Love in Augusta air and Bob's birthday treat - Martin Dempster's Masters diary

Love is in the Augusta air for three-time Masters champion Gary Player at the age of 89.

“I've got a young girlfriend,” revealed the South African after getting the 89th edition underway along with fellow Honorary Starters Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

“How about that, at 90, finding a girlfriend? Tom is not as old as me, but he's also found a new one.”

Admitting his ambition is to live to 100, Player added: “I went to India and I met a gerontologist, and he gave me 11 things to work on, which I adhere to. So I might drop dead tomorrow, but I'm giving it a hell of a try!”

Bob MacIntyre tees up birthday treat for sister

Nicola MacIntyre, one of Bob’s sisters, had a 30th birthday to cherish on Wednesday.

Paying her first visit to Augusta National, she was driven up Magnolia Lane by her little brother to mark the milestone celebration.

“Bless him,” declared Nicola, who was still beaming about her special big day 24 hours later.

Gillian, Bob’s other sister, has also made the trip along with mum and dad Carol and Dougie but she’s been at the Georgia venue before.

They’re always on the ball at Augusta National

Eagled-eyed Masters fans may have seen a string hanging from the roof of the fairway mowers with a tennis ball hanging from it.

The mowers operate in a horizontal pattern, with each mower slightly behind the other.

If one drops oil or is damaging the fairway, the driver of the mower behind throws the slit tennis ball in front of that mower to raise the alarm.

All the mowers then stop to allow the issue to be solved before the work restarts to get the course looking like no other.

Phone home from Masters for FREE

Little in life is free these days, but that isn’t the case for anyone needing to make a phone call during Masters week.

It’s a well-publicised fact, of course, that mobile phones are not allowed at Augusta National at any point during the week out on the course.

What is never really publicly advertised, though, is that at the various banks of telephones around the course you can make free long-distance calls anywhere in the world.

Each phone has the prefix numbers for local, domestic and international calls, though conversations take place far enough away from the action so players are never disturbed.