It's Masters Week: Some Zach and Jack (Newman) Stuff from Augusta

I'll be in Augusta, Ga., Tuesday to begin six days of filing reports from the Masters.

What I collect, be it full-length columns and stories, short stories, snippets or (I'm hoping) photos from the practice rounds, will all come to the Hlog first. So start checking here late Tuesday afternoon.

In the meantime, I'm going to recommend you pay a visit to today's Augusta Chronicle. Each year, the Chronicle publishes an absolutely massive Masters special section. It's always an impressive piece of work.

In particular -- since I am Iowa-based -- I suggest you check out the Chronicle's stories on Zach Johnson and Jack Newman.

Johnson's story, you probably know. But Scott Michaux of the Chronicle does a great job, and he came up with some news that I should have had first. Namely, Johnson has designated the Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids as his Birdies That Care charity for the second-straight year. From Michaux's story:

Johnson's 4-year-old charity, Birdies That Care, had selected the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids as its 2008 beneficiary, but the organization's headquarters were destroyed in the floods and couldn't be reopened.

"We elected to choose them again this year because they didn't have the time to do anything," Johnson said. "They really needed us."

The other Chronicle piece I'd direct you to is about 21-year-old amateur Jack Newman of Des Moines, a Michigan State junior who qualified for the Masters by virtue of winning last summer's U.S. Amateur Public Links event.

Jack has a head start on taking a crash course called Augusta National 101. By the first round of the Masters, Newman will have played the course more than 20 times, counting the tournament practice rounds.

Newman made four three-day trips to Augusta National, starting in late November. He would arrive the night before he would play, then try to get in 36 holes on both days he was at the course.

If Delta Air Lines cooperates Tuesday morning, I'll be catching up with Johnson and Newman Tuesday and will have pieces on them as well as other material here at the Hlog before the day is done.

In the meantime, here are a couple nuggest from PGA Tour star Stewart Cink courtesty of his Twitter feed, one involving Johnson.

Very windy weather Mon-Tues means curtailed practice rounds by many players. You can get into bad habits playing in cold wind.

Definitely playing g Par Three though. My son caddys and playkn with Close friend Z Johnson. Must overcome curse!

Translation: Cink will have his pal Johnson as a playing partner at Wedneday's annual Par 3 Contest at the Masters. The curse is no one who has won the Par 3 event ever went on to win that year's Masters.