The opening round of the Masters is DELAYED due to heavy rain lashing the famous Augusta National course in Georgia.
- The Masters – golf’s first major tournament of the year – is set to begin today
- The departure was delayed due to extreme weather conditions in the area.
The opening round of the Masters was delayed due to heavy rainstorms in Georgia.
Officials earlier announced that all gate openings for the opening day of the year’s first major golf tournament had been postponed due to bad weather.
They have now confirmed that the game will not start until 9am local time (2pm BST).
The game was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. in the United States, but will now not start until at least an hour later.
“We continue to monitor the weather closely,” said an official statement.
The opening round of the Masters was delayed due to severe weather conditions.
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“Gate openings and departure times have been delayed until further notice. The first round will not start until 9 a.m.
Thunderstorms and winds of up to 45 mph had been forecast earlier for Thursday, raising concerns the game could be affected.
This turned out to be the case, although the weather is expected to improve as the weekend approaches.
This year’s Masters will see the return of Tiger Woods, five years after the last of his 15 major titles, when he triumphed by a single stroke at Augusta.
He has suffered from injuries over the years, but has always insisted he is capable of competing for victory this week.
Rory McIlroy will also be looking to complete the career Grand Slam, having never won the Masters before.
McIlroy is a four-time major winner and has tasted victory at the PGA Championship twice, at the US Open and The Open, but it has been 10 years since his last major tournament.
