Augusta's quirky rules

Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press writes how past Masters champions can bring guests to play Augusta National on the Sunday that starts Masters week, something even National members are not allowed to do on this day. Mark O'Meara played with his caddie, Mike Weir with his brother and Bernhard Langer with his daughter, Ferguson reports.

Tom Berry of the High Point (N.C.) Enterprise has a story Drew Weaver, a High Point native, who played in the Masters last year by virtue of his victory in the 2007 British Amateur. "He didn't realize what it meant to have honorary lifetime status as a former British Amateur champion," Berry writes. "Only when he received an invitation around Christmas did Weaver understand that he could return to the Masters every spring and play practice rounds even if he failed to qualify for the actual tournament.

"'It was a nice surprise to know I can go back,' he said." Weaver, who plays college golf at Virginia Tech, is expected to play Augusta National today, according to Berry.

-- John Strege