THE MASTERS AT AUGUSTA IN THE FALL

This year, The Masters will be like no other. For the first time in its history, the Augusta National will host The Masters in the Fall and also a pandemic.

The 84th Masters tournament, which was postponed in April because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to begin this Thursday, 12 November, with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player acting as Honorary Starters.

Normally, The Masters would be the first major of the season and held in April not November. But this is not a normal year and, like many other events in 2020, The Masters has had to adjust.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no patrons or visitors on the grounds this week. There will be no spring colours of red and lavender azaleas, pink dogwood and orange honeysuckle. There will also be no signature roars, which are the very essence of what makes Augusta National so magical. As Tiger Woods once said:

"It echoes there. It travels. It's unlike any place in the world."

There will be other changes too. The Par 3 Contest, which is traditionally played on the Wednesday prior to the tournament, has been cancelled. Due to the lack of day-light, players will be scheduled to start from the first and 10th tees for the first two rounds. Only the lowest 50 players and ties will qualify for the weekend.

But, there are some traditions that will not change. While The Masters may look and sound very different this year, come Sunday afternoon the winner will be putting on a jacket in a very familiar colour.