AUGUSTA - Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson had heart surgery Friday and is expected to make a complete recovery. <br>
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Club spokesman Glenn Greenspan says the surgery, which had been scheduled in advance, involved a coronary artery bypass, aortic aneurism repair and aortic valve replacement. <br>
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Greenspan says Johnson is fine and resting comfortably. <br>
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The 71-year-old Johnson, who has been in charge of the Masters since becoming club chairman in 1998, is at the center of a public dispute over its all-male membership. <br>
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The National Council of Women's Organization sent a letter in June urging Augusta National to have a female member. Johnson replied in a scathing three-page statement that the 69-year-old club would not be ``bullied'' into that decision. <br>
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Last month, he dropped the Masters' three television sponsors for the 2003 tournament, creating the only commercial-free sports event in the United States. <br>
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Johnson also caused a stir by overseeing a massive redesign of Augusta National for this year's Masters, and by changing the tournament qualifications to eliminate past champions after they turn 65.
