Masters notes: See you here next year

The top 16 finishers and ties earn invitations to the Masters in 2009 (scheduled for April 9-12).

That's one of 18 ways to get into the first major of the year.

Those players are: Trevor Immleman, Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Steve Flesch, Miquel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Andres Romero, Nick Watney, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Stuart Appleby, Vijay Singh and Sean O'Hair.

Of those players, Immelman, Woods, Mickelson and Singh have lifetime invitations as champions.

History primer:

the green jacket

The Masters green coat made its debut at Augusta National in 1937. Members were urged to buy the jacket and wear it during the Masters tournament that had begun in 1934 as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.

The coat was too warm for some of the members and didn't generate much enthusiasm for wear so a lightweight jacket, made to order, was made available through the club's golf shop. The jacket is single-breasted with a single vent.

You know the color as Masters green. The club's logo adorns the left breast pocket and the buttons.

Sam Snead, in 1949, was the first Masters champion to receive the jacket. That same year, Snead, won the PGA Championship at Hermitage Country Club (now Belmont Golf Course) in Richmond.

The champion takes his jacket home for a year, then it is stored at the club and available for use whenever the champion visits. Sixteen players have multiple Masters titles, but each only has one jacket (unless their size has changed dramatically.

Jimenez's weekend

one to remember

Because there were 45 players who made the cut and pairings are twosomes the last two days, Miguel Angel Jimenez was the odd man in the third round and was paired with Jeff Knox, an Augusta National member who served as a non-competing marker.

Knox hit his tee shot past Jimenez on the first hole.

Jimenez, shot 72, and said later, "I said, 'You can't do that anymore,' and he didn't do it anymore."

Former champion Sandy Lyle had the non-competing marker in the final round.

Meanwhile, Jimenez, who was paired with David Toms, shot the best score of the day, a 4-under 68. Jimenez sank his second shot for an eagle on the par-4 seventh hole yesterday. The eagle was the 10th on No. 7 in Masters history. The last to make an eagle there was Brandt Jobe in 2006 in the fourth round.

Robert Allenby eagled the par-4 10th hole on Saturday, and the last player to eagle No. 10 was Jobe in the second round in 2006.

Day for eagles

Jimenez was one of seven players to make an eagle in the final round. Seven were the most made on one day. Eagle makers receive a pair of crystal goblets. There were 19 eagles in the tournament.

Also scoring eagles yesterday were Brandt Snedeker (par-5, No. 2), Stephen Ames (par-4, No. 11), Justin Leonard (par-5, No. 13), Nick Watney (par-4 No. 14), Robert Karlsson (par-5, No. 15) and Bubba Watson (No. 15) recorded eagles.

Nice paychecks

Immelman pocketed a first-place check for $1.35 million. That's $45,000 more than Zach Johnson's take-home pay last year.

The purse this year, $7.5 million, is up $82,000 from a year ago.

The runner-up earns $810,000, and the top 19 finishers receive more than $100,000.

— Arthur Utley