Big Three to start things off Thursday morning

Where to go: First tee

Arnold Palmer, Jack Nick­laus and Gary Player will start the 2013 Masters this morning as honorary starters.

They are scheduled to hit their tee shots at 7:50 a.m., with gates opening at 7:30.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first opening ceremony. Nine players have performed the duty through the years, and it became a rite of spring in the 1980s and 1990s when Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead hit the tee shots.

Palmer took over the duty in 2007, and Nicklaus joined him in 2010. Player joined his “Big Three” mates in 2012.

Under the oak tree: Vijay Amritraj

Former professional tennis player Vijay Amritraj, 59, is at the Masters Tournament as a commentator for STAR-TV in Asia.

Amritraj is also known, however, for his work as an actor, including roles in the James Bond movie Octopussy and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Q: How long have you been coming to the Masters?

A: I think this might be my 15th year. Every time I come here the excitement still remains.

Q: What’s a tennis player doing at a golf event?

A: It’s an individual sport, which makes a lot of tennis players want to play golf when they retire. Our retirement age is a lot sooner than for golfers.

Q: What kind of golfer are you?

A: I’m an average golfer, (handicap) 14 or 15. I don’t play as much as I’d like to. I travel a lot.

I own my own business, and I cover the Grand Slam events in tennis. I live in California, but I make it back to Asia all the time.

I have six golf courses within five minutes of my house.

Q: How did you land a role in a James Bond movie?

A: That was a lot of fun. They took me off Centre Court at Wimbledon to do the screen test. Then I worked 14 weeks on the picture.

I also did Star Trek IV and a lot of TV work and movies.

It gave me a different perspective on how movies are made.

Q: Are you more famous as a tennis pro or actor?

A: The strange thing is you do one big picture like that and 30 years of tennis is out the window.

History lesson: Size of fields

The Masters has the smallest field of any of the four majors, and in recent years the average number of players has been in the mid-90s. This year, 93 players are scheduled to play.

The largest number of competitors came in 1962, when 109 players teed off at Augusta National. The record for smallest field, 42, came in 1938 and 1942.

— John Boyette, sports editor