They're teeing off this morning in Augusta, Ga. It's the Masters, the first of the "major" tournaments for men each year.
Off the course, the major story is whether the club where the tournament is played — Augusta National — has or has not accepted its first female member. Club Chairman Billy Payne wouldn't say on Wednesday whether new IBM CEO Virginia Rometty has been invited. As The Associated Press notes, IBM is one of the tournament's longtime sponsors and the company's previous four CEOs — all men — have been invited to be members at Augusta National.
But Payne, as he has in the past, said again on Wednesday that "all issues of membership have been and are subject to private deliberations of the members." We may just have to wait and see whether Rometty shows up at the club wearing one of its member-only green jackets.
On the course, the big question is whether Tiger Woods will or won't win his first major tournament since 2008 — the year before his private life exploded onto the front pages of tabloids with revelations of extramarital affairs. He's looking to resume his chase of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 wins at majors. Woods has 14 such crowns. His late-March victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational has raised speculation that he's ready to be the game's dominant player again.
On Morning Edition, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan said she thinks Woods will win this weekend.
We're wondering whether folks want him to:
The Masters is being broadcast today by ESPN, starting at 3 p.m. ET. On the weekend, CBS-TV takes over, starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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