The Masters And Mair

Lottie Woad mounted a stout defence of her Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) title last weekend, eventually finishing third, three shots behind Carla Bernat Escuder, who closed with a 68 for a twelve-under total, thus becoming Europe’s second winner of the tournament and the first from Spain.  Carla is the first player to shoot three successive sub-70 rounds in the ANWA.

One of my favourite moments of the whole week was seeing the great Jose Maria Olazabal patiently waiting for the young victor as she made her triumphant way from the 18th green to the recorder’s area.  The two-time winner of the Masters tournament politely removed his cap before embracing his countrywoman.  What a connection Carla will now share for evermore with the great and the good of Spanish golf who have triumphed at Augusta National.  You could see her reeling quite considerably when asked how she viewed joining Seve, Jose-Maria, Sergio and Jon Rahm in the list of victorious Spaniards at this iconic venue.

Carla hails from the same town as Sergio and Viktor, Sergio’s Dad, has been her swing coach for as long as she can remember and he supports her constantly from afar as she makes her way through the American college system.  That student part of her life is soon to come to an end when she graduates this summer and after that, she will turn professional and continue to aim for the stars.

I foresee many future battles between Carla and Lottie on the world stage, but happily they will be wearing the same colours when it comes to the Solheim Cup.

So much happens at Augusta in the lead up to the main item on the menu, namely the playing of the Masters tournament.  On Tuesday evening there is the champions’  dinner, hosted by the previous year’s winner with the menu chosen by him.  Scottie Scheffler is once again in the chair and his menu hasn’t changed too much from the last time.  Scattered through the starters and main courses are cheeseburgers, ravioli, meatballs and chilli – pretty much any food that can be found at a fast-food outlet.  I’ve no doubt, however, that it’ll be elevated to a sumptuous feast.

Many years ago – in 1991 to be exact, the year I attended my first Masters – Ian Woosnam donned the green jacket and much of the ensuing twelve months was taken up with pondering his menu as host of the champions’ dinner the following year.  Choices made, he invited my late brother-in-law, Dai Davies, to a trial run-through of the meal, with the main course being lamb cooked in hay, a nod to his Welsh and farming heritage.

The day dawned and they met at a local (to Woosie) hotel in Oswestry where they worked their way through the menu to a universal thumbs up.  The pitfalls lay further down the road, however – Woosie was not allowed to have the Welsh lamb flown over to the States because of US import laws.  (Some things don’t change!)  Then the chef wasn’t the least bit impressed with the prospect of setting hay alight in his kitchen in order to cook the main course.

Unfortunately, it’s at this juncture that my source (i.e. Patricia) becomes a little vague and can’t supply the details I was eager to hear – for example, did the wee Welshman change his main course completely?  What made the final cut at the dinner that year?  Unless one of us bumps into Woosie again (unlikely) or he reads this blog (even more unlikely) we shall never know.

The eve of the Masters this years was important to many of us because our great friend and colleague Lewine Mair was being honoured with the 2025 PGA of America Lifetime Achievement award.  This is a wonderful accolade and wholly merited for a woman who has charted a tough passageway through a very male-dominated journalistic world in (amongst others) an exceedingly male-dominated sport, namely golf.

Tales of having to squint through clubhouse windows to see the scores in a tournament so she could write her copy are commonplace, as are stories of being swept in one clubhouse door and straight out again, simply by virtue of being a woman.  This didn’t happen just the odd time, but over the course of years and years.  It beggars belief to think of it now but there were only a handful of these female warriors in this world at that time and hats off to them all.  Non-aggressive diligence and perseverance eventually resulted in the media world opening up to many more women where talent alone matters, not your gender.

For many years Lewine was the golf correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, the go-to paper for all things golf, men’s and women’s, amateurs and pros, in the UK.  To that end she travelled extensively covering all levels of the game and she was certainly a constant presence throughout my own playing career, from top amateur events to professional tournaments on the Ladies’ European Tour.

She was an accomplished sportswoman, with a tennis background but turned pro at golf for a short spell and in her amateur days was in an all-female band.  She has written many, many books but not, to my knowledge, an autobiography – that would be a great read.

So, come on Lewine – take time out from dusting your latest, high-profile, much-deserved award and treat us to tales of your own life.  I do know enough to know that would be as entertaining as all the tales of others that you have treated us to over the years.