With Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and John Rahm set to begin practicing at the Masters on Monday, attendees at Augusta National received a unique complementary collectible: official solar visors provided by the tournament.
The glasses are intended to protect attendees’ eyes from Monday afternoon’s solar eclipse. And while they’re technically disposable, fans would do well to strap on the green cardboard glasses emblazoned with the tournament’s famous logo.
“All media members (and I assume sponsors) received eclipse glasses with the Masters logo upon entering Augusta National this morning,” Gabby Herzig of The Athletic wrote in X. “Yes, I will frame mine when I get to home”.
“What a great surprise,” said Grant Thomas, who walked through the doors at 7 a.m. USA Today. ‘We will be able to experience a solar eclipse and Augusta on the same day. Nothing bad.’
Tournament officials issued a warning about the eclipse in a statement: “During the eclipse, do not look at the sun without appropriate solar glasses.” We ask that you use caution and be aware of your surroundings while wearing the glasses.’
Masters fans given goggles at Augusta to view historic total solar eclipse
Tanner Causey, of Millbrook, Alabama, looks through eclipse glasses during a practice round for the Masters Tournament golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Eclipse glasses are distributed to customers at the entrance during a practice round in Augusta.
Friends try on eclipse glasses during a practice round for the Masters Tournament
The statement went on to warn attendees not to point their camera lenses at the eclipse.
“Optics can increase the intensity of sunlight and this can cause damage to your equipment,” the statement reads.
According to a later post on X, Monday’s ‘solar eclipse will be visible from Augusta National starting at 1:50 p.m.’
The maximum ‘obscuration will be 76.1 percent at 3:08 p.m. and the eclipse will end at 4:32 p.m.’
Augusta, which sits on the Georgia-South Carolina border, is not along the narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the United States and Canada, where Monday’s eclipse will be most visible.
Karen Pemberton hands out eclipse glasses to customers at the door during a practice round
On some flowers you can see disposable protective glasses with the Masters logo
The best weather at the end of the eclipse was expected in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
It promised to be the largest eclipse ever seen in North America, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of darkness at noon in Texas and other select locations. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting. The show begins in the Pacific shortly before noon EDT.
As for the Masters, that show begins Thursday at Augusta National, where Woods & Co. began practicing Monday.
Woods is part of the conversation every time the Masters comes around and this year will be no different even though the five-time champion is a longshot who has been severely limited when it comes to competition due to health reasons.
Woods, who endured a shortened 2023 season that included two starts on the PGA Tour before undergoing ankle surgery last April, will play Thursday in the first round of the Masters after having played 24 holes of official golf this year and none since February.
Tournament organizers instructed attendees to protect their eyes during Monday’s eclipse.
Nadine Bassalio, of Augusta, Georgia, hands out eclipse glasses during a practice round for the Masters Tournament golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Arriving at Augusta National without many competitive reps is nothing new for Woods, who made his famous comeback at the 2022 Masters, where he finished 47th just 14 months after a car accident that nearly caused doctors to amputate his leg. right.
But Woods requires hours of preparation to get his battered 48-year-old body ready for a round of golf, and the toll the grueling layout of Augusta National and the tournament takes on him (specifically his back and reconstructed leg) should temper that. Expectations.
“There’s no doubt he’s going to hit a lot of good shots and there’s no doubt he’s going to make some putts, but can he sustain that for two, three, four days?” ESPN analyst and two-time US Open winner Curtis Strange said in a conference call.
“That’s the question… and it’s a big question mark.”
At last April’s Masters, which was marred by heavy rain, high winds and cold temperatures, Woods was visibly limping and withdrew before completing the third round due to plantar fasciitis and underwent ankle surgery later that month.
Woods’ only PGA Tour start since then came in mid-February at the Genesis Invitational, where he abruptly withdrew early in the second round due to the flu, a day after battling spasms on the final holes of the first round.
Tiger Woods walks to the tee on the 10th hole during a practice round Monday at Augusta.
While competitive rust inevitably exists in Woods’ game, he can take comfort in playing the Masters, as he is the only men’s major played on the same course every year and he knows the layout better than anyone else in the field.
Woods, who has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional, will also be seeking a tournament-record 24th consecutive cut after tying Gary Player and Fred Couples last year.
Given that Woods is a roughly 160-1 chance to win a sixth Masters title this year, simply making the cut and playing this weekend could be considered a victory for the most decorated golfer of his generation.
“If you ask him at the (pre-tournament) press conference, and you’ll be asked, he’ll tell you he’s there to compete and win. He means that. That’s not performative,” ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt said on the call. the media.
“But I think quietly, alone with his thoughts on Friday, if you said you’d played well enough to play two more rounds, I’d have to think that’s a win.”