The talk at the Masters

An absent friend going into the weekend at Augusta National is Arnold Palmer, who last year made his 50th and last start in the Masters.
The 75-year-old legend turned up at the course earlier in the week so that he could take his usual seat at the traditional Champions Dinner. But he flew home to Orlando early yesterday morning.
The itch to compete was still there, though. "I'm antsy," said Palmer. "I still feel I want to get out there and play some golf." Gary Player tells Talk he wants to carry on teeing it up at the Masters until he's beaten Palmer's 50 appearances. The three-times champion, who turns 70 in November, is playing his 48th Masters this week.

Miracle man Tom

Tom Lehman, new United States Ryder Cup captain, has already begun preparations for next year's match in Ireland by sending all 142 American members of the US Tour a DVD of the film Miracle On Ice.
The story of the 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team beating the mighty Soviet Union cost Lehman "seven bucks a copy" which he paid himself. Lehman explained: "It's about passion, pride, what guys can accomplish when they have a common goal, the ultimate underdog story."

Golf's rising damp

If you want some rain, organise a golf tournament. That's become the advice in the United States, where almost twice as much water has fallen on US PGA tournaments this year than on Seattle, notorious for being America's most rainy city.
Even before yesterday's tournament-delaying downpour at the Masters, PGA Tour events had been deluged with 18.67 inches of rain. Seattle was almost parched on 10.19ins.

Take the Goose tip

Talk bumped into Retief Goosen on the practice range. The quiet Surrey-based South African is the canny pick to add a Masters championship to his two majors - both US Opens - and it could be his mastery of the short game that does it.
So what's the Goose's secret? As a service to Talk's readers, we pass on his tip: "Move the ball back in your stance. Keep your hands forward through impact to take loft off the club so the ball comes off low and skinny.
"The key is to stroke the shot instead of hitting it hard."

Whole load of balls

The place to meet with players and caddies is the Outback Steakhouse about a mile from the course. The subject of conversation last night was the 24,781,341 golf balls Tom Shuell, associate professor of mathematics at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, has calculated would fit inside the Outback-sponsored airship.