when I think about it, that's probably why this guy hates him

He opened the game up for millions of hackers.

There is a point on Wednesday of Masters week when time stops at Augusta National Golf Club. The area inside the gates steering patrons toward the first fairway more resembles Times Square on New Year's Eve than it does a golf tournament. The crush of peoplemakes movement a virtual impossibility, a situation complicated by the line that snakes out of the merchandise pavilion to the right of the main gate, loops around itself and snarls movement in any direction. The Masters is not only the most-watched golf tournament on television, it is also one of the best-attended -- and everyone has a credit card.

This helps explain why the Masters can go commercial-free and not think twice about it. For the second straight year, the tournament has released sponsors from their contractual obligations rather than expose them to possible protests stemming from Augusta National's lack of female members. Though Martha Burk's name didn't consume anywhere near as much ink in the past year as it did in the months leading up to the 2003 Masters, her National Council of Women's Organizations still casts an ominous shadow over Bobby Jones' treasure.

But Augusta National is a place of power, principle and considerable wealth. Even without U.S. television rights fees, which it gave up when letting go of its sponsors, the Masters still generates nearly $44 million in revenue and still has more than $6 million left over after its expenses, according to a Golf Digest analysis.

Following its practice of not commenting on what it calls private club matters, Augusta National did not respond to these revenue and expenditure numbers. But there is no question the club has come a long way since the first 40 years of its tournament, when Jones had to pass a hat among members to cover the cost of the Masters. "We really struggled up into the '70s financially," Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson told Golf Digest last year. "Fortunately the club got into the black, and we've been able to continue to cover our expenses and keep our golf course and tournament facilities in first-rate condition. ... We've been able to strive for perfection, but at the same time we've been blessed not to have to yield to commercialism."

To arrive at our estimated Masters financials, we started at the front gates. Though the club does not announce attendance figures, people close to the club figure that about 35,000 ticket-holders attend the Masters each of the four days of competition and about 45,000 are allowed inside on each of the three practice days. This year, the club raised ticket prices for the third time since 1995. A four-day badge for the April 8-11 event climbed from $125 to $175 -- still about half the cost of a seven-day pass for the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship. Practice badges for Monday and Tuesday increased from $21 to $31, and the Wednesday admission jumped from $26 to $36.