Masters 2025: Monday’s rain hopefully paves approach for particular week

AUGUSTA, Ga. — There may be an outdated adage about marriage ceremony days that I really like — when a pair exchanges their vows amid a downpour, it’s believed {that a} lengthy and wholesome marriage will comply with. That applies to my very own mother and father, who’ve been fortunately married for nearly three many years now. Their marriage ceremony day featured nothing however rain, however the precipitation on that ultimate Saturday in Might helped nurture the seeds of a ravishing, loving household — one which I’m extremely fortunate to be part of.

Certainly, a wet marriage ceremony day is an indication of fine luck for newlyweds.

Let’s hope the identical mantra applies to this week’s Masters Event.

It goes with out saying that one’s marriage ceremony day takes place in the beginning of a wedding, simply as Monday’s follow spherical at Augusta Nationwide alerts the arrival of a brand new Masters.

It’s a day for gamers to develop acclimated to the property, follow, and reply questions from the media. It’s additionally considerably of a relaxed setting, with excited patrons traversing the course, all whereas soaking within the landmarks that make this place so particular. Nothing compares to taking within the scenes round Amen Nook, or sitting within the spot the place Tiger Woods famously holed out from on the sixteenth gap 20 years in the past this week.

Indulging in Pimento Cheese sandwiches and having fun with a Crow’s Nest lager doesn’t disappoint both.

Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership/Getty Photos

And but, Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership had no alternative however to droop play attributable to Monday’s inclement climate. It downpoured throughout Jap Georgia on Monday, making it onerous to see 50 toes earlier than you. Puddles developed throughout the course, forcing the membership to shut the property for the rest of the afternoon and disappointing many patrons who made the pilgrimage for Monday’s follow spherical. However the membership will honor Monday’s tickets for these unfortunate attendees sooner or later.

“We’re upset our patrons couldn’t absolutely get pleasure from in the present day’s follow spherical, however the security of everybody at Augusta Nationwide is our highest precedence and was the figuring out issue within the resolution to cancel,” mentioned Fred Ridley, the Chairman of Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership, in a press release on Monday.

“We sit up for welcoming again our Monday patrons subsequent 12 months, in addition to celebrating a beautiful 89th Masters Event forward of us this week.”

Refunds will likely be supplied in Might, and people with Monday follow spherical badges should buy Monday tickets for the 2026 version.

Not all hope is misplaced regardless of the moist day.

And we will solely hope that Monday’s moist climate blossoms into one thing stunning.

In spite of everything, there’s something particular about each Masters Event that has taken place within the years ending in ‘5.’

This has been the case from the very starting too.

The 1935 Masters, the event’s second version, featured the ‘shot heard around the world.’ Gene Sarazen, who turned one in every of 5 gamers to win the profession Grand Slam, holed out from 235 yards with a 4-wood on the par-5 fifteenth gap to match Craig Wooden at 6-under par. The 2 gamers then completed their ultimate rounds knotted at 6-under, and Sarazen defeated Wooden in a 36-hole playoff the next day by 5 strokes.

Twenty years later, in 1955, Cary Middlecoff, one of many biggest gamers the PGA Tour has ever seen, gained his lone Masters title. Middlecoff shot a 7-under 65 throughout the second spherical, which included a then-record 31 on the opening 9. He finally coasted to a seven-shot victory over Ben Hogan, who had gained a pair of Inexperienced Jackets in 1951 and 1953.

Then, in 1965, Jack Nicklaus gained his second Inexperienced Jacket by a whopping 9 photographs, with Gary Participant and Arnold Palmer sharing second place honors. Nicklaus additionally set the event scoring file at 17-under par, leaving the nice Bobby Jones in disbelief. After Nicklaus gained, Jones famously mentioned, “He performs a recreation with which I’m not acquainted.” Nicklaus relied on his beautiful energy and deft contact across the greens to dominate Augusta Nationwide.

Ten years later, in 1975, Nicklaus gained once more in what many name the best Masters of all-time. The Golden Bear fought off Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf as he holed a 40-footer for birdie on the sixteenth inexperienced to finally win by one. Watching these three gamers — the perfect on the planet on the time — battle one another down the stretch remains to be talked about to this present day.

1985 noticed Bernhard Langer win his first Inexperienced Jacket. Langer, who will say goodbye to enjoying in The Masters competitively this week, turned solely the second European to overcome Augusta. His long-time pal and Ryder Cup confidant, Seve Ballesteros, turned the primary European participant to win The Masters in 1980.

In 1995, Ben Crenshaw overcame the longest of odds to win his second Inexperienced Jacket. The day earlier than he arrived at Augusta, Crenshaw served as a pall-bearer at Harvey Penick’s funeral.

Penick, Crenshaw’s longtime mentor and coach, posthumously guided him to a one-shot victory over Davis Love III. He birdied the sixteenth and seventeenth holes to grow to be the thirteenth participant to win a number of Masters titles. Understandably, Crenshaw let the tears circulation on the 18th inexperienced, leaving an indelible picture that can stay on endlessly.

In fact, the 2005 Masters Event produced some of the well-known photographs in event historical past. Dealing with a fragile chip-shot from over the sixteenth inexperienced, Tiger Woods held a one-shot lead however seemed destined to present a shot again to the sphere and drop right into a tie with Chris DiMarco. After which, in some way, someway, Woods holed the chip, as his Nike golf ball simply fell into the underside of the cup, eliciting the nice Verne Lundquist to say, “In your life! Have you ever ever seen something like that!?”

We didn’t see something prefer it earlier than, nor have we seen something prefer it since. In some way, that shot will have fun its twentieth anniversary at this 12 months’s Masters Event, which, fairly frankly, is the primary reminiscence I’ve of watching The Masters with my dad.

This shot can be why the sixteenth gap will endlessly be my favourite, not solely due to Woods but in addition due to Lundquist, one in every of my favourite broadcasters. Lundquist will likely be missed this 12 months.

After which, in 2015, Jordan Spieth gained The Masters in dominating vogue, opening with an 8-under 64. He by no means seemed again. Spieth finally completed at 18-under par, which tied the 72-hole scoring file on the time, as Spieth gained his first of two main championships that 12 months at Augusta. He then went on to win the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay that June, narrowly missed a playoff at St. Andrews at The Open in July, after which completed runner-up to Jason Day on the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August. Spieth had an unbelievable season, coming near successful the Profession Grand Slam, and it began at Augusta.

Quick ahead to the current, and the 2025 Masters Event has arrived with many intriguing storylines. Can Scottie Scheffler win for the third time in 4 years? Will Rory McIlroy full the profession Grand Slam? What about Xander Schauffele, who has gained two of the final three main championships? Will a LIV Golf star win one other main? Can Phil Mickelson flip again the clock and run up the leaderboard, like he did in 2023? How a couple of younger star like Ludvig Åberg? The probabilities are infinite.

However we will solely hope that Monday’s rain blossoms into an incredible event, identical to the showers that always result in a contented marriage.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. Observe him on X @jack_milko.