Among the many things Tiger Woods will remember about his victory over Masters in 2019 is the sound that runs through his ears, the constant singing of his name as he marches in the direction of history, and the apparent endless sounds of joy as he stepped out for his 15th major championship victory.
Imagine that everything is achieved in virtual silence.
It’s depressing to think about, but that’s the reality this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Masters on Wednesday announced that it would play its re-placed 2020 tournament without spectators or guests when the tournament takes place November 12-15.
A Masters without ‘patrons’, as they are called, is better than no Masters at all. Let’s be clear about that.
But it’s still sluggish. Augusta National is a special place in the game, one of the most coveted cards in sports, and where spectators can have an enormous impact on the outcome.
“It was special to have that kind of support, that kind of backing,” Woods said last fall. I went up against the best players in the world. I tried for the first time to come from behind [to win a major]. And that support was so important. ”
Woods clearly understands the current circumstances. He said so much last week at the PGA Championship, where there were no spectators. Golf has done tremendously well in this climate for more than two months, and plays behind closed doors every week.
And having the television product for an unusual November at Augusta National will still be a highly anticipated and highly interesting sporting event, with expectations centered around the appearance of the venue in the fall, how it will play and all the ways of golf-related aspects around a year that is off the rails.
But no fans? The gentlemen of Augusta National should be furious that it has come here, four months after announcing the restored Masters dates for November and three months before it is due to be played.
Surely they believed that we could now be in a position to connect above many of the constraints with the pandemic. They bought themselves most of the time. And to no surprise, they have the ability to buy themselves almost anything they want, when it comes to a safe event.
Quick test? Keep social distance? Wear masks? Sanitary protocols? This is a place that does not like that a piece of grass is out of place, that the city of Augusta, Georgia, borrows millions of dollars to start a road project and that buys land around the club for years, spends hundreds of millions for that to do.
You think they did not buy 100,000 COVID-19 tests if they were so inclined? Or invented a way to allow the spaces allowed around the sacred terrain, mandatory masks?
The fact that they are now shutting down these ideas suggests it is difficult to pull it off and the ominous reports they receive from medical and government officials when dealing with the pandemic. As powerful as the people are at Augusta National, they have never been able to control the weather as the azaleas bloom. Apparently, they can also not remove a pandemic.
That all makes you look back to the April day in 2019 when Woods did the unthinkable.
Zach Johnson, who kept Woods from winning the 2007 Masters, wore his green jacket last year, along with several other champions in the past, to be part of a long line of congratulations.
“When it comes to Tiger Woods, when it comes to his mark in the game, you’ll think about the many times you see a fist pump, that you see some kind of emotional reaction, and that’s the beauty of Tiger Woods, too.” ‘Johnson said on Wednesday’ I mean, it’s real, it’s real, and that’s how he competes. So my idea is that it’s driven by the fans, because he’s the draw every week, rightly so.
“I love it. I mean, I love to look. I remember I was downstairs to the scoring area. [at last year’s Masters] and see that swarm and then form a tunnel that is essentially like nothing I have ever seen. ”
And Johnson said there is no doubt that kind of atmosphere helped thank him for his victory 13 years ago.
“I felt like I was being pushed by the fans through high energy,” Johnson said. “Normally, I had the greatest player of the modern age that two groups drove behind me, too, but I felt it at 13, 14, all the way down. “I made that putt at 16, you can not really replicate that, and you can not place – it is difficult to measure.”
Another thing difficult to measure? The financial impact this will have on the Masters. Of course, the place is well positioned to endure, and having a Fall Masters still guarantees large income from the fee for television rights.
But the club offers full refunds to anyone who has practices for rounds or tournaments. It will also postpone them to 2021, if desired, which means that next year will see an enormous turnover. It will offer those who had tickets or badges for this year a special ‘exclusive’ ‘opportunity to buy merchandise online, a potential windfall, but one that cannot compensate for all the difficulties of this year.
A few would cry for Augusta National, of course. The club will do just fine. And those who will see at home will still have the benefit of a surreal Fall Masters.
But no spectators?
“I really can’t stand it,” Johnson said.
Because tea times were early last year due to a forecast of bad weather, Woods actually left Augusta National by holding the clubhouse trophy and wearing the green jacket in the glowing Sunday night. The sun had just set, and with his children, Sam and Charlie, he had a chance to take it all in.
“You see the beauty of it,” Woods said. The rolling hills. The perfect grass. It was icy. It’s so different when there is none. That’s when she began to understand how beautiful the place is. ”
It was also blissfully quiet. Fredich. Eerie.
Welcome to the Masters, 2020 version.
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