The Masters Tournament

They also receive membership on the PGA TOUR for the following five seasons and invitations to THE PLAYERS Championship for five years. In the final, Maccabi successfully defended its title, defeating TAU 90-78. Masters champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (the US Open, British Open and the PGA Championship) for the next five years, and earn a lifetime invitation to the Masters. The semifinal matchups were:. In line with the other majors, winning the Masters gives a golfer several privileges which make his career much more secure, if he is not already one of the elite of the sport. The following teams were involved:. Winners keep their jacket for the first year after their first victory, then return it to the club to wear during tournament week each following year. The semifinals took place on May 6, with the third-place and championship games on May 8.

The green coat is actually the official coat worn by members of Augusta National while on the club grounds; each Masters winner becomes an honorary member of the club. The 2005 Final Four was held in Moscow, Russia. In addition to a cash award, the winner of the tournament is presented with a distinctive green jacket, awarded since 1949, highly coveted among professional golfers. The semifinal losers play for third place; the winners play for the championship. The Masters was started by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones who designed Augusta National with legendary course architect Alister MacKenzie. The Final Four, held at a predetermined site, features the winners of the four quarterfinal series in one-off knockout matches. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held every year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in Augusta, Georgia, USA. In the quarterfinal round, the first-place team from each group is matched against a second-place team from another group in a best-of-three series, with two of the three possible games scheduled at the first-place team's home court.

The Masters is one of four major championships in men's golf and the first to take place each year. Now, the first- and second-place teams from each group advance. Jose Maria Olazabal: 1994, 1999. Before, only the group winners advanced to the Final Four (see below). Ben Crenshaw: 1984, 1995. New for the 2004-05 season was a quarterfinal round. Bernhard Langer: 1985, 1993. As in the regular season, each Top 16 group is contested in a double round-robin format.

Seve Ballesteros: 1980, 1983. The second phase, known as the Top 16, then begins. Tom Watson: 1977, 1981. At the end of the regular season, the field is cut from 24 to 16; the surviving teams are divided into four groups. Ben Hogan: 1951, 1953. Each team plays two games (home-and-home) against every other team in its group. Byron Nelson: 1937, 1942. The first phase is the regular season, in which 24 teams, divided into three groups of eight, participate.

Horton Smith: 1934, 1936. The Euroleague is currently contested in four phases. 2 wins