Iconic Masters Jacket Ceremony Nixed
There might be a winner of the 2019 Masters on Sunday, but he won’t get the honor of donning the green jacket after his win.
At least not in an official ceremony, that is.
Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, announced Sunday that the traditional green jacket ceremony, where last year’s champion helps this year’s winner don the iconic green jacket won’t be happening.
The reason? Weather.
Augusta officials announced Sunday morning that they’ve canceled the ceremony in order to get patrons and workers off the golf course before inclement weather arrives.
“There will not be a Green Jacket Ceremony on the terrace putting green this afternoon in order to expedite gate closures,” an Augusta National official wrote in an email to ESPN.
“Weather permitting, we will have photos with the champion on the putting green following the Butler Cabin Green Jacket presentation,” they added.
Due to the weather, there won’t be a green jacket ceremony for this year’s Masters champion.https://t.co/ziKC4LpaT2
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 14, 2019
A major storm front is moving through the Augusta, Georgia, area. Masters officials expect the most dangerous weather to come through at 3 p.m. ET.
Winds are expected to increase to 15-20 mph by 1 p.m. ET with gusts up to 25 mph. Thus, start times were moved up to early Sunday morning. The leaders, Francisco Molinari, Tiger Woods, and Tony Finau, teed off around 9:20 am.
That means they’ll be finished before the worst of the storms come, but they’ll definitely be battling some tough conditions on the back 9.
That could make for a really interesting finish.
Masters officials said there’s an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms by 3:00 p.m.
There’s also a possibility, although at a much lower percentage, that thunderstorms could move through while players are on the course. If there is a delay, there’s a chance the tournament would have to be finished on Monday.
There hasn’t been a Monday finish at August since 1983.
The Master’s champion will win $2.07 million, the largest prize in tournament history. Last year Patrick Reed earned $1.98 million for winning.
Through the first 5 holes, Molinari was leading with -13 followed by Tiger Woods, Brooks Kopeka, and Tony Finau at -10.
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