BBC SPORT | GOLF | Past Masters re-think for Augusta

Augusta National has revised its policy on past champions by cutting the number of events they must play for US Masters eligibility.

The policy was announced last Thursday and is due to come into effect from 2004.

It had said past winners could continue to compete until they were 65, but only if they played 15 official tournaments in the preceding calendar year.

That would have eliminated six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, who has played 15 events in a year only three times since 1986.

Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson has now revised that criteria to 10 tournaments.

Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson.
Johnson admits Augusta got it wrong
"The fact of the matter is we were not thorough with our research and we made a mistake," Johnson said.

"Therefore, we are making this change."

The revision came after Augusta National was criticised for ending its tradition of allowing past champions a lifetime exemption and making them beef up their schedule to get into the Masters.

Earlier this year, Johnson sent letters to Doug Ford, Gay Brewer and Billy Casper recommending they no longer play in the Masters because of their recent record.

Next year will be the final Masters for three-time champion Gary Player, Tommy Aaron and Charles Coody, all of whom will be over 65.

It might have been the final year for Nicklaus, too. Now, he can choose to compete through to 2005 as long as he plays 10 tournaments a year.


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