Admission to the Masters Tournament is rightly considered the most hard-to-get in all of professional sports. Though the huge crowds that descend on Augusta each April belie that fact, only a certain number of people get to pass through the gates of the Augusta National Golf Club to watch the tournament.

But that doesn't mean you can't get in on the fun. At the annual Mayor's Masters Reception, everyone is invited.

Augustans and visitors to the Garden City alike can enjoy food, refreshments and other fun -- and admission is free. It starts at 5:30 today at Augusta's Botanical Gardens on 11th and Reynold streets downtown. And trust us, given the huge turnouts to these receptions, you will have no trouble finding it.

The reception is a new tradition, starting in 1999 under then-Mayor Bob Young. Today Deke Copenhaver is the mayoral host, and his guest of honor is one of the biggest names in golf -- Ben Crenshaw.

It's a feat to win the Masters even once, but the longtime player whom fans call "Gentle Ben" has done it twice -- in 1984, and in very fine fashion in 1995, during which he didn't have to three-putt even once.

And he sure knows how to make an entrance. When he turned pro in 1973 he won the very first tournament he played in -- the San Antonio Texas Open. With that, he became the second of only four golfers in PGA history to win in their first outing.

So come out and meet this golf legend -- or just show up and have a good time!