IT’S A MAJOR HEADACHE
Postponed Masters may now be played just before Ryder Cup
THE Masters could be played close to the Ryder Cup after golf’s opening Major became another sporting casualty.
In an extraordinary 12 hours on Friday the 13th, the Players Championship was cancelled after one round because of the threat of coronavirus before the PGA Tour called off the next three events as well.
Then came the bombshell when Augusta National announced that they were abandoning plans for The Masters to start on April 9.
World No4 Justin Thomas said: “Selfishly I want to play but it is way beyond that. It is a wild time. It feels surreal.”
Masters chairman Fred Ridley said: “Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision.
“We hope that this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host The Masters and our amateur events at some later date.”
But a new date will not be easy to find in a crowded schedule while Augusta
National usually closes from May until October because of the summer heat.
September is free in the USA until the Ryder Cup starts on Friday, September 25 after the Tour Championship was moved to August to finish the PGA season before the start of NFL matches.
But the European Tour would be against a September date because the BMW PGA Championship is scheduled from September 10-13 and a Major would dilute the build-up to the biennial matchplay showdown. October would clash with
the Asian swing of events. Thomas, who won the 2017 US PGA Championship, said: “I hope that it can be re-arranged – it is my favourite tournament of the year.
“I have hopes we get to play it and whenever we do, we do. I don’t care if it is 25 degrees and nobody is there, I am going to go play with a chance to win The Masters.”
Graeme McDowell said: “It is unprecedented. There is no playbook here, there is no set of rules to follow to deal with something like this.”
The postponement could help holder Tiger Woods, who has played only twice this year because of back issues.
World No1 Rory McIlroy has recorded eight consecutive top-five finishes worldwide in his build-up to his latest bid to complete his career Grand Slam in Augusta.
“Because it is so uncertain, you are obviously going to keep playing golf but you are going out there practising not knowing what you are practising for,” he said.