Crenshaw gets Palmer's spot for Par-3 Contest

Ben Crenshaw received a pleasant surprise when he arrived at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday morning for his final Masters Tournament as a participant.

The two-time champion was invited to take Arnold Palmer’s place in the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday alongside Palmer’s regular playing partners, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

“There’s no replacing Arnold Palmer,” Crenshaw said. “Anytime I can get close to visiting with Jack and Gary … That’s a privilege. I’m sorry Arnold can’t make it.”

Player said Crenshaw is “a wonderful man who has been such a great credit to Augusta.” Palmer, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder, opted out last week from the Par-3.

“We’ll miss him terrible,” Player said. “You know the old saying: ‘All things must pass.’ ”

Palmer plans to join Player and Nicklaus on the first tee Thursday morning as an honorary starter and hit a drive.

Crenshaw said he didn’t know whether he would permanently take the place of Palmer, who is 85, in the Par-3 Contest. He doesn’t know what it will be like in 2016 when he’s not a participant.

Crenshaw definitely will return each year for the Tuesday night Champions Dinner, where he serves as the host.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Crenshaw’s Masters caddie, Carl Jackson, will be honored at 6 tonight at the Mayors’ Masters Reception at Augusta Common downtown.

Jackson, a 67-year-old Augusta native, has caddied in a record 53 Masters, including both of Crenshaw’s victories. Crenshaw is retiring from the Masters, so this is expected to be Jackson’s final Masters, too.

Crenshaw said he will be there to see his longtime friend honored.

Jackson is the first nongolfer to be honored in the reception, which will also feature music by Colt Ford.

COMING BACK: Kevin Stadler, who tied for eighth in his Masters debut last year, this week is making his first start in nearly three months as he recovers from a stress fracture in his left palm.

“I’m about 70 percent, which is 69 percent of enough that I needed to play here,” Stadler said after playing nine holes Sunday. “Basically, I figured if my hand wasn’t detached I’d give it a go here. I had the time of my life last year and I couldn’t miss it.”

Stadler has played two rounds this calendar year. He shot 74-73 in the Tournament of Champions in mid-January and withdrew with the injury.

“I’m not quite ready. I started hitting balls about a week ago. I’ve been told the bone is solid again so I shouldn’t be worried about reinjuring it,” he said.

Asked what his expectations are this week, Stadler said “zero. I’d like to play well, but that’s a farfetched idea at the moment. If I can make the cut and play all four days, that would be success.”

WHAT A DAY: Back in early February, Webb Simpson gave his caddie, Paul Tesori, a birthday gift: two rounds with him at Augusta National. Tesori, an accomplished golfer, had never played the course.

“We played with members each time and stayed in a cabin off the first hole,” Tesori said. “It was really cold and windy but it was fun.”

Especially in the second round, when Tesori shot 75 and beat his boss, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, by a shot.

“We both birdied 18,” Simpson said. “He shot even par from the back nine from the tips (the Masters tees). He birdied 13, 14 and 18, which was awesome.”

Going to No. 18, Tesori knew he was one shot up. Simpson didn’t know how they stood.

“I did want to nick him,” Tesori said.

Tesori made a 30-footer for birdie, which Simpson answered with a 5-footer to shoot 2-under 34 on the back nine.

“He was rooting for me,” Tesori said. “He was being a good Christian man, and I was being a selfish sinner.”

CASUAL GOLFER: In the past month, many Masters participants, such as Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods have dropped in at Augusta National for a scouting trip. Brandt Snedeker prefers it to be less serious when he comes.

Snedeker, who has finished in the top six in two of his seven Masters starts, is friends with Augusta National member Toby Wilt, who serves as a Masters starter on the first tee. Snedeker is sometimes Wilt’s guest.

“I try to go whenever he invites me to go. I try to sneak down,” he said. “Typically, I try to go down there once a year with a group of guys and go have some fun. It’s a great place to go and hang out and play some golf. I know a lot of members there; they are really good guys. It’s fun to see them in a casual setting when the tournament isn’t there and play some golf with them and mess around.”

UNFORGIVEN: Augusta National is one of toughest golf courses in the world, but Matt Kuchar says it’s not the most unforgiving. That’s because players still have a shot if they miss the fairway and are in the light rough.

“I think U.S. Opens are more unforgiving,” said Kuchar, who has finished in the top 10 in the past three Masters. “Here, you have a little more margin for error and places you can get up and down from. … At most U.S. Opens, they don’t give you any time to bail out or scramble from. It seems like you hit a perfect shot or you’re scrambling for bogey.”