AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 15: Dustin Johnson of the United States is awarded the Green Jacket by Masters champion Tiger Woods of the United States during the Green Jacket Ceremony after winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on November 15, 2020 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)It feels like the 2020 Masters Tournament, which was played in mid-November this year, just wrapped up. Now, the 2021 event is just a few months away, returning to its traditional April weekend.
Golf delayed and canceled a number of its big tournaments in 2020, but given the nature of the sport, it was probably the one least impacted by COVID-19 last year. Now, with vaccines starting to roll out, Augusta National is hoping to have fans attend the 2021 Masters Tournament.
“Following the successful conduct of the Masters Tournament last November with only essential personnel, we are confident in our ability to responsibly invite a limited number of patrons to Augusta National in April,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement. “As with the November Masters, we will implement practices and policies that will protect the health and safety of everyone in attendance.
“Nothing is, or will be, more important than the well-being of all involved. While we are disappointed that we will be unable to accommodate a full complement of patrons this year, we will continue our efforts to ensure that all who purchased tickets from Augusta National will have access in 2022, provided conditions improve.”
Chairman Ridley has announced that @themasters intends to limit attendance in 2021.
With similar health and safety standards to those used in November, efforts are being made to include a limited number of patrons, provided it can be done safely.
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— The Masters (@TheMasters) January 12, 2021
The statement leaves things open-ended, so a lot of it will probably depend on where we are with COVID-19 as a country. Hopefully we’ll be in good enough shape to have some fans there, to add more of a normal tournament environment to the event.
The 2020 Masters last fall wound up being a showcase for Dustin Johnson. He finished at an incredible -20, five strokes clear of second-place finishers Im Sung-Jae and Cameron Smith.
The 2021 Masters Tournament is scheduled to run from April 11-April 15.
[Masters]
