Tianlang Guan. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Well, this is a kick in the baby teeth. Tianlang Guan, the 14-year-old amateur who's been the story of the 2013 Masters so far, was hit with a one-stroke penalty for slow play on the 17th.

Guan was apparently warned earlier in the round, but continued to play at a slower-than-acceptable pace. This could be significant, as he finished the round at +3 on the day and +4 overall.

[Related: Tianlang Guan's mom packs lunch as 14-year-old takes on Masters]

The cut line is the top 50 players (and ties) as well as anyone within 10 strokes of the lead. When Guan finished, the leaders stood at -5 ... in other words, Guan was exactly on the cut line. It would be a shame if a judgment-call ruling cost Augusta one of its best stories in years.

-Follow Jay Busbee all week from Augusta National on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - During this Masters week, when everyone involved with the production of this most famous golf tournament, present company included, gets a little dewy-eyed and nostalgic about the sanctified history of Augusta National Golf Club, it's worth remembering that not everyone regards this tournament in quite the same way ... and that "a tradition unlike any other" has very different meanings to different people.

Appearing on Dan Patrick's radio show on Friday, Bob Costas of NBC Sports took on the Masters and, more specifically, CBS. Costas took issue with the fact that CBS completely ignores Augusta's very real, and very recent, history of gender- and race-based discrimination. As Costas said:

What no CBS commentator has ever alluded to, even in passing, even during a rain delay, even when there was time to do so, is Augusta's history of racism and sexism. Even when people were protesting just outside the grounds—forget about taking a side—never acknowledging it. So not only

Cows wander Augusta National in the shaodw of the clubhouse. (Augusta National/Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. – You look out at the vast, impossibly green expanse of Augusta National Golf Club, and you see absolute manicured perfection.

Cows, meanwhile, see their lost homeland.

Yes, there was a time when cows roamed the fairways of Bobby Jones’ golf course. They stomped across the greens, trundled up and down rolling hills, devoured grass in the shadow of the Big Oak, the Eisenhower Tree and Butler Cabin.

The time was World War II, and a little golf tournament at a nine-year-old private club in eastern Georgia was pretty much the last thing on anyone’s mind. Nearby Camp Gordon in Augusta was the focus of growing war efforts, and the 1942 Masters, held just months after Pearl Harbor, would be the last to be played while the United States was at war.

For that tournament, Augusta National cofounders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to donate their entire proceeds to what they deemed an appropriate war charity: the construction of a golf course, and donation of golf

Bubba Watson reacts after his drive on No. 4 Thursday. (Getty Images)

Many golfers benefited from Augusta National's slow greens during Thursday's first round of the Masters, turning damp conditions into a leaderboard that was soaked with red numbers.

One of the golfers to miss out on the opportunity, however, was Bubba Watson. The defending champion posted a three-over 75 on the tournament's first day, finishing the day tied for 59th place. The score was the highest by a defending champion since Phil Mickelson carded a 76 in 2007. It also puts him in danger of being the first defending champion to miss the cut since Mike Weir did it in 2004.

The University of Georgia product got off to a bad start with a bogey on No. 1 and then struggled after three-putts on Nos. 5 and 7. He hit 35 total putts on the day and later said he was caught offguard by just how slow the greens were playing (via ASAP Sports):

Getty ImagesWe knew heading into this week that the 2013 Masters had a chance to be one for the ages. Tiger Woods came in the favorite, Rory McIlroy played his way into form the week before and a host of names like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson all had the potential to make moves this week at Augusta National.

But after one round are we already looking at one of the toughest Masters tickets ever? Golf Digest's Craig Bestrom is on the grounds at Augusta National and went looking for tickets on Friday morning to check the scalper situation. What did he find? That this could be the hottest Masters ticket ever.

Visited 5 ticket brokers. Friday badges scarce. Going rate: $3,000--if you can find one. Toughest ticket ever, they're saying. #masters

— Craig Bestrom (@GDCraigeeBee) April 12, 2013

We already knew that the Masters tickets are the most expensive in all of sports, but this Friday being the toughest ever? It makes sense when you start looking into it.

First, Tiger goes late

Tianlang Guan — Getty Images

• Is there really anything else we can say about the incredible play of 14-year-old Tianlang Guan? It was impressive enough that the youngest player to ever tee it up at the Masters played his way into Augusta National, but on Thursday he shot a round of 1-over 73, something nobody saw coming. Guan beat a host of big PGA Tour stars and former major winners and stole the show in the first round at the Masters.

• Sergio Garcia, who just a year ago said at this event that he might not be good enough to win major championships, put together a brilliant round of 6-under 66 that didn't include a bogey. Garcia hasn't finished in the top-10 at the Masters since 2004, so this start is a positive moving forward for the 33-year-old.

• Fred Couples has the unique ability to turn back the clock at Augusta National, and he did it again on Thursday. The first round leader here in 2010, Couples shot a round of 4-under 68 that has him in the hunt again at the age of 53.

• Phil Mickelson managed to

Getty ImagesThursday at the Masters was stolen from the likely hands of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy by a 14-year-old kid playing in his first Masters.

Tianlang Guan became the youngest player to ever play in the Masters on Thursday, and play he did. The youngster who most predicted wouldn't break 80 on a good day shot a round of 1-over 73, highlighted by an incredible birdie putt on the 18th green.

[Related: Tianlang Guan's mom packs lunch as 14-year-old takes on Masters like a veteran]

That should impress you plenty, but if it doesn't, just look at the list of PGA Tour players, winners and major champions that he beat on Thursday at Augusta National.

Tiger Woods tees off on the 17th. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Imagine, if you will, the Hallelujah Chorus punctuated by armpit farts. The roof of the Sistine Chapel depicting Adam in jorts. A dead mouse floating in a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild. You'd be heading in the direction of this: someone yelling "get in the hole!" at Augusta National.

It happened, friends, it happened as Tiger Woods was teeing off on the 17th hole on Thursday at the Masters. Put aside the creative bankruptcy of a mind that would think yelling "get in the hole!" in 2013 is in any way clever or funny. (This is probably the kind of person who's still crowing Austin Powers-style "Yeah, baby!"s.) No, anyone who would holler anything — not just a moronic phrase, but anything — at Augusta is courting disaster.

[Also: Tianlang Guan's mom packs lunch as 14-year-old takes on Masters like a veteran]

Before the second word was out, the Augusta National security team — well, security pair — shadowing Woods was snapping into action. A guard in white shirt