Aiken Standard (Newspaper) - April 10, 1997, Aiken, South Carolina Masters tournament begins A I K E N Egypt Workers help to restore ancient Sphinx Page 2A New Ellenton Concealed weapon permits rescinded Pace 5A Vol 128 No 100 Aiken South Carolina Thursday April 10 1997 25t Quest is on for green jacket NORMAN Staff photo by Scott Tiger Woods shares a hug and a smile with Jennifer Barry and Sydney Jones students at Midland Valley High School during Wednesdays tournament Staff photo by Scott Webster A large crowd spent a sunny afternoon on the Augusta Nationals course watching the annual Wednesday tournament Things get serious today for the golfers hoping to don a green jacket on Sunday afternoon Norman Faldo Woods look to make history By DAVE HALE AUGUSTA Greg Norman will try to right his ship while Nick Faldo will try to write history Trying to steal the spotlight will be a 21yearold Tiger As the first round of play at the Masters begins today the storylines are endless Greg Norman whose collapse a year ago earned an out pouring of sympathy can make perhaps the greatest come back ever by winning this year The Aussie has put the past behind him and is ready to write a chapter with a happier ending If you keep thinking about the worst round in your life youre going to keep playing that same expletive round Norman said I dont want to keep thinking about it Flush it on out Faldo who overcame a deficit to win his third Masters is ready to etch his name into the history books After winning titles in 1989 and 90 Faldo is looking to become the only player in Masters history to win titles on two separate sions Only Faldo and Jack Nicklaus have ever won consecutive Masters This golf course comes up and gets you Faldo said Youve got to be care ful Ive shot some bad numbers here simply because the golf course can get on top of you It can do that Faldo will be in the premier pairing of the day with young phenom Tiger Woods Woods in his third Masters but first as a professional has been dubbed the oddson favorite for this years installment but some question the fact that he hasnt played enough here I dont care what anyone else says as always Woods said I just came here to win Ill try to be as patient as pos sible While it takes years for some to get comfortable playing the venerable course Woods says hes ready now and is ready to become the youngest winner of the event ever Im tournament tough now Woods said I feel comfort able just because its my third time here You know what to expect Other who should figure to be near the top of the leaderboard include Phil Mickelson a 26yearold lefty who is looking to win his first major He won the Bay Hill Invi three weeks ago and was the forgotten man who fin ished third behind Faldo and Norman last year Steve Elkington who has won two of the last four events he has entered in is a quiet favorite along with Tom Lehman Another popular pick has been Jose Maria bal the winner in 1994 who has recently overcome foot problems that plagued him all of last year Ive been through a terrible period of time but right now Im feeling much better Olazabal said Im not 100 percent at the moment but the problem is not too bad Other top pairings today include Norman and Mickelson winner Tom Watson and Elkington Colin Mont and Davis Love HI 1992 winner Fred Couples and Vijay Singh and Lehman and Nick Price Sunny skies and temperatures in the middle 60s are expected for todays opening round Tickets for the event are sold out TV coverage can be seen live today and Friday on the cable USA Network from 46 pm with taped coverage airing from 911 pm Staff photo by Scott Webster Defending champion Nick Faldo lines up a putt on the practice green 4Index Dear Television 6B 4 Deaths David Bright Belvedere Retha Mae Chavis Barnwell Clifton Philip Fuller Monetta Obituary notices on page 6A 4 Ga lottery Wednesdays winning numbers Cash 3 420 Cash 4 5034 Fantasy ft Woman murdered after filing complaint By MICHAEL W GIBBONS Michelle Garrett Johnsons final hours were spent in fear of the man who is charged with her murder Mrs Johnson was murdered at approximately am on April 2 and her husband Troy John son is being held in connection with the killing An prior to the slaying Mrs Johnson made a call to the Aiken County Sheriffs Office to report a domestic dis pute with her husband a dis pute during which she said he placed a gun to her head Although there were no visible physical marks on Mrs Johnson she did say she feared her hus band According to incident reports Mrs Johnson her hus band and her husbands brother were at their residence on the evening of April 1 Mrs Johnson said she was going to take the brother home so that she could then go to bed Mrs Johnson told the deputy that Johnson became irate and began yelling at her She made an attempt to call 911 but the phone was ripped from the wall by John son She gathered all of his clothes and put them in a pile on the floor It was then that Mrs Johnson said Johnson pulled out an unknown type of gun put the gun near her head and instructed her to pick up the clothes Mrs Johnson walked away from the subject taking her 8 yearold daughter with her She went to the Smile Station on Pine Log Road at approximately 11 Once an individual leaves the scene we have to get an arrest warrant Lt Michael Frank pm where she called authori ties After meeting with a Sheriffs deputy Mrs Johnson was escort ed to the home to retrieve her belongings She and her daughter went to a relatives house on Edgefield Avenue where she was gunned down a short time later Her daughter was in the front seat of the car during the shoot ing A bullet struck the wind shield of the car although inves have yet to determine whether the shot was aimed at the child or just a stray round Lt Michael Frank of the Aiken County Sheriffs Office said John son was not arrested immediately following the domestic incident because he could not be located The reason Johnson was not arrested immediately is one he was not at the scene when we went to that house Had he been there he would have been arrest ed on the spot Once an individual leaves the scene we have to get an arrest warrant he said After it was determined that Johnson was no longer at the inci dent scene the deputy then went through the channels necessary for obtaining an arrest warrant At the time the victim was shot the deputy was in the process of obtaining a warrant Lt Frank said Aiken Department of Public Safety officers responding to a report of gunfire came upon Johnson standing over the body of Mrs Johnson Johnson did not comply with repeated requests to drop the weapon he was holding He was shot multi pie times by the officers He was taken to the hospital and released into police custody on April 3 He is being held at an undisclosed secure medical facility and facing one charge of murder Further charges against Johnson who was on home detention probation at the time are pending p COLDWELL BANKER SPRING 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