By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National has taken another surprising step toward modernization: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when Rory McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway.
Then, Max Homa later joined the fun, making a live guest appearance during his round.
CBS, which is producing the Masters, first broke out the technology at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Trevor Immelman was in the booth and held a Q-and-A with Homa as he played the 13th hole. Homa went on to win.
NBC also did the walk-and-talk with a player during the six weeks leading to the Masters.
But the Masters?
There was McIlroy, going so far as to tell viewers his yardage and what club he would be hitting into the ninth green.
McIlroy said it wasn’t a distraction because the interview was conducted through an earpiece rather than having someone place a microphone in front of him as he walked, so it felt more natural.
“It’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here,” McIlroy said.
He wasn’t surprised when he was approached by Masters officials earlier this week about doing the interview.
“I think since Chairman (Fred) Ridley has come along, he’s really tried to push the envelope as well,” McIlory said. “So I think Augusta has a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we’re keeping up with the times.”
Homa, no stranger to putting himself out there on social media, is in favor of the move.
“It does feel like that’s a good way to maybe gain some perspective for the fans to enjoy golf a little bit easier,” Homa said.
MICKELSON’S NEW LOOK
Those who haven’t been paying attention to LIV Golf probably were a little shocked when they got their first look at a trimmed down Phil Mickelson this week. The three-time Masters champion said he’s lost 25 pounds.
“I stopped eating food, that was a big help,” Mickelson said. “I also lost muscle, so I had to start lifting, and I’ve been lifting and slowly have been getting my speed and strength back to where I need it to be.”
Mickelson said he is going to continue down what he considers a healthier path.
“Some of these guys out here today, how far and how fast they’re able to swing the club, it’s really amazing,” Mickelson said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re going to win. You still have to hit the shots and manage your way around the game, manage your game around the course. But I’ve got to be in shape to be able to have a speed that allows me to compete.”
TIGER TAILS HIS GROUP
Tiger Woods had a hard time keeping up with playing partners Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele on Thursday.
Hovland, the No. 9 player in the world, shot 7-under 65 to match Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka for the day’s lowest round, two off the tournament record held by Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996). Schauffele shot 68.
Woods, who is still recovering from car accident last year, shot 74. That left him nine shots back of the lead.
“If I can just kind of hang in there,” he said, “maybe kind of inch my way back, hopefully it will be positive towards the end.”
BENNETT GOES LOW
U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett was the only amateur to break par Thursday, shooting a bogey-free round of 68 to match playing partner and defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.
Bennett was just two strokes off Ken Venturi’s record for low round by an amateur, set in 1956. Venturi would take the lead into Sunday, when he shot 80 and finished one shot behind Jack Burke Jr.
Bennett, a two-time All-American at Texas A&M, made a long birdie putt at the first hole. He added a chip-in for eagle at the second, then another long birdie putt at the sixth. He made par the rest of the way to the clubhouse.
“It was kind of gloomy all day,” Bennett said, “and then on 17 ,it was probably the prettiest view looking up that fairway, and 18 as well through the chute. The sun was shining. So I just wanted to make two more good swings, which I did.”
Harrison Crowe and Ben Carr, who lost to Bennett at the U.S. Amateur, opened with 75. Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira shot 76 and fellow amateurs Matthew McClean, Aldrich Potgieter and Gordon Sargent had rounds of 5 over.
“Kicked my butt out there,” said Sargent, the NCAA champion from Vanderbilt. “But I talked to my caddie at every single hole. We’re at Augusta at the Masters, how can you complain?”
ZALATORIS, NA WITHDRAW
Will Zalatoris who tied for sixth at the Masters, withdrew before ever stepping on the course.
The world’s No. 8 player was runner-up at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open last year before his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, the following week at the BMW Championship, Zalatoris herniated two disks in his back on a tee shot and wound up missing the rest of the season.
The LIV tour’s Kevin Na also withdrew after shooting 40 on the front nine.
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AP Sports Writers Steve Reed and Dave Skretta contributed to this report.
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