Mayor's Masters Reception won't be held this year

The Mayor’s Masters Reception will not be held this year, organizer Wayne Hawkins confirmed Tuesday.

The annual event, which was held Monday of Masters Week, could not find a Masters Tournament participant who would commit to attend. The event began in 1999 and had been held for 15 consecutive years.

“We never could get a yes,” Hawkins said. “Got a whole lot of nos, and we ran out of time.”

The reception featured a prominent golfer who was given a key to the city, and the event included a sampling of food from area businesses and restaurants.

Past participants included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and the 2013 honoree was Craig Stadler.

The Mayor’s Masters Reception featured multiple golfers at its beginning, then shifted its format to honor a single golfer beginning in 2004, Hawkins said.

“There’s not that many of the old ones left,” Hawkins said.

He said he will try again for 2015 and will discuss with the committee at an upcoming meeting.

“We’ll discuss what direction we want to go in,” he said.