Latest news with #TheAugustaChronicle
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short Fred Couples' goal these days in the Masters Tournament is to make the cut. He made a gallant effort to break his own record for oldest to do so on Friday, but faded down the stretch at Augusta National Golf Club. After what he called a 'mediocre' round of 5-over-par 77, Couples came up two shots shy of making the weekend. He shot 3-over 39 on the back nine when 37 would have been good enough. He made bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 18. He needed to birdie No. 18 but fanned his drive into the magnolias and ended up missing a 9-footer for par. 'It was not awful,' Couples said. 'I could have shot 73 and I could have shot 80. How about that? And I kind of shot right in between because I made a couple putts. But I'm not upset about anything. I tried as hard as I could, and let me tell you, it's a hard course.' Now 65, Couples holds the record for oldest to make a cut, at age 63 in 2023. Bernhard Langer, 67, took a shot at it this week, but missed a 11-foot par putt on No. 18 and missed the cut by a shot in his final Masters. After what Couples called 'a very fun' day on Thursday, when he shot 71, Friday was the polar opposite. The difference was on the greens. He went from 23 putts (second-best in the field) to 31 on Friday. The bogey on the par-5 15th hole was a killer. He snap-hooked his drive into the trees on the left and ended up missing a 11-foot putt for par. That drive went only 146 yards once it stopped rattling around the trees. Couples called it 'the worst drive I've hit in 20 years. I don't even know what happened.' This was Couples' 40th Masters, but it won't be his last. 'Well, sure, I'm playing next year for sure, yeah. I made that - (Masters officials) made that clear they wanted me to come back, so I'm coming back next year,' he said. 'The Masters is the greatest tournament of all time. It's just so unique. 'You know what stays the same is the patrons, the people who come out and watch,' Couples added. 'There's 30,000 of them every day we play. The egg salad sandwiches I think are still $2 (even cheaper, at $1.50). That's my favorite sandwich. The greens are still lightning fast and they're going to get them rock hard tomorrow.' David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short Fred Couples' goal these days in the Masters Tournament is to make the cut. He made a gallant effort to break his own record for oldest to do so on Friday, but faded down the stretch at Augusta National Golf Club. After what he called a 'mediocre' round of 5-over-par 77, Couples came up two shots shy of making the weekend. He shot 3-over 39 on the back nine when 37 would have been good enough. He made bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 18. Advertisement He needed to birdie No. 18 but fanned his drive into the magnolias and ended up missing a 9-footer for par. 'It was not awful,' Couples said. 'I could have shot 73 and I could have shot 80. How about that? And I kind of shot right in between because I made a couple putts. But I'm not upset about anything. I tried as hard as I could, and let me tell you, it's a hard course.' Now 65, Couples holds the record for oldest to make a cut, at age 63 in 2023. Bernhard Langer, 67, took a shot at it this week, but missed a 11-foot par putt on No. 18 and missed the cut by a shot in his final Masters. After what Couples called 'a very fun' day on Thursday, when he shot 71, Friday was the polar opposite. The difference was on the greens. He went from 23 putts (second-best in the field) to 31 on Friday. Advertisement The bogey on the par-5 15th hole was a killer. He snap-hooked his drive into the trees on the left and ended up missing a 11-foot putt for par. That drive went only 146 yards once it stopped rattling around the trees. Couples called it 'the worst drive I've hit in 20 years. I don't even know what happened.' Fred Couples waves to the crowd walking off the first green Friday at the Masters. This was Couples' 40th Masters, but it won't be his last. 'Well, sure, I'm playing next year for sure, yeah. I made that - (Masters officials) made that clear they wanted me to come back, so I'm coming back next year,' he said. 'The Masters is the greatest tournament of all time. It's just so unique. Advertisement 'You know what stays the same is the patrons, the people who come out and watch,' Couples added. 'There's 30,000 of them every day we play. The egg salad sandwiches I think are still $2 (even cheaper, at $1.50). That's my favorite sandwich. The greens are still lightning fast and they're going to get them rock hard tomorrow.' David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fred Couples' magical Masters Thursday comes back to reality in Round 2
NBC Sports
07-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
By the numbers: Jumpsuit numbers for every Masters champion's caddie
The first winning Masters caddie to wear a numbered jumpsuit was Willie 'Pappy' Stokes, who looped for champion Henry Picard in 1938 while donning the No. 12. The jumpsuit numbers became a regular occurrence three years later, and after six years, No. 12 had hit three times. Since then, No. 12 has been joined by three other numbers that have been worn by three different winning caddies – 6, 52 and 89, the latter being sported by Jack Nicklaus II for his dad's last Masters title in 1986, plus the caddies of Danny Willett (2016) and Sergio Garcia (2017), Jonathan Smart and Glen Murray, respectively. Nineteen numbers have hit twice, including No. 1, which is traditionally given to the defending champion's caddie. The only exception is Willie Peterson, who wore No. 90 for both of Jack Nicklaus' wins in 1965 and 1966. 'A No. 1 has never won this Tournament, you know,' Nicklaus told The Augusta Chronicle in 1966. 'The fact of no repeaters doesn't bother me, really it doesn't make one bit of difference. I would just like things to be like last year.' Nos. 2 and beyond are now assigned based on when players register at the start of the week. Here's a look of how frequent different sets of numbers were worn by winning caddies: 1-10 – 13 times 11-20 – 12 21-30 – 4 31-40 – 9 41-50 – 6 51-60 – 11 61-70 – 9 71-80 – 8 81+ – 10 Here's the year-by-year list of winners, their caddies and their caddies' jumpsuit numbers:
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Plot twist: Public Defends Ga. Dad Arrested for Leaving Kids Alone at McDonald's For Job Interview Until This Happens
A Georgia man is looking at some serious legal trouble after a now-viral story of why he left his three children behind in a local McDonald's seems to have some holes in it. The internet rallied behind 24-year-old Chris Louis, who was arrested on March 22 at an Augusta McDonald's after police found he'd left his three children alone in the restaurant for over an hour and a half. When questioned, Louis told investigators he didn't have a car and left the kids, ages 10, 6 and 1, at the restaurant's play space while he went to a job interview at a nearby hotel, according to the Augusta Press. Louis was arrested and charged with deprivation of a minor, and his story attracted the attention of thousands, including ex-NFL player Antonio Brown, who started a GoFundMe page to support Louis and his family. The page has blown past its $50,000 goal, raising over $78,000 to date. 'This GoFundMe is set in place to help this man. I have spoken with GoFundMe and they will get the funds to Chris and his family,' Brown wrote on the page. 'I haven't spoken to Chris yet, but I hope to do so soon.' But now, as local authorities release more details from the investigation, it looks like things aren't what they seemed. According to The Augusta Chronicle, new evidence doesn't support Louis' original story. Witnesses testified they heard Louis on the phone inside the McDonald's around 4:30 pm telling someone he needed to 'drop something off,' which authorities later discovered was a backpack. After waiting in the restaurant alone, the 10-year-old called the children's mother who showed up at the McDonald's around 6:12 pm. Louis returned a few minutes later with the backpack and told police he'd 'lost his ID and another card and had been retracing his steps to find them.' Meanwhile, the manager at the West Bank Inn, where Louis claimed his interview was scheduled, told police Louis filled out a job application that day, but was there hours before he and his children were seen at the McDonald's. Video surveillance from the hotel confirms the manger's testimony, according to The Augusta Chronicle. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When is a good time to replace trees and shrubs lost in Hurricane Helene?
Hurricane Helene uprooted thousands of trees, causing extreme canopy loss in Augusta after making landfall on Sept. 27. While March is a great time to replant, officials are still grappling with clean up. 'Our initial focus was on assessing the damage to each county park and greenspace,' Cassidy Harris, a spokesperson for Columbia County, told The Augusta Chronicle in an email. 'The first priority was removing downed trees to ensure the safety and accessibility of our parks for residents. Continuing cleanup and restoring the parks remains a top priority." Once more clean up takes place, the county will reassess priorities, said Harris. "At this stage, we have not yet identified specific trees for replacement, nor have we allocated funding for replanting," she noted. Seth Hawkins, urban and community forestry program coordinator for the Georgia Forestry Commission, said in his experience it's best to get everything cleaned up before moving on to replanting trees. 'I'm sure a lot of people are being proactive and planting on their own,' said Hawkins. 'We've definitely been in close talks with Augusta-Richmond County. We assisted them with the data collection of the tree damage right after the storm. We've been providing general and risk tree assessments as well as long-term recovery. We are there for the city whenever they are ready to have that conversation.' The Georgia Forestry Commission assessed more than 2,000 trees in public right of ways and parks that were damaged. More than 1,300 trees were labeled for removal in Augusta. Both Augusta-Richmond County and Columbia County remain dedicated to clean up. 'As we continue our recovery efforts, our government remains committed to assessing the condition of our parks and green spaces to determine the best path forward,' city officials told The Augusta Chronicle in an email. 'Currently, we are still in the debris cleanup phase for our recreation areas, which is a necessary step before any replanting efforts can begin.' City officials added, 'In the coming months, we anticipate consulting with key partners and environmental experts to develop a thoughtful and strategic approach to tree restoration. While it is difficult to provide a definitive timeline at this stage, we expect that within the next six months, we will have a clearer plan for replanting based on recommendations from these consultations.' Hearth health: A first: Augusta Univ. researcher lands grant to study link between cancer, cardiovascular disease For homeowners who are over the clean up hump and ready to replant, Constance Hughes, horticulturist at Grass Roots Garden Center, said now is a good time. 'You want to get your trees and plants in before the heat comes,' said Hughes. 'You want your plants to be a little bit established before we get hit with any humidity. They're already going to be stressed a little getting planted. You want to ease that stress on them as much as possible.' Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, helping to clean the air. Spending time in nature around trees can reduce stress levels. Trees filter pollutants from the air, improving respiratory health. Trees slow down rainwater runoff, preventing soil erosion and flooding. Trees enhance the beauty and curb appeal of your property. Grass Roots Garden Center is located in Graniteville, South Carolina, and carries more than 100 varieties of trees. 'People need to know how tall of a tree they want and if they have the space for that size tree,' said Hughes. 'Some people lost a lot of shade after Helene.' For homeowners looking for a sturdier variety to possibly withstand the next hurricane, Hughes said, 'Maples and oaks are considered a sturdier type of tree. I mean, Helene had 100 mile an hour winds, there's not much that will withstand that.' This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Partners. Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@ or on X: @EricaVanBuren32. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: City officials remain in clean up mode, not ready to replant lost trees
