Masters plans for limited spectators in April
Some volume is returning to the Masters, just maybe not the headturning roars.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Tuesday the club intends to allow a limited number of spectators for the Masters on April 8-11, provided it can be done safely, given the coronavirus pandemic.
In other areas, the Masters in April will be a lot like the last one in November. Ridley said it will be conducted with similar health and safety standards. Those standards last fall included mandatory COVID-19 testing and masks being worn.
Ridley said holding the Masters with only essential personnel made the club confident in its ability to stage a major championship with limited fans.
The Masters was played Nov. 12-15 because of the pandemic that forced golf to reconfigure its major championship season and led to the cancellation of the British Open.
Ridley did not indicate how many spectators will be allowed. The roars are a big part of what makes the Masters, and they were missing in November when Dustin Johnson set the scoring record at 20-under 268 to win by five shots for his first green jacket.
Ridley also said the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which was canceled last year, and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, will be held with a small number of spectators.
Men’s college basketball
NO. 7 MICHIGAN 77, NO. 9 WISCONSIN 54
>> The host Wolverines (11- 0, 6- 0 Big Ten) used a 36-3 outburst spanning the two halve to crush the Badgers and maintain sole possession of first place in the conference. Wisconsin (10-3, 4-2) was held to 30.8 percent shooting.
OKLAHOMA STATE 75, NO. 6 KANSAS 70 >>
Cade Cunningham scored 18 points, and the host Cowboys 9-3, 3-3 Big 12) turned back the sixth-ranked Jayhawks. Kansas (10-3, 4-2) trailed by three in the closing seconds and had possession, but Oklahoma State’s Bryce Williams stole the ball, drove the length of the floor and dunked as time expired.
T he Cowboys squandered a 16-point lead in the second half of this one before scoring the game’s final eight points.
COVID CONCERNS:
• No. 22 Oregon has paused all team-related activities because of COVID-19 protocols. The Ducks won’t play planned games at home against Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday.
• The Big 12 announced that West Virginia has postponed its next two home games due to COVID-19 concerns. The announcement came a day after the 13th-ranked Mountaineers called off their game Tuesday night at No. 2 Baylor. WVU also postponed Saturday’s home game with TCU and a Jan. 19 contest against Oklahoma State in Morgantown.
• Tuesday night’s game between No. 10 Tennessee and Vanderbilt was postponed because of a combination of positive coronavirus tests, contact tracing and quarantining within the Commodores’ program.
Women’s college basketball
COVID CONCERNS:
• The game between No. 4 UConn and Villanova, which had been scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed. Villanova is on pause due to COVID-19 issues within the program. Fourth-ranked UConn also must reschedule today’s game against Seton Hall.
The Huskies say they are making the move as a precaution because of a coronavirus outbreak at Providence, a team the Huskies beat last weekend.
Tennis
ISNER SKIPPING AUSTRALIAN OPEN DUE TO PROTOCOLS >> John Isner said he will skip next month’s Australian Open because the strict COVID-19 health protocols would keep him away from his family for too long. Players are set to begin arriving in Melbourne this week for the Feb. 8-21 tournament. Government restrictions require players to isolate for two weeks before participating in warmup events.
College sports
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL, BASEBALL PLAYER DIES >> Kentucky walk-on basketball player Ben Jordan has died at age 22. His death Monday night was confirmed by the university. The cause of death was not announced.
Jordan, from Olive Hill, Ky., primarily was a baseball player at Kentucky. But the 6-foot- 9, 250-pound athlete, walked on with the Wildcats basketball team last season when they needed more post practice players.