The Masters golf tournament begins today and, as Brian Wacker reports, the tournament is — as usual — a tough ticket:

As I write this, the going rate for two badges to the second, third and fourth rounds of this year’s Masters is $4,999.99 on eBay. In case you were wondering, shipping is free. Conversely, for $1,200, you can get two Trophy Club packages for the entire week at this year’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

The following provides a good primer for the weekend:

Phil Richards of The Indianapolis Star provides this fine article on golf’s most exclusive dinner — The Masters Champions Dinner.
Brian Wacker’s analysis of who’s hot and who’s not;
The current thinking in Las Vegas;
Gary Van Sickle’s handicapping of — and observations about — the Masters field;
Who Golf World’s Masters Performance Index model predicts will win; and
Previous posts over the past couple of years on The Masters, including a good dose of Clear Thinkers favorite Dan Jenkins.