Patron notes

Baby’s First Round: There weren’t many 6-week-olds at the Masters Tournament Thursday – maybe just one.

But snuggled up with his mom, Bethany, and attending his first golf tournament was the infant son of British golfer Chris Wood.

Bethany Wood said while watching her husband play was “a bit nerve-wracking,” the baby “slept the whole way round.”

‘Goofy Weather’: Hats, coats, scarves and even earmuffs were de rigueur Friday; patron Richard Bailey pulled on a warm-up jacket.

“This is as good as I’ve got,” said Bailey, a Vancouver , British Columbia resident who said she wasn’t expecting it to be this cold in Georgia.

“This is cold compared to Vancouver,” Bailey said. “Goofy, goofy weather.”

SHOWING THEIR COLORS: Rob Parry and Rob Hales wore matching Union Jack jackets in support of their native England and British golfers Matthew Fitzpatrick and Lee Westwood.

“We’re over from the U.K. and he gets lost a lot,” Parry joked.

They expected to see more flag attire at the tournament and “thought it would be special” to wear the jackets, with matching red shorts, he said.

BIRTHDAY GIFT: For his 94th birthday, Allen Brown got a special present.

The retired Auburn University agriculture extension agent attended his first Masters Tournament.

The best part? Spending the afternoon with his grandson-in-law, John Blackwell, who pushed him around the course in a wheelchair, Brown said.

“I’m particularly interested in the grass. It’s just beautiful,” Brown said. “I’m surprised they got it in the shape it is with as much rain as there’s been.”

Pecan Lady: Many who have attended the Masters Tournament and spent time at No. 9 have likely met – and received a hug from – Catherine Luckey, also known as the Pecan Lady. For the past 50 years, visitors and golfers alike could find Luckey, 71, at the hole named Carolina Cherry and leave with a handful of praline pecans.

But this year her pecans weren’t allowed in, Luckey said.

An Augusta native, Luckey grew up coming to the Masters.

“You could just walk in,” Luckey said. “Tickets were maybe a dollar a day, they were a round sticker you’d put on your button.”

She remembers when the Masters was simpler and quieter.

“When we first started coming there were no ropes, no green chairs,” Luckey said. “People brought lunch because there was no concession, and you put a blanket down.”

But Luckey isn’t being nostalgic; times have just changed. One thing that has never changed: “It has always been immaculate,” Luckey said.

Through her time at the ninth hole, Luckey has fostered relationships with gallery guards, visitors, golfers and even former students — she taught AP Literature at Academy of Richmond County to help pay her children’s tuition at the University of Georgia, where she’s also an alumna.

“She’s an icon of the ninth hole,” said Davis Beman, the ninth hole supervisor and a former pupil.

She’s had the chance to meet President Eisenhower, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods – “he may have made the best shot ever on hole 9” – and Arnold Palmer, among others. Most have received at least a few pecans.

“If you come back every year like I do you just have this entourage of nice people around you,” Luckey said.

“She cheers on everyone. It doesn’t matter who the player is,” said Bo Blumenthal, a gallery guard, “She’s cheering for success.”

Luckey married Marion Wilkerson Luckey Jr. –“Bud” – and they owned Lucky Lady Pecans together until he died in 2010. She sold the company, but the tradition of bringing pralines to the Masters continued for 49 years.

“Maybe they’ll be here tomorrow,” Luckey said.