2017 Masters: Severe storms force postponement of play Wednesday

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather staff writer

April 5,2017, 1:54:00PM,EDT

 

 

While it has been a stormy week in Augusta, Georgia, the 81st edition of the Masters will begin with cooler-than-normal weather conditions on Thursday.
Severe storms rumbled through Georgia on Monday afternoon, forcing Augusta National Golf Club to close for a time and disrupting practice rounds. Damage was reported throughout town due to the storms, according to Augusta.com.
Another round of severe storms threatened the Augusta area on Wednesday. Spectators, event staff and players were forced to evacuated the grounds during Wednesday morning.
Augusta National was later reopened around 12:30 p.m. EDT, before storms forced the course to close for the day around 1:20 p.m.

However, the threat of severe or wet weather will not return to impact golfers during the four-day span that the tournament occurs.

“It will be cool, dry and breezy for the first two rounds of the Masters on Thursday and Friday,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Doll.
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Spectators heading to Augusta National for the first or second round will want to have a jacket or sweatshirt handy, but especially for the morning hours with temperatures in the mid-50s expected.
Ninety-four golfers comprise this year's tournament field and will battle to claim the famed green jacket. Play will officially begin when the first group tees off at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday.
Highs will be in the mid-60s F on Thursday and Friday; a normal high temperature for those days is around 73.
The breeze may make an already challenging golf course more difficult for golfers to navigate. Winds of 20 mph will arrive out of the west on Thursday with gusts up to 30 mph possible. By Friday, winds will lessen slightly with gusts up to 20 mph out of the west-northwest.

While golfers will battle the wind during the first two rounds, those that advance to play into the weekend will experience improved conditions.
"Very nice weather is expected for the weekend with lighter winds, plenty of sunshine and high temperatures in the 70s," Doll said.