text: Masters Wednesday began on a sombre note when Australian Marc Leishman, who got so close to victory in 2013 before finishing tied fourth behind countryman Adam Scott, had to withdraw. His wife Audrey spent part of last week in an induced coma owing to a serious infection. Leishman left Augusta taking with him the best wishes of his sport. Marc Leishman has withdrawn from this year's competition to be with his wife . Masters chairman Billy Payne talked a lot  about growing the game but he ruled out any idea of starting a women’s Masters. ‘We have a very short member season at Augusta National of seven months,’ he explained. ‘The time that we dedicate to the preparation and conduct of the tournament is already extensive. I don’t think we would ever host another one.’ Billy Payne has ruled out starting a women's Masters despite talking about growing the game . It’s well-known the garish surroundings outside Augusta National contrast markedly with the beauty within. But maybe that’s about to change. After buying up all the houses on adjacent Berckmans Road and turning it into a patrons’ car park, Masters chairman Billy Payne is promising a ‘beautification’ project. ‘As you know, we’re pretty good at landscaping,’ he said. ‘It’s going to look nice, I promise.’ Mr Unpopular Bubba Watson can surely not have upset anyone with his choice of menu for the Champions Dinner on Tuesday. Clearly he enjoyed it so much two years ago he decided to stick with the same inoffensive offering: Caesar salad followed by grilled chicken breast with green beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and cornbread. Bubba Watson was recently voted the most unpopular golfer on tour by his fellow professionals . Favourite pic of the week so far? It might well be Arnold Palmer, clad in his green jacket, snapped under the Oak Tree in front of the clubhouse alongside Niall Horan, the keen golf-playing member of One Direction but better known in these parts as Rory McIlroy’s par three caddy. Talk about a game that spans the generations. Arnold Palmer shakes hands with Niall Horan ahead of the 79th instalment of the Masters . The famous Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole might have gone following an ice storm last year but it has certainly not been forgotten. The club unveiled a mounted cross-section of the tree that will remain on show in the press building this week before being presented to the Eisenhower Library in Kansas for permanent display. The tree was named after the American President after he kept hitting it with his drives. A section of the Eisenhower tree is displayed during a news conference at the Masters . Jack Nicklaus showed he’s still got it at the age of 75 with a hole in one at the fourth in the Par-3 contest. But he couldn’t match Colombian Camilo Villegas who recorded two, at the fourth and eighth. Camilo Villegas recorded two aces during the Par-3 contest, beating Jack Nicklaus' solitary hole-in-one .
target: Australian Marc Leishman, who got so close to victory in 2013, had to withdraw to be with his sick wife .
  Masters chairman Billy Payne talked a lot about growing the game but he ruled out any idea of starting a women’s Masters .
  Arnold Palmer, clad in his green jacket, was snapped under the Oak Tree in front of the clubhouse alongside Niall Horan .
  Jack Nicklaus showed he’s still got it at the age of 75 with a hole-in-one in the Par-3, but he couldn’t match Camilo Villegas who recorded two .