Gary Player was able to claim bragging rights for the second year running after joining Jack Nicklaus in getting the 80th Masters under way. Orlando Magic Pro Shop . Player and Nicklaus continued their role as honorary starters by each hitting a tee shot on the par-four first hole, with 80-year-old fitness fanatic Player - who made a hole-in-one during Wednesdays par-three contest - producing the longest drive by 20 yards from 76-year-old Nicklaus. Player tees off to begin the 80th Masters Arnold Palmer, who had been an honorary starter since 2007, was present to watch the other two members of golfs Big Three, who have 13 Masters titles between them.But the 86-year-old had already said he would be unable to hit a shot due to a shoulder problem and looked frail as he was helped to a seat on the tee. Butch Harmon and Colin Montgomerie give their thoughts on whos going to win this years Masters. To have longevity has been a special gift, said Player. And to come here today and to be on the tee with Arnold being a part of us, it was gratifying and sad, because everything shall pass.But it was nice to have him on the tee. I dedicated my first tee shot to him in respect.Six-time Masters champion Nicklaus, 76, added: I think that everybody was happy to see Arnold out on the tee. I think Arnold was happy to be on the tee.I think he would have preferred to hit a golf ball. I talked to him at the Masters dinner. I said Arnold I dont care if you putt it off the tee, I think everybody would love to have you do anything. He said let me think about it. With the formalities out of the way, Jim Herman was set to get the tournament proper under way, the American claiming the last place in the 89-man field by winning the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.Conditions were good for the early starters after heavy overnight rain, but the wind was forecast to strengthen during the day with gusts between 30 and 35mph predicted for Thursday afternoon. At 80 years old Gary Player managed a hole in one at the Masters Par 3 Follow the events at Augusta with our live blog here or by tuning in to Sky Sports 1HD from 7pm on Thursday. Also See: The Masters 2016 Masters Leaderboard Nine aces at Augusta McIlroy inspired by Player Drew Gooden Jersey .J. - Pete Carroll is in support of the NFL looking further into whether medicinal marijuana could beneficial for players. Custom Orlando Magic Jerseys . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. NEW YORK -- Rather than ban home plate collisions outright, Major League Baseball and its players adopted a rule limiting them this season. In what both sides said was a one-year experiment, the rule allows collisions if the catcher has the ball and is blocking the runners direct path to home plate, and if the catcher goes into the basepath to field a throw to the plate. "Its not a radical departure from what it had been," Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon said. The new rule, 7.13, states "a runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate)." A runner violating the rule shall be declared out, even if the fielder drops the ball. "Its good, I think it takes away the malicious intent behind the play at the plate," Texas Rangers catcher J.P. Arencibia said. "Obviously the runner doesnt always have to slide, and the catcher still has the ability to block the plate once he has the ball in hand." Along with the rule, the sides agreed to a pair of comments umpires use for interpretation. The first comment says "the failure by the runner to make an effort to touch the plate, the runners lowering of the shoulder, or the runners pushing through with his hands, elbows or arms, would support a determination that the runner deviated from the pathway in order to initiate contact with the catcher in violation." The comment says players who slide appropriately are not in violation of the rule. The second comment says that "unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score." The runner shall be declared safe if the catcher violates that provisiion. JJ Redick Jersey . In addition, it is not a violation "if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in order to field a throw, and the umpire determines that the catcher could not have fielded the ball without blocking the pathway of the runner and that contact with the runner was unavoidable." "There are some things that often times can make the water a little muddy," union head Tony Clark said after meeting with the New York Yankees. "Over the course of the off-season, the concern was protecting players, but trying to draw up something that not only made sense on paper, but also was going to make sense to the players that were playing on the field." The umpire crew chief can use the new video-review system to determine whether the rule was violated. "It stops guys just going out of their way just to try to dislodge the baseball when they (catchers) have the plate," Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said. Debate over plate collisions has intensified since May 2011, when San Franciscos Buster Posey was injured as the Marlins Scott Cousins crashed into him at the plate. Posey, an All-Star catcher, sustained a broken bone in his lower left leg and three torn ligaments in his ankle, an injury that ended his season. In Game 5 of last years AL championship series, Detroit backstop Alex Avila was pulled a couple of innings after being run over at the plate by Bostons David Ross, a fellow catcher. "I think its fair. A runners path is to home plate," Oakland catcher Derek Norris said. "Any deviation and hes not trying to score, hes trying to harm. A runner going out of the basepath trying to break up a double play is declared out. This is the same concept as a double-play slide." ' ' '
