Augusta, Ga. ? Greetings to all from the Masters.

Now that Florida has been crowned NCAA men’s basketball champion, I stopped wondering how teams starting with the letter “B” could have eliminated the Jayhawks in the first round of the postseason tournament in consecutive years. This week I am focused on the Masters, where I have served 13 years as a marshal, aka gallery guard.

How did I secure the marshal’s job – the envy of many – at the premier golfing event? After I served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 22 years at Fort Gordon in Augusta, a retired Army colonel/friend became a Masters supervisor and got me the marshal position. Just more proof that it is not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.

I am qualified to play in the three-day weekend mini-tournament with other marshals and supervisors. I was able to defend my amateur status with scores of 94, 92 and a final-round 82. A 60-foot birdie putt to win a “skin” was my personal highlight.

While in Augusta, I stay as the houseguest of a close friend and supervisor of the No. 8 hole, the one I’ll be manning. The house is in the Westlake area where many Masters participants stay. The other houseguest this week is Englishman Phillip “Wobbly” Mobly, nicknamed for the way he walks. Phillip caddies for two-time Masters champ Jose Maria Olazabal.

The practice rounds at Augusta from Monday through Wednesday are perhaps the best chance for golf fans to get inside the gates of this golf heaven. Tickets to the rounds are limited and randomly sold after an application process. For more information on how to apply, go to www.masters.org.

On Monday, I reported to the marshal’s tent at 6:30 a.m. to receive gear and instructions.

Members of the No. 8-hole team rotate positions daily – from tee to green. We handle gallery control, crosswalk ropes, tee and course security, lost and found, and weather-related evacuation of players and other tasks typically unnoticed to TV viewers.

During practice rounds, the professional golfers are not assigned tee times or to groups. They can hit multiple shots at pin settings they envision to be later utilized in the tournament or play an actual round of golf.

I have always enjoyed the jovial rapport between the players and gallery during the practice rounds. On Tuesday, former Masters champion Fuzzy Zoeller was walking from the seventh green to the eighth tee box when a patron asked him for a picture. He obliged by taking the camera from the woman and taking her picture before handing it back to her while walking to the tee box. Even I had to break down and laugh.

The South African foursome of Gary Player, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Retief Goosen provided the funniest repartee on the No. 8 tee box. Goosen outdrove the other three golfers by 40 yards, prompting loud applause from the gallery. Player, always friendly with the gallery, turned quickly and blurted loudly, “I guess we will have to have a urine sample checked following the 18th hole.”

I’m eager for the tournament to begin. Your guess is as good as mine as to who will win. I’m inclined to pick the superb South Africans Els or Goosen. Right now, I just hope the gallery on the eighth hole is on its best behavior.