We have been waiting for the Masters Golf Tournament 2020 for the last one year. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of corona virus, the future of this year’s Masters is uncertain. The tournament is already postponed until further notice.
Statement from Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club
On March 4, Augusta National Golf Club issued a statement saying that they will continue to host Masters tournament and other Golf events at Augusta. On March 13, Fred Ridley gave an update about postponing the masters.
He stated, for the safety of everyone connected to all the events in Augusta, they decided to postpone. After everything comes under control, they announce a new date this year.
What could be the next possible date to host Masters Golf?
To comply with the PGA Tour and other golf tours calendar, Augusta has to do some research as well as they have to wait until the covid-19 outbreak stops. There are a few possible time frames to rehost Masters this year.
The first possible date is in early May so that it would not conflict with PGA Championship on May 14. The next reasonable time frame is in September or October, which is after FedEx Cup Playoffs.
By that time, the new season will be started, which may create conflict whether Masters 2020 will be counted in 2019-20 season or 2020-21 season! If they count for the 2020-21 season, then what about the regular date in April 2021. Would they count twice in the same season?
Besides those problems, Augusta National Golf Club has to consider Ryder Cup also, which is going to take place on August 27-30. Another obstacle would come up working with PGA Tour.
The last option is Cancelling this year’s Masters event and continue from next year, which will be unacceptable and heartbreaking for the patrons.
How would Augusta deal with the qualifications?
As we know, the Masters has many invitation criteria. The essential criteria are inviting the players who win PGA Tour during the two masters as they have been following the scheduled April date for every year.
Another problem could be selecting the top 50 cutoffs for the Official World Ranking, which updates two weeks before the Masters after WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship. Dell Match Play is canceled too. In this case, Masters have to wait until Dell match play to get the ranking update.
How many times Augusta had to cancel Masters?
The Masters Tournament was paused from 1943 to 1945 due to the second world war. From 1946 it has been played every spring and never had to cancel. After 75 years, Augusta is facing the same kind of situation. Keep your finger crossed that everything will be alright, and we will get to see the legends in Augusta.
Fred Ridley’s Statement to the Patrons
Ridley mentioned, the decision of postponing may affect the patrons. He addressed to the patrons that he will appreciate all the respective patron’s patience. Augusta will communicate with all the patrons and let them know all the updates regarding Masters.
Conclusion
Right now, Golf fans have nothing to do except keeping the patience. We have to wait until the improvement of the situation. As we know, all the states are facing problem to prevent the corona virus outbreak. The postponed Masters and other Golf tournaments will face a challenge to reschedule the events.