Fan's Corner

Mortell, 50, figured the Swede might offer an autographed golf glove to apologize, as Phil Mickelson did in 2012 after slicing a ball into a fan’s shorts during the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

Blixt’s ball, however, landed 10 feet short of the Stuart, Fla., resident in the pine straw walkway bordering the eighth fairway.

Mortell, who is attending his second Masters in two years, is a friend of Ken Duke, who played the Masters last year but missed the cut. Mortell walked and talked with Duke throughout the 2014 practice rounds.

“I had such a blast last year that I wanted to come back,” Mortell said. “Unfortunately, Ken didn’t make it this year. I am going to have to talk to him about that.”

LUCK O'THE IRISH: John Lady likes to think he is Rory McIlroy’s lucky charm.

He was there with his two sons to see the golfer from Northern Ireland win the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., and again a year later to watch McIlroy earn his second major at the PGA Championship, at Kiawah Island Golf Resort near Charleston, S.C.

“He ought to invite us to all his majors,” said Lady, 48, of Greenville, S.C., while he watched McIlroy during Monday’s practice round. “He has a great attitude, loads of confidence and the skill-set to challenge Tiger Woods’ mark.”

UNEXPECTED GIFT: Vicki Gearhart focused the camera on her husband, Don, who was standing within feet of Augusta National’s 17th tee box. Her objective was to get a photograph of the bright-pink azaleas and perfectly manicured hill sloping from Hole 14, each of which was reflected across a small pond at No. 15.

This picture was extra special, because it was Don’s 70th birthday and last week was their 48th wedding anniversary.

At the last minute, the couple from Canyon Lake, Texas, received an unexpected gift from a friend: tickets to the Masters opening practice round to see Augusta National for the first time.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Vicki, 66, said to her husband. “It’s just so serene. We don’t have these types of trees at home.”

“It looks so gorgeous on TV, but all my friends have told me you have to see it in person,” Don said. “We’re going to see every inch.”

IT'S FOR REAL: Stuart Marth couldn’t believe it last June when he received an e-mail from Augusta National Golf Club stating that he had won the chance to purchase four practice-round tickets.

“At first, I thought it was fake or spam,” said Marth, 27, of Richmond, Va., who has entered the tournament’s lottery since he was 12.

Marth invited his childhood friend Tad Darden, 26, of Atlanta, to join him.

Darden said he and Marth played golf together in high school. From Amen Corner, they said they imagined how they would play each hole, and consequently “how we would also mess up.”

– Wesley Brown and Doug Stutsman, staff writers