The Masters Tournament rescheduled for November will take place without spectators or guests because of the coronavirus pandemic that postponed the event from its original date.
Augusta National and Masters chairman Fred Ridley released a statement Wednesday in which he said, “Ultimately, we determined that the potential risks of welcoming patrons and guests to our grounds in November are simply too significant to overcome.”
The club then said nothing officially until Wednesday, when it became apparent that the current climate and continued level of COVID-19 cases around the country, specifically in Georgia and surrounding states, made having fans at Augusta National impossible to manage.
“Since our initial announcement to postpone the 2020 Masters, we have remained committed to a rescheduled tournament in November while continually examining how best to host a global sporting event amid this pandemic,” Ridley said. “As we have considered the issues facing us, the health and safety of everyone associated with the Masters always has been our first and most important priority.”
If anyone could have pulled off allowing spectators in this climate, it would have been Augusta National, which has the financial resources to conduct COVID-19 testing and the means to limit spectators on what is a massive piece of property.