” Matsuyama is fifth in the FedExCup after victories at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and Sony Open in Hawaii. Last season he became the first player from Japan to win a men’s major as he captured the Masters Tournament. But his Memorial week ended early. “My worst fear – I was hoping he hasn’t used it the first tee, hasn’t used it the second tee,” said Rintoul. “We were going to get to him before the third tee, which I’m thinking he might use it on the third tee. But the damage was done on the first hole, unfortunately. “Just unfortunate set of circumstances for Hideki for sure.”

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