CLOUD NINE: Mark Cunningham and his friend Gerry Brine talked nonstop about golf as they traveled together to Augusta from their homes in Toronto. After they passed through the gates of Augusta National, however, they were mostly silent.

"We just walked around and looked," he said. "We were so in awe we didn't even talk to each other for 20 minutes."

Attending the Masters -- and getting to follow fellow Canadian Mike Weir -- is different from seeing the event on television or hearing someone else describe it, he said.

"It's like walking on a cloud," he said. "We've watched it for so long on TV, but it's nothing like that when you get here. It's so much better."

A charity thing: Henry Scholtisek's unlikely journey to the 2009 Masters Tournament began when his local Elks Lodge contributed to a raffle benefiting handicapped children.

"It was a charity thing," the Watkins Glen, N.Y., man said. "I never thought I would actually win."

Scholtisek, however, ended up as the grand-prize recipient in a drawing sponsored by the Arc of Schuyler County, which offered a trip for two to Augusta aboard a luxurious private jet.

The trip, which included the use of tournament badges Thursday, was made possible through a donation from Relph Benefit Advisors of Pittsfield, N.Y., according to the group Web site.

"It has been absolutely incredible," Scholtisek said Thursday as he watched Tiger Woods tee off on No. 1 just before 2 p.m. "The hospitality is fabulous, and the people here help you out in every way they can."

THE PLACE TO BE: Arline Bleier doesn't ever miss a Masters.

"I've been coming for 45 years," the Knoxville, Tenn., fan said. "I've been every year since 1964."

Among her most memorable tournaments: "I saw Palmer win his last Masters. That was exciting."

On Thursday, Bleier staked out her favorite and familiar vantage point on the north side of the No. 1 tee. "This is one of the best places to be," she said.