Golf: Commercial free on TV, but at what cost?

This year's Master's tournament had the potential to be the most memorable in recent history.

There were plots, sub-plots and stories galore for the media to feast on. Among them was Martha Burke and her protests, Tiger's pursuit of his third consecutive Green Jacket, and the horrendous weather and conditions of an already brutal golf course placed Augusta National Golf Club under a microscope for all the world to scrutinize.

But, in the end, the tournament played out how Hootie Johnson and the other members wanted -- a well played second nine on Sunday afternoon, with no drama to be seen except on the course. There wasn't even any drama from a half a mile away, where Burke staged her protests the day before.

No, all that took place was golf, azaleas, Butler cabin, and a Green Jacket being placed on this years champion.

The Masters did turn out memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

This tournament was to be overshadowed by protests and rallies like it was some sort of IMF or World Bank meeting, Tiger was going to demolish the field and run away with another Jacket, with his only challengers being the really long hitters because of the course's length, almost 7,300 yards.

However, nobody would have expected what happened this year.

The Masters had been circled on everyone's calendar ever since Martha Burke demanded a female be allowed to become a member at the prestigious club. The outspoken feminist sparked such different views that everyone from Jesse Jackson to the Knights of the KKK got involved in the debate. And those were names that Hootie Johnson wanted to have as far away from his little tournament as possible.

Well, he got his wish from the courts, which granted Burke to stage her protest, but not at the front entrance to the club where she wanted it. Instead, she had to hold her protest a half a mile away on land, ironically enough, owned by Augusta National. But the only place that Augusta members would have been happy to have her hold her protests would have been the moon.

The tournament became an even bigger media frenzy with all that going on. Nobody was talking about the players who were in it this year, because Burke, her supporters, and her detractors hogged all the significant press coverage. Then came the rain... and more rain and more rain.

Five years ago, Augusta was so called "Tiger Proofed." Trees were added in fairways, tee boxes pushed back, rough lengthened, everything Augusta course designer Fazio and competitions Chairman Nicholas could do to avoid another drubbing Tiger gave the field on that spring day when he had his coming out party in 1997.

The improvements were made almost immediately after the '97 tournament and continued for five years. When all was said and done, Augusta National Golf Club was long, real long. Coupled with the lightning fast greens, the course now played to US Open standards, which are always known for fast greens and long, thick rough.

The analysts didn't give any of the shorter hitters in the tournament a chance, and once the skies opened up and dumped inches of rain from between Monday and Thursday, well, a name like Jeff Maggert never even crossed analyst's lips as being in contention, let alone be the third round leader.

Here's a recap of the tournament.

Monday: The course closed due to inclement weather, no practice rounds are played and analysts predicted the course would probably play in between 7,500 to 7,700 yards. Then there was a break in the weather and normal tournament activity proceeded, practice rounds were played and patrons were gobbling up Master's merchandise as usual.

Thursday: The first round was postponed due to more rain and unplayable conditions.

Master's tournament rules states that the balls shall be played as it lies, which means in normal tournament play, during rounds of inclement weather, players are allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls. This makes a world of difference to elite players of this caliber, because a chunk of mud on the ball can make it fly off line as much as 40 yards.

Because of this rule, play was postponed because balls were literally getting buried in the fairways.

The competition chairman decided to make the players play two rounds on Friday to finish the tournament by Sunday.

Augusta is notorious for making the tournament 72 holes and finishing on Sunday whenever possible. With this format some players were going to have to play 54 holes in 28 plus hours, which would be grueling enough, but considering that they had to walk in wet, sloppy conditions, players were just losing their legs and the scores reflected it.

First round leader Darren Clarke came out of the gates like a thoroughbred, lighting up the course with a first round 66, but eventually crashed back to earth late Friday and Saturday, scoring 76-78, respectively.

Sergio Garcia also came out hot, shooting 69, but his putter eventually failed him and he didn't post another round under par for the rest of the week.

There were 16 rounds in the 80s for the week, an unusually high amount for a course historically known for being the easiest of the four majors.

The cut was drawn and Tiger found himself scrambling just to make the weekend 66. He ended up four shots from the lead after Saturday.

Sunday: Tiger was playing in one of the final groups on Sunday and he put the fear of God in some of the leaders. Maggert, who was also playing in the final group and with the third round lead, proceeded to post a 75, opening the door for a host of players to take the Green Jacket.

For the most part, Tiger ended his rally with a double bogey on an early hole on Sunday.

TV Coverage: For quite some time, the Master's only allowed TV coverage of the second nine holes on Sunday. But for several years now, they have expanded it to include all 18 holes for the players in contentions. Now viewers are able to watch every excruciating putt, and the players reactions as they strive to attain greatness.

There was another wrinkle this year in the TV coverage. It was commercial free!

Johnson decided to pull all the sponsors because he didn't want them getting involved in the Burke fiasco. So the viewers have Burke, champion of equality, to thank for commercial free coverage of all four rounds.

Len Mattiace, a tour journeyman with two wins on his resume, was making his first Masters appearance since 1988 when he came as an amateur. His amazing round of 65 was something out of a movie. Surreal is another way to describe it, too. Not since Gary Player, has a player come back to shoot 65 or better in the final round and win the tournament.

With Phil Mickelson in at 5-under, it was down to Mike Weir and Len Mattiace. Two names that analysts had given no chance to win, two names that lacked the flare of Woods, or Mickelson or even Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.

Two unassuming guys with different expectations. Weir, a rising star with two wins on the year, and, Mattiace, a PGA veteran just happy to perform as well as he had on the games biggest stage. These two battled to a tie after 72 holes, in what seemed like the longest Masters on record, and there was still no winner.

Weir ended the wait on the 73rd hole, the playoff hole, as Mattiace proceeded to miss the green and place his shot behind a tree on the left side of the green. Meanwhile, Weir chalked up a bogey to win the 2003 Masters.

Weir, the southpaw from Canada, showed poise and resolve worthy of any Masters, US Open, British Open or PGA Championship tournament.

The fine performances that we come to expect Sunday afternoons on Major Sundays was there for the world to scrutinize and analyze, commercial free and, more importantly, full of drama. Not the drama Martha Burke and her supporters and detractors offered, but the drama which unfolded on 7,300 yards of Bent and Bermuda grasses.

No, this Masters wasn't as memorable as Tiger in '97, or Greg Norman folding on Sundays. It wasn't even as memorable as Mark O'Meara's win in '98.

The fact that the Masters in 2003 retained the tradition of offering an exciting tournament, which finished with a champion on Sunday, amid all the hoopla outside the gates, will be remembered more than anything that was done on the golf course.

It's a memory that no one player can overshadow, not Weir, and not Mattiace.

It's a shame, because the same person who brought you commercial free coverage of the tournament also took away the legacy Weir and Mattiace had earned.

However, how much money the sponsors saved when Johnson pulled their names will never compare to the price Weir and the rest of the players paid for playing in 2003.