RUMOR: 2020 Masters to be Spectator-less at Augusta?

And you thought Augusta National Golf Club’s rules on cell phones was tough…

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has quickly exploded from an isolated issue to a global problem. Indeed, Callaway has already predicted a $25 million revenue decrease this year due to manufacturing disruptions in China, along with several events being delayed or cancelled. Fortunately, Coronavirus hasn’t disrupted the PGA/LPGA Tour events here in the U.S., yet…

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Beautiful Golf Bucket list (@epicgolfshot) on Feb 3, 2020 at 11:59am PST

With the Masters less than 30 days away, there has been conversations concerning whether the first Major of the year will bar spectators from attending.

Indeed, former FedEx Champion and PXG staffer Billy Horschel told the Golf Channel: “People were saying [the Masters] might not have patrons this year. That was a rumor the last couple of days with the players. That would be unbelievable to play Augusta with no patrons.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jon Cavalier (@linksgems) on Feb 9, 2020 at 3:20pm PST

While I certainly appreciate Augusta’s commitment to keeping the grounds looking immaculate, it would be a true heart-breaker for the 2020 Masters to be a spectator-less event.

Indeed, with Tiger Woods as the defending Champion, you could only imagine the fanfare that would be surrounding this year’s event. This is only further compounded by the fact that Tiger has, sadly, withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Bay Hill Club and Lodge) and THE PLAYERS Championship (TPC Sawgrass‎) because of a nagging back injury.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Born and raised in Southern California, and with it playing a part of my entire childhood, we’ll be having steak and chicken fajitas, plus sushi and sashimi out on the deck. We’re still debating milkshakes.” . @TigerWoods previewed his fifth Champions Dinner menu earlier today during his Champions teleconference with assembled press.

A post shared by The Masters (@themasters) on Feb 25, 2020 at 7:16am PST

Although I didn’t have tickets to attend The Masters this year, there’s no doubting that it would be a real bummer to have Augusta entirely empty, excluding the players, their caddies, media and support staff.

One could only imagine the impact it would have on the competitive nature surrounding the event without any crowd there to witness and react to the good and bad.

Cover Image Via Twitter / H/T GolfMagic