Although athletes could feel the power of the invisible enemy - the coronavirus - golfers are wringing their hands. This sport is performed individually and in the fresh air, so there is nothing to stop the traditional Masters tournament from starting. Professional golfers will demonstrate their skills today in Augusta.
Star Tiger Woods
This year, due to the pandemic, the Masters tournament was moved from its traditional April date to November. Players have been training hard on the green lawn for several days. The biggest star of the tournament is, of course, Tiger Woods, who managed to win the major tournament after eleven years last April, winning his fifth Masters title and his fifteenth major title overall.
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Tiger WoodsSource: Profimedia
When this year's Masters was canceled due to a worldwide pandemic in April, the golf legend was surprisingly calm.
"We have to be safe, smart and do what is best for us, our loved ones and our surroundings. There are more important things in life than golf tournaments now."
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Dinner of champions
One of the Masters traditions is the so-called Masters' Dinner, founded by Ben Hogan in 1952. It is always held on the Tuesday before each tournament and can only be attended by former champions and some members of the board of Augusta National Golf Club.
This year's main stars were Woods and former golfer Jack Nicklaus, who is the third best golfer of all time after Woods and Sam Snead. The gentlemen allegedly chatted about their successes all evening.
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Golfista odpaluje.Source: pixabay.com/guildrl
The strike that nobody saw
During training, the players already pulled off incredible tricks.
For example, Spanish golfer Jon Rahm pulled off an otherworldly strike at Tuesday's practice at the Masters. The former number one hit the ball across the pond on the course in Augusta and landed it in the hole with a single strike. That wouldn't be so weird. After his strike, the ball bounced off the surface of the water several times and reached the other shore, as Rahm expected. But then the trajectory took on a really perfect curve, which led directly into the hole.
Rahm received immediate applause from colleagues and their caddies. It is a great pity that one of the best plays in the history of golf could not be enjoyed by spectators right on the course. This year's Masters is being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus attacked
But not every professional golfer will play in the tournament this year. These include, for example, the Spaniard Sergio García, who is currently fighting covid-19. The holder of the famous green jacket for the victory in 2017 informed the organizers that he had had a positive test for covid-19, so he checked himself out of. He will miss out on the Masters for the first time in 21 years.
"After twenty-one years, I will miss a major tournament. I will miss Masters a lot, but I will come back stronger. The important thing is that my family and I feel good, "
García, 40, who missed out on Masters due to the coronavirus as one of two registered players, said on social networks. Last week, covid also eliminated young Chilean player Joaquin Niemann.
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Golfista na greenu. Source: pixabay.com/22563
A tradition that lasts 86 years
Masters was started by amateur champion Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts. Jones, along with course architect Alister MacKenzie, designed Augusta National. The tournament was first played 86 years ago.
The tournament has a number of traditions. In addition to the dinner of champions, the winner has been awarded a green jacket since 1949, but must return it to the clubhouse a year after his victory, although it remains his personal property and is stored with the jackets of other champions in a specially designed locker room. In most cases, the jacket can only be removed from the club premises by the first and current ruling champion.
You can watch the stars of the green online on the official Masters website.
