A 42-year first, Scheffler's dad on wheels, famous faces and R&A amateur - Martin Dempster's Masters diary

Germany’s unwanted 42-year first

For the first time since 1984, the Masters is taking place without a German player in the field.

It was Bernhard Langer, of course, who flew the German flag for so long here, winning here in both 1985 and 1993.

On the two occasions he was forced to miss the event between 1984 and a farewell appearance last year, Alex Cejka played in 2011 before Stephen Jager was Germany’s representative in 2024.

“German golf is not in a good place,” one of the German journalists here this week. “Compared to the Scandinavians and the UK, we are a third-world country when it comes to developing juniors!”

Scheffler’s dad is wheely committed

As Scottie Scheffler hits fairways with drives, his dad is driving around Augusta National in a scooter.

Apparently, Scott Scheffler broke his pelvis in an accident in the build up to his son trying to claim a third Green Jacket in five years.

He’s made it here this week, though, and was waiting in his scooter at the back of the 18th green when the world No 1 finished his opening round on Thursday.

It seems as though Scott could be accident prone as he was wearing a sling on his right arm when Scottie won The Open last year at Royal Portrush.

Famous faces… but not as ace as Rafa

Star spotters among the patrons at Augusta National enjoyed seeing tennis legend Rafa Nadal out on the course for the opening round.

The Spaniard loves his golf and Ewan Murray, The Guardian’s golf correspondent, tweeted that Nadal had “almost knocked me over when rushing to the side of the 11th tee.”

Though not quite so famous, this correspondent spotted Martyn Huish, the head professional at North Berwick, close to the clubhouse at one point.

I also bumped into Daniel Sommerville, a decent player himself back in the day and now working for The R&A. Oh, and I also bumped into his boss, Mark Darbon.

Amateur dramatics reduced with Fang

Here’s hoping that this year’s The R&A Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool produces a winner from either Scotland, England, Ireland or Wales.

Because, quite frankly, it’s not been the same with American Ethan Fang being the player filling that spot this week after he landed the title at Royal St George’s last year.

That said, Fang led the way among six amateurs in the field after the opening round following a two-over-par 74.

Bradley Neil, who played in 2015, was the last Scottish amateur to play in The Masters, following in the footsteps of Stephen Dundas, Gordon Sherry, Craig Watson and Stuart Wilson.