Masters' Monday Practice Round Closed to Public Due to Stormy Weather


Concerns over safety due to lightning in the area forced Augusta National officials to close the gates to spectators on the Monday practice round for the upcoming Masters.

The course closed down around 10 a.m. (Eastern) because of nearby thunderstorms. Patrons who had Monday practice round tickets will be sent refunds in May, and are guaranteed the opportunity to purchase 2015 practice rounds tickets.

"We are disappointed that our patrons could not enjoy today's practice round, however safety must be our first concern," said Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne,

The good news is that the forecast for the rest of the week looks good. Tuesday and Wednesday should have temperatures in the low-70s with a 10 percent chance of rain, while Thursday through Sunday will enjoy either sunny or partly cloudy conditions with a zero chance of rain, along with light winds.

Players who did get on the course either on Monday or in previous weeks have noticed a difference on several holes at the iconic course. A February ice storm led to the removal of the famed Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole. On the seventh, the storm did away with many Georgia pines on the tight tree-lined hole.

"You don't feel like you're going down a bowling alley as much," Brandt Snedeker said of the seventh.

Added 35-year-old Jimmy Walker, the PGA Tour's only three-time winner this season but a Masters rookie this year, "I haven't played here a ton, so I kind of got the feeling you could see down through the golf course a little bit better than you used to be able," the Texan said. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

As for the 17th, Patrick Reed, who attended nearby Augusta State University and has won twice in 2014, noted, "If the tree was there, I would have hit it yesterday," said Reed, who has already got in two practice rounds.

"It was cold. It was a little into the wind and I hit it down the left side. I knew exactly where the tree was, and I probably would have caught the top half of that tree and would have been underneath it.

"First three times I played this course it was there, and it made that hole really hard."