Coronavirus pandemic causes these two big April sporting events to postpone
Jim Nantz famously quipped it’s “a tradition unlike any other,” regarding golf’s first major of the year.
That spring time tradition in Augusta, Georgia, was put on pause Friday.
Augusta National Golf Club announced the Masters, which is scheduled for April 9-12, was postponed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that’s engulfed the world.
PGA Tour officials conducted the first round of this week’s Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach before canceling the tournament and putting the tour on hiatus with cancellations of the next three tournaments that lead into the Masters.
The PGA Tour, though, is not in charge of the Masters. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley explained the postponement in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the ever-increasing risks associated with the widespread Coronavirus COVID-19 have led us to a decision that undoubtedly will be disappointing to many, although I am confident is appropriate under these unique circumstances,” the statement read. “Considering the latest information and expert analysis, we have decided at this time to postpone the Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
“Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision. We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date.”
The sports world was rocked to its core with the cancellation of both NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as well as all college spring sports on Thursday. That day also saw Major League Baseball suspend its operations indefinitely, with a tentative plan to push the start of its season back two weeks, as well as the NHL suspending its season. The NBA was the first major sports league to suspend its season, doing so Wednesday night.
Major League Soccer halted its season for 30 days.
But unlike March Madness and the PGA Tour’s immediate schedule, the Masters did not get canceled. Instead, the tournament was postponed, allowing for a push back from it’s original start date.
If it’s moved from April completely, then it will be the first time since 1939 that the tournament was conducted outside of April. It wasn’t held in 1943-1945 due to World War II.
In addition to the Masters, the Boston Marathon was postponed for the first time in its 124-year history. The race, which was slated for April 20, is being moved to Sept. 14, according to the Boston Globe. The London Marathon, scheduled less than a week after the Boston race, was postponed to Oct. 4, according to the New York Times.
