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Martha vs. Hootie - follow the score

Be sure to bookmark this page to watch the hole-by-hole progress of the "Battle of the Sexes" match at Augusta National Golf Club, between Martha Burk, Head of the National Council of Women's Oganizations, and William "Hootie" Johnson, Chairman of Augusta National. You will find the scorecard at the bottom of this page.

The two are playing for a US$ 5m. purse, put up by an anonymous benefactor, but perhaps more importantly the outcome of the match will weigh heavily in the moral debate over whether women should have the right to be members of the renowned - but men only - club, home of the first Major Championship of the year, the Masters.

Due to inclement weather in the week of the Masters, the match is being simulated on the US Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) super-computer, which has been programmed with every possible known fact about the players.  (Read all about the build-up to the match in our stories of April 7, April 10 and April 14, and in our latest pre-match special report you will find details of the protagonists' final preparations, as well as news from their respective press conferences.)

The agreed format is match play, and the players will play from the members' tees, which make the course just over 1,000 yards shorter than off the professionals' tournament tees.

Hootie is playing off his club handicap of 13, while Martha, who has only played once in her life, has been granted a special handicap of 72.  Martha is therefore receiving three-quarters of the handicap difference, ie 44 shots, from Hootie.  The shots will be taken in accordance with the Stroke Index (S.I.) on the official scorecard of the course, and Martha will therefore get two shots at every hole, but three shots at holes with a Stroke Index from 1 to 8 (that is holes 2, 5, 8 and 9 going out, and 10, 13, 14 and 15 coming home).

The daunting drive at the 18th - will the match get this far?This last point could prove crucial. Assuming Hootie does not run away with the match and win 7&6, Martha will find herself with three successive holes in the closing stages at which she receives three shots, and this is bound to pile the pressure on Hootie. On the other hand, if Hootie makes it through those difficult holes and is still in the match, he can look forward to playing the last three holes home only giving away two shots per hole. It has all the makings of a classic match play duel.

The match will be over 18 holes, and should the match be all square after 18, there will be a sudden-death play-off.

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out
Yards 365 505 340 170 405 165 320 460 460 3,110
Par 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 36
S.I. 9 1 11 15 5 17 13 3 7  
Martha 11 14 Win 5            
Net 9 11   3            
Hootie 7 7 Con 3            
Match +1 +2 +1 +1            
 
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In
Yards 450 365 155 455 380 455 145 350 375 3,130
Par 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 36
S.I. 6 12 16 2 8 4 18 14 10  
Martha                    
Net                    
Hootie                    
Match                    


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