Play could be delayed at today’s Masters with Augusta National set to be drenched in showers and thunderstorms on day one of golf’s first major.
The iconic golf course in Georgia, United States, has seen rain fall in over half of its 88 tournaments to date and the 2024 edition could be no different.
A weather statement issued by tournament officials said: “A cold front is forecast to bring a band of rain and scattered thunderstorms through the region between 6AM-1PM (11am-4pm BST) Thursday.
“Heavy rainfall and occasional wind gusts of 40-45 mph are anticipated over this period. A lull in precipitation should occur behind the cold front between 1-4PM (BST) before scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms drift back into the region for the late afternoon and evening hours.”
Strong winds are due to continue into Friday’s play, according to yesterday’s meteorological reports from Augusta.
Each of the last five Masters tournaments have been hit by at least one suspension caused by adverse weather.
“Windy conditions persist Friday under mostly sunny skies as a dry and stable airmass settles into the area,” the weather update added.
World No1 Scottie Scheffler is favourite to pick up the Green Jacket on Sunday with Brit Rory McIlroy and reigning champion Jon Rahm also fancied by the bookies.
Play gets underway today with four rounds between this morning and Sunday evening BST.
Masters round one tee off times
1300: Erik van Rooyen, Jake Knapp
1312: Jose Maria Olazabal, Taylor Moore, Santiago de la Fuente (A)
1324: Danny Willett, Austin Eckroat, Stephan Jaeger
1336: Charl Schwartzel, Luke List, Christo Lamprecht (A)
1348: Gary Woodland, Thorbjorn Olsen, Bryson DeChambeau
14.00: Zach Johnson, Corey Conners, Jasper Stubbs (A)
1412: Sergio Garcia, Chris Kirk, Ryan Fox
1424: Lucas Glover, Byeong Hun An, Harris English
1436: Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
1448: Nick Taylor Joaquin Niemann, Russell Henley
1506: Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Rickie Fowler
1518: Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
1530: Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
1542: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
1554: Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
1606: Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk, Grayson Murray
1618: Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Davis
1630: Mike Weir, Ryo Hisatsune, Neal Shipley (A)
1642: Vijay Singh, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo
1645: Fred Couples, Adam Hadwin, Stewart Hagestad (A)
1712: Justin Rose, Eric Cole, Peter Malnati
1724: Akshay Bhatia, JT Poston, Shane Lowry
1736: Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
1748: Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
1800: Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrrell Hatton
1812: Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
1824: Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
1836: Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
1848: Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Åberg, Sahith Theegala
1900: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood