Casey nearly a hit with howler

That absurd total will again call into question the Masters tradition of allowing former title winners to play for as long as they feel able while more competitive golfers, like Colin Montgomerie, are left out of the restricted field.

Casper, whose allergy aversion to some meats means his diet includes bear, moose and hippopotamus, ran up a 14 at the par-three 16th, where he put five balls in the water. So what does hippo taste like? "Not surprisingly, it's watery," Casper replied.

Casper, the father of 11 children of whom one is serving life in jail for a string of armed robberies, admitted he had not handed his tarnished card to the official scorers, which will lead to his disqualification.

"I didn't turn my score in. I have the card in my pocket and I'm going to frame it," he said.

Nick Faldo, three-times a Masters champion, also had a day to forget, withdrawing after eight holes with a back complaint. Luke Donald was Britain's leading challenger on three under after 14 holes.

Pre-tournament favourite Tiger Woods was two over par after 12 after an eagle putt at the 13th rolled off the green and into Rae's Creek and an approach shot to the first hit the pin and rebounded into a bunker.

Meanwhile, storm clouds of a political kind were gathering over Augusta National as women's rights leader Dr Martha Burk launched a new attack on both the club and sponsors of the Masters that could result in legal action being taken against them.

Burk, chair of the influential lobby group National Council of Women's Organisations, sent letters to IBM, SBC Communications and Exxon Mobil demanding employment details on hiring, pay and promotion of women in their companies.

Burk, who has led a high-profile campaign against the lack of female representation on the membership roll at Augusta National, said: "All of these corporations have policies against underwriting discrimination and all are in violation of those policies."

Yesterday also saw the publication of Burk's book, Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done About It.

It names over 1,000 companies and other institutions with direct links to what she claims are Augusta National's discriminatory practices.

She said: "Augusta National is a gathering of corporate power players like no other. Deals are made, careers are changed, and even national policy is affected. All of this while shutting women out."