New-look event set to tee off in Augusta
It’s convenient to dissect so many things that will make the 2020 Masters different from other editions of one of the world’s most highly regarded sports competitions.
It’s November. There will be no galleries. Tee times have been adjusted to avoid darkness.
Yet when golfers tee off Thursday morning at Augusta National Golf Club, certain elements will remain in place.
“The things that will be the same is it still means the same to us all, and maybe even more so because we return to Augusta National every year,” said Australia’s Adam Scott, the tournament’s 2013 winner.
Rainy weather could be part of the scene, with a mid
afternoon Sunday conclusion anticipated as the schedule shifts to accommodate the autumn date rather than the traditional spring tournament.
And instead of serving as the first major championship of the year, the 2020
Masters will wrap up the majors — which have been reduced to three this year.
Much attention will fall on U. S. Open champion Bryson Dechambeau, as the bulked-up big striker will attack the pristine course.
And of course there’s Tiger Woods, who holds the label of defending champion — albeit from 19 months ago. That’s when Woods won his fifth Masters.
Since then, Woods has no top-20 finishes in five majors. Since play resumed this year following a pandemicrelated pause, his best finish in a limited schedule came in a tie for 37th place in the PGA Championship.
Golfers will begin on the first and 10th tees for the first and second rounds, a format necessitated because of fewer daylight hours this time of the year. Woods, who will play in a group along with reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry and 2019 U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, begins at 7:55 a.m. Thursday and then at noon Friday.