Player, Nicklaus and Watson hit ceremonial shots and joke about aging bodies to start the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson walked across the dew-soaked grass outside the Augusta National clubhouse to warm applause, and when they reached the first tee box shortly after sunrise Thursday, patrons who had staked out viewing spots with their green Masters folding chairs rose to their feet.

Then the three luminaries turned the traditional honorary tee shots that open the Masters into a comedy sketch about their aging bodies.

“The tee is yours,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said to Nicklaus.

“Maybe,” Nicklaus said. “If I don't fall down putting this (tee) in the ground.”

Nicklaus pumped his fist after successfully teeing up his golf ball, then felt the need to warn the spectators: “Oh boy. Woo! Watch out.”

The 85-year-old Nicklaus said later that a primary thought in his head was not to kill anyone with an errant shot. He hit it solidly enough and found the left edge of the wide fairway of Tea Olive, the scenic opening hole.

Player, 89, kicked his leg after his tee shot, and the 75-year-old Watson outdrove them both with a swing that has held up over time. Augusta National staffers positioned along the fairway scurried out to collect the three ceremonial golf balls, and the Masters was underway. The first official pairing was Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire, going off in a twosome before groups of three the rest of the day.

Thirty-nine years after winning his last green jacket, Nicklaus was joined by his wife, Barbara, known widely as the First Lady of Golf. She was dressed in the traditional white caddie bib of the Masters, and toted along her husband’s small bag with the single club he needed for his ceremonial duties — a purple-shafted driver.

The tradition of honorary starters began in 1963, when club co-founder Bobby Jones asked Scottish pros Fred McLeod and Jock Hutchinson to lead off the opening round. They served in the role into the 1970s, when the custom was paused for a handful of years. In 1981, Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson assumed the job. Sam Snead joined a few years later. And their opening tee shots became as much a part of the Masters experience as those pimento cheese sandwiches.

Arnold Palmer served as a starter from 2007 until his death in 2016. Nicklaus had joined him in 2010 and Player two years later. Watson made it a group of three again three years ago — a trio with a combined 11 green jackets and 35 major championships to their names.

After getting relief from the chilly morning air, the honorary starters donned their green jackets and took questions about a variety of topics at a freewheeling and occasionally awkward news conference.

“I've got a young girlfriend (who's) changed my life. How about that, at 90, finding a girlfriend. Tom's not as old as me, but he's also found a new one,” Player said.

Asked if he wanted to weigh in on that subject, Watson lifted his hands, smiled and shook his head.

Player, Nicklaus and Watson agreed on two topics: They think Rory McIlroy is going to win this year's Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, and they believe players should always talk to the media after their rounds, even if they played poorly — something McIlroy didn't do at Pinehurst No. 2 after his heartbreak at last year's U.S. Open.

“He has the best swing in golf, without a question. He's the fittest golfer. He does a deadlift of 400 pounds,” Player said. “It's just the right time for him to win now, and the golf course, there's no golf course that suits a man better than it does for Rory.”

Nicklaus said he had lunch with McIlroy last week and the world's second-ranked player detailed how he planned to play every shot.

“He got done with the round. I didn't open my mouth. I said, ‘Well: I wouldn’t change a thing. That's exactly how I would try to play the golf course,'” Nicklaus said.

As for players talking to reporters — a subject that came up again this spring when Collin Morikawa told the media, “I don't owe anyone anything” — Nicklaus said players could choose not to speak after their rounds, but he can't recall ever making that choice himself. Player said competitors should be required by the PGA Tour to talk.

“I think there should be a PGA rule, that if you're requested to go after a round, it's our obligation to do this,” Player said. “If you ask for somebody to go to the press room, whether you shoot 90 or you shoot 60, you should have to go there.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons after his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Honorary Starter Tom Watson plays his shot from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Honorary Starter Tom Watson hits from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus places his ball on the tee on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Honorary Starter Gary Player stretches on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus plays his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The names of Honorary Starters' Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson are displayed on the tee box on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

From left: Honorary Starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson stand with their caddies as they pose on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons, as fellow Honorary Starter Tom Watson applauds, on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)