Just like their competitive rounds around Augusta National, the numbers simply do not stack up.
The 2014 Masters will begin tonight with 24 of its 97-strong field contesting for the first time the season’s opening major championship, matching the highest total in the tournament’s history.
If history has taught us something, it is this: debutant winners are about as prevalent at Augusta as female members. In fact, since the Masters’ initial two runs, in 1934 and 1935, only Fuzzy Zoeller has triumphed as a rookie, and that was 35 years ago. Apparently, the only green Augusta holds in high regard is presented at Butler Cabin late on Sunday.
Yet this year has been tipped to break the mould and it has as much to do with prodigious talent as the sheer number of newbies.
Take Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed, the top two in the 2014 FedExCup standings. In the past eight months, each has racked up three PGA Tour victories, making the duo the most decorated first-timers at the Masters since Sam Snead rolled down Magnolia Lane in 1937.
Walker and Reed have a stellar support cast, too. Harris English, Jordan Spieth and Victor Dubuisson, all ranked within the world’s top 36, may have not clocked too many miles on golf’s main circuits, but all three have a professional title already under their belt. English has multiple wins, as does Jonas Blixt, another taking in his maiden Masters.
They are just the tip of the iceberg. Of the 24 debutants, 11 know what it takes to win on tour. Adam Scott, the defending champion, this week nominated the “usual suspects” to challenge for his green jacket, then added, “but the usual suspects are growing rapidly on tour”.
Undeniably, it is a remarkable time in golf, yet the Masters is a remarkable beast. Experience, especially across what is perhaps the game’s most nuanced track, is key. Again, it is borne out by the statistics: the average age of past winners is 32.66 years, suggesting relative veterans, who know the lay of the land, hold an advantage. Around Augusta, placement is as precious as power.
Only three players under 25 have clinched the Masters and it is an impressive roll call, one that requires only forenames: Jack (1963), Seve (1980) and Tiger (1997).
Reed, English, Spieth and Dubuisson, the torchbearers for the new brigade, are all age 24-and-under, as is Rory McIlroy, the favourite, although he is competing in his sixth Masters.
So while the rookies’ abilities are undoubted, history indicates it is Augusta know-how that counts most, and if there is a tournament fastened tight to tradition, it is this one.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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The view from The National
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Diriyah project at a glance
- Diriyah’s 1.9km King Salman Boulevard, a Parisian Champs-Elysees-inspired avenue, is scheduled for completion in 2028
- The Royal Diriyah Opera House is expected to be completed in four years
- Diriyah’s first of 42 hotels, the Bab Samhan hotel, will open in the first quarter of 2024
- On completion in 2030, the Diriyah project is forecast to accommodate more than 100,000 people
- The $63.2 billion Diriyah project will contribute $7.2 billion to the kingdom’s GDP
- It will create more than 178,000 jobs and aims to attract more than 50 million visits a year
- About 2,000 people work for the Diriyah Company, with more than 86 per cent being Saudi citizens
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
