The Masters tournament refund for November will take place without spectators or guests due to the coronavirus pandemic that saw the event postponed from its original date.
Augusta National and Masters President Fred Ridley issued a statement saying “Finally, we have determined that the potential risks of protecting guests and guests in November are simply too important to overcome.”
On April 6, the Monday of what was to be Masters Week, the club announced that the tournament was scheduled for November 12-15, with all hopes of having a full replenishment of spectators.
The club officially said nothing until Wednesday, when it emerged that the current climate and ongoing level of COVID-19 cases were sweeping the country, specifically in Georgia and surrounding states, making fans at Augusta National impossible to control.
In a memo sent to club staff and received by ESPN, Ridley said: “A Masters without the many guests we welcome from around the world can be hard to imagine. However, this should not be seen as a setback. , rather an exciting and historic opportunity to present the world’s best players on the world’s largest golf course to a worldwide audience. “
Ridley said those with tickets for practice rounds and tournament badges would be guaranteed the same for the 2021 Masters in April and that communication from the club would come in September.
“Since our first announcement to postpone the 2020 Masters, we have been committed to a rescheduled tournament in November, as we continually explore how best to host a global sporting event amid this pandemic,” he said. Ridley. “While we have considered the issues that lie ahead for us, the health and safety of everyone associated with the Masters has always been our first and foremost priority.”
If anyone could have attracted spectators in this climate, it would have been Augusta National, which has the financial means to conduct COVID-19 tests and other means to have even limited spectators about what a massive piece of property is.
The PGA Tour is in its 10th week after the pandemic suspended the sport for 13 weeks, with a revamped schedule and three major championships moved. The PGA Championship, won by Collin Morikawa on Sunday, was played without spectators at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Next month’s US Open of Winged Foot will also continue without spectators. The Open canceled their tournament in 2020.
The tour had tried to have spectators at the Memorial Tournament last month, but it thwarted those plans a week in advance. It is unclear whether any events before the end of the year will have paying customers.
“Even in the current circumstances, the deep disappointment of the Masters is without patterns,” Ridley said. “The guests who come to Augusta every spring from all over the world are an important component in making the tournament so special. However, Augusta National has a responsibility to address and accept the challenges associated with this. virus and take the necessary precautions to conduct all aspects of the tournament in a safe manner. We look forward to the day when we can welcome all our protectors back, hopefully in 2021. “
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