One of the greatest sporting events to control the sports calendar is the annual “Masters” Tournament held at the beautiful Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Staged just recently on April 8-11 the tournament was the 85th edition and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2021.

Spectators returned for this event, although in reduced numbers and with special distancing measures in place.

Participation in the Masters is by invitation only and the tournament has the smallest field of the major championships. Invites were awarded to all past winners, recent major champions, leading finishers in the previous years' majors, leading players on the PGA Tour and leading players in the Official World Golf Ranking and some leading amateurs.

This writer was glued to my recliner sitting in front of my large 72-inch TV screen for three days taking in every swing these champion golfers could produce and, of course, how could you not admire the beautiful full blooming azaleas.

Can you imagine the far-left politicians trying to take this all away from Augusta because of Georgia's newly adopted voting regulations.

Citing its financial commitment to the local community, the PGA tour said it would not move the tournament.

COVID protocols were everywhere but the feeling on the golf course was that we're slowly edging toward a pre-2020 golfing arena.

A beautiful event on Thursday took place with the welcome tribute of Lee Elder, the first black man to play in the Masters, he was named the honorary starter and he raised a hand to all. His cause and his inspiration would resonate across the country as NBA players including Steph Curry wore hats and sneakers over the weekend honoring Elder.

As the tournament moved along through Thursday and Friday the big names in the sport didn't do much to step up on the biggest stage. Thursday saw Tommy Fleetwood score a beautiful hole-in-one on the 16th.

And Sunday produced a new Master's champion, the first Green Jacket for Japan, Hideki Matsuyama won by one stroke.