Trevor Immelman offered a visual response when asked how different things are for him as the Masters champion.
He held up his ink-stained left hand.
“You can see all the Sharpie that’s rubbed up onto my hand. That wouldn’t normally happen to me,” Immelman said on Wednesday.
“That’s purely because I’ve had to sign so much today ... You’ve got to pinch yourself when you realize that you’re the Masters champion and that’s the reason all this is happening,” he said.
Immelman had a whirlwind week after the victory, with countless interviews, a congratulatory phone call from runner-up Tiger Woods and a few days at home trying to reflect on what had happened.
“It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” Immelman said.
But the green jacket is now hanging at home and Immelman is ready to play again, in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship at the renovated TPC Four Seasons, the sole tournament course for the first time since 1993. Cottonwood Valley also was used from 1994 to last year.
The Masters champion, who finished second at the Nelson two years ago, is suddenly one of the big-name draws in a field that has only one player from the top 10 in the world rankings: 10th-ranked Adam Scott of Australia.
Immelman never considered bypassing the Nelson, but uncertainty about the renovations and the tournament being sandwiched in a three-week span between the Masters and the US Players Championship were a factor in others skipping.
Immelman will try to do what only one of the last 20 Masters winners has been able to do: Win their next tournament after donning the green jacket. That was Woods, in 1997, when he won at the Nelson after his first Masters victory.
Immelman has been in position to win the Nelson before. He had a three-stroke lead midway through the final round in 2006 before losing to Brett Wetterich by a stroke, a week after losing to Jim Furyk in a playoff.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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