Sunday, November 22, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: SPRING GOLF 2007

Commentary

Payne looks like leader

Carlos Monarrez
Detroit Free Press
April 14, 2007

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Billy Payne will one day admit the first woman member of Augusta National Golf Club.

How do I know this? Do I have secret evidence? Where is my smoking gun?

I don't know this. I have no evidence. And I don't possess a smoking or a non-smoking gun.

The first-year chairman of the club and the Masters tournament was asked last week if Augusta National will ever admit a female member. Payne spewed the company line.

"As I've said many times, all members and membership are subject to the private deliberations of the members," he said. "And other than that, sir, I'm simply not going to talk about it."

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But I have a strong hunch from watching Payne operate this week that the Masters tournament will welcome a female into the club's embrace during his tenure.

The signs that Payne is primed for forward progress on this moral issue are literal and figurative and they abound. The literal signs take the form of plaques that now adorn the previously Spartan interview room. Plaques honor the reporters who covered the first Masters in 1934 and the 14 reporters who have covered at least 40 tournaments.

The figurative signs are there, too. Payne, who served as the media committee chairman before taking over for Hootie Johnson last May, visited the interview room three times last week. His predecessor was usually seen around the press building only once all week.

Arnold Palmer began serving as the honorary starter, a role some thought Palmer would not accept under the tenure of Johnson, who sent out the infamous letter — since revoked — to older champions telling them they could no longer play. You can bet Payne was a big part of brokering a deal and extending an olive branch to Palmer.

Payne has also brought back the tradition of PGA Tour winners earning an automatic spot in the Masters field.

Before the tournament even began, players, fans and media viewed Payne as already having hit a home run without yet stepping into the batter's box.

One reporter quipped, "Are you trying to get on our good side?"

"We have a reduction in media credentials," Payne shot back.

Payne's easy manner also is a mark of his leadership style. He is comfortable enough to joke with the people who will document his legacy. He seems to be his own man while paying requisite reverence. When Payne was asked how he views the perception that he is bringing Augusta National into the 21st Century, he said his role doesn't matter.

"There are two personalities which will always define Augusta National: Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts," he said of the club's founders. "All the rest of us just came and went, and I'm going to fall into that latter category."

That seems highly doubtful. Payne is only 59 and could easily steer the club for a long time. He already is straining against antiquity. Is it so hard to imagine that a man who seems unwilling to sit on his hands wouldn't rather extend one to the right person?