Wet weather, possible delays loom for Masters this week. Here’s when it could rain
Pack your rain jacket if you’re heading to Augusta National this weekend.
The 87th Masters gets underway on Thursday, and weather figures to be an issue heading into the weekend. Current projections show at least a 50% of rain on the final three days of scheduled play and 100% chance on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
“You practice the same, but you’re just hoping that, when it’s rainy, it’s hard to get the ball to do what you want it to do,” two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson said Wednesday as to how the potential for rainy weather affected his preparation. “This is a long golf course when it’s wet.
“And then mud balls. That’s what we all talk about. I had a couple mud balls today, but hopefully it drains, doesn’t rain as much as the forecast shows, and we get to play some good golf.”
Friday, according to the National Weather Service, has a 70% chance of rain and projects to have the threat of inclement weather throughout the day. Saturday’s 100% chance of rain is followed by 50% for Sunday.
Masters officials haven’t yet addressed the prospect of delays and their impact, and likely won’t until the threat of poor weather moves closer. TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday (ESPN), then 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (CBS).
The Masters hasn’t been finished on a Monday since 1983, when Seve Ballesteros won his second green jacket and the third of his five career majors. The tournament that year was delayed due to heavy rain and flooding that forced play to be suspended during Friday’s second round. Augusta National then decided to play the tournament’s third round that Sunday and fourth round on Monday.
There have been varying issues related to weather in recent years, though no major shifts such as adding an extra day to the tournament.
Just last year, Tuesday’s practice round was mostly rained out. The Masters was then forced to call off the end of the Par 3 tournament due to rain at the tail end of the Wednesday session.
The tournament also dealt with weather-related changes during the 2019 Masters, when players were grouped in threesomes for the final round due to incoming rain. Tee times began at 7:30 a.m. and players began their rounds on holes 1 and 10.
Conditions have been mostly dry this week, with temperatures projected to reach 90 Wednesday before turning noticeably cooler and wetter this weekend.
How incoming weather might affect the actual golf course remains to be seen.
“Obviously, we’re all aware of the weather forecast,” said Francesco Molinari, who narrowly missed out on a Masters title in 2019 due to a Sunday back-nine collapse. “So it might be a long week the next few days, but we’ll see what comes and try to do the best possible.”
Slower conditions could make the extended 13th hole particularly challenging under the circumstances. Augusta National spent the time between tournaments extending the hole 35 yards to force players to hit more mid-irons or hybrids into the par 5 that often called for an 8-iron on the second shot in previous years.
That change to the 13th has been a major talking point in the days leading up to this year’s Masters, and players have been forced to sort out new approaches to the 545-yard par 5.
“With the forecast coming up here — the rain and the wind — if it happens to blow north, it’s right in our faces,” Tiger Woods said Tuesday. “So I know they were trying to push the tee up maybe a little bit, but still we’re not going to be able to hit it around the corner and get it down there. The days of me hitting a 3-wood and an 8-iron there are long gone.”
Augusta, Georgia weather forecast this week
According to National Weather Service
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, high near 86.
Friday: Showers likely (70%). Mostly cloudy, high near 73.
Saturday: High near 53. Chance of precipitation 100%.
Sunday: Rain likely (50%). Mostly cloudy, high near 59.
