Monday, April 2, 2012

9:50 a.m.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The grass has been grown to perfection at Augusta National Monday morning. It's the day many around the world have been counting down for -- the beginning of the Masters Tournament.

Monday kicks off the first round of the practice rounds. The weather is expected to be in the high 90's, which is a little warm for being out in the sun all day, but hopefully, the heat won't become too unbearable.

A few club members and media representatives walked the course Sunday as crews made their final touches before the big day. A few celebrity sightings occurred along the way. Tiger Woods was seen for part of the afternoon at the driving range, perfecting his swing. Bubba Watson was on the course in the morning. And even actor/comedian George Lopez hit the links Sunday.

Who do you look forward to seeing the most this week?

Some pictures from yesterday on the course:

Tiger took to the practice range on Sunday.

An empty scoreboard before the madness began today.

Crews making some last-minute adjustments to the landscaping.

Noon

Happened to walk by and catch Tiger Woods on the 18th hole after hearing whispers about him from the huge crowd surrounding the area. It was hard to tell whether the crowd was skeptical or supportive.

Charles Schwartzel took a few questions from the media before he hit the course around noon.

It's a nice day, but it's extremely hot outside -- I even spotted some guys walking barefoot on the grass. Is that etiquette for the Masters? I'm not sure.

Still on the hunt for some azaleas and I've walked around most of the course. I'll keep looking and let you know what I find so you can see some pictures firsthand!

3:30 p.m.

Throughout the day, more and more players jumped onto the course.

Here's a look at who practiced when:

Found a couple players at the practice range, including Kyle Stanley. The Clemson University graduate was thrilled to be here.

"Beautiful place. The Masters is probably the only event that I watched every year as a kid growing up. To be here and be in the tournament is pretty special," he said in an interview earlier today.

He said he was glad to see so many Clemson fans representing: "There's a lot of orange out there, so it will be nice to have some Clemson fans cheering us on this week. I think there are four of us; it will be fun."

Also found Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) at the putting green.

Eventually made it over to the infamous Record Fountain.

Angel Cabrera (L) and Vijay Singh (R) hitting the links.

Rickie Fowler was a big hit today.

And this was just beautiful ...

Another amusing thing I saw was three middle-aged men taking Masters cups out of the recycling bin. They must have really wanted some collector's items!

6:15 p.m.

Although it was a long day, there were still some golfers on the course perfecting their games for Thursday.

Charl Schwartzel at the putting green.

Ross Fisher finished up the 18th hole around 5:45 p.m.

Jason Dufner and Charl Schwartzel on the putting green.

Jason Dufner:

Justin Rose:

It's been a long, hot day today -- see you tomorrow!

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