Some Masters notes, one for each hole (including each hole’s name) on the first nine; tomorrow we’ll do the second nine.

1. Tea Olive—Since this one has the word “tea” in it, we’ll start by talking about the big bathrooms out on the course. The ones by the fairway of No. 2 (appropriate!) and No. 5 green are a bit off the beaten path and usually the least crowded. But even the most popular ones—at the main entrance and Amen Corner and by 17 green—are models of Bathrooming Done The Right Way. A lot of people in cotton green jackets, a lot of them with latex gloves on, help people get through there. “Open here!” someone will joyfully shout. “Got one here!” And on like that. And then they’ll quickly clean everything with a spray bottle and a towel and it’s time for someone else to bat. Someone is always model, wiping the counter, telling you they hope you have a good day. Sometimes I’ll walk through one just to appreciate the logistics and even encouragement of what is happening in there. I ran into a couple from back home and the first thing the wife said, smiling as if it were Christmas morning—which your first day at Augusta National is—was “The BATHROOMS! The bathrooms alone were worth the trip. And the concession stands. 30,000 people a day are going through any of those bathrooms and they’re cleaner than mine at home.” And she’s clean as a whistle, but she’s probably right. The Bathroom Situation is one of the most underrated parts of the Masters—until you need one. And then you realize that you are in the Big Leagues, and these people are going to coach you through it and almost make you look forward to the next time you have to go.
2. Pink Dogwood—Volunteers shuttle members of the press from the new press building to No. 1 all day long, about a 90-second drive. Every one I’ve talked to say this is their favorite week of the year. One guy owns a construction company, gets the day lined out early on his cell phone, then ditches and heads for the course. Three retired teachers have shuttled me. Today a guy from Indiana told me it was his first week ever at Augusta; he’s been trying to get on as a volunteer and finally made it; he said he would keep coming back as long as they asked him.
3. Flowering Peach—A security guy approached me Tuesday on 13 and asked me if I needed anything because I guess I looked suspicious; (I had on a coat and tie for a change). I told him no and thanked him for working and for the next five minutes he talked about how this was his first Masters and it was better than he’d imagined and another four minutes of that. Good for that guy, which I think is why the patrons are so polite and golf-behaved here. Everything’s so pretty and the Tournament so well run that everyone is chill.
4. Flowering Crab Apple—Defending champ Sergio Garcia hit a small bucket into the water on 15 and matched the score for the highest one-hole total in Masters history, a 13. There have been a pair of 13’s at the par-5 13th. Garcia put a long iron in the water on the par 5 and then dumped four straight wedges just above the pin, on the slope and in front; all rolled slowly back, gained speed and splashed. He needed just one swipe at his 10-foot putt. (His friends: “A 13?! How’d you make a 13?” Sergio: “I made a 10-footer.”) The last time he played the 15th in completion, he eagled it, then beat Justin Rose in a playoff.
5. Magnolia—The school board always makes Masters Week spring break here so students can work and teachers can volunteer. College-aged and teens are waiting tables, working in the merchandise building, picking up trash, working in the concession stand; they’re everywhere. So if you’re a young person here you know that for one week each spring, you can make some money.
6. Juniper—Playing in his first Masters, 22-year-old Haotong Li of China, who is the only person in the 2018 Masters named Haotong, shot 69 with six birdies and three bogeys. He said the key was to “stay patient, behave myself.” Patrick Reed, 27 and in his fourth Masters, matched Li’s 69 and said he was able to “stay patient; don’t do like you’ve done before when you stormed in and starting going after everything. I was too aggressive last year (when he missed the cut). I let myself ease around today.” Kids these days…
7. Pampas—Amateur Doug Ghim, 21 and runner-up to the current U.S. Amateur Champion, shot even par 72 in an interesting way: three bogies, one double-bogey and, in the span of the final six holes, one birdie (15) and two eagles (13 and 18). The eagle on the finishing hole, the par-4, 465-yard slight dogleg right, was just the sixth in Masters history; the most recent was Chris DiMarco in 2006.
8. Yellow Jasmine—“Charley Hoffman, please report in. Charley Hoffman, please report it…” Charley shot a 65 last year on a miserable opening day of the 2017 Masters to lead the field. He also led after the second round, fell back to fourth after the third, and finished tied for 22^nd. Still earned $105,000, which is nothing to sneeze at. He won $270,000 in 2015 when he finished tied for ninth; the Masters pays well. He made a run of sorts Friday with three birdies on the front. But he is at 1-under now, out of the picture, but still stands to collect a healthy check. I love him, but it might be appropriate that his main sponsor is Waste Management.
9. Carolina Cherry— Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, with seven green jackets between them, were miserable Saturday and will be miserable today. Nothing about their facial expressions or body language is suggesting that this is any kind of fun for them. Understandable. They were once in the hunt, and now they are not. Mickelson tripled 1 Saturday and rebounded to shoot 74; that was after a 70-79 start. Woods shot an even-par 72 Saturday, an improvement over his 73-75 start. That’s great for a guy who seven months ago did not know if he could play golf, much less competitive golf, after surgery.