Why the 2020 Masters might not have ended today even if it had been played

The Masters has been postponed to the second week in November. That’s old news. On what should be the final day of the most anticipated major championship in recent memory, we’ve instead shifted to watching reruns of Masters’ past and speculating about the appearance and quality of Masters’ future.

But if you’re among those in the golf world mourning the loss of what would’ve been Masters Sunday, take some solace knowing that even if the Masters had been played, the tournament might not have ended today.

Why is that? Well, because had the Masters been held this weekend, the weather gods might not have just rained on our parade, they might have rained OUT our parade. The forecast for would-be Masters Sunday is a nightmare. A higher-than-50-percent chance of Thunderstorms from 1 p.m. all the way through to 8 p.m. And if the thunder and lightning weren’t enough, clouds and winds have gusted all morning on Magnolia Lane, enough for the National Weather Service to release a lake wind warning for Richmond County, Ga.

What the brutal forecast could have meant for this year’s event is anyone’s guess, but given the wide breadth of bad weather expected, it’s not crazy to wonder if we could’ve seen a Monday finish at Augusta for the first time in four decades. The last Masters Monday finish came in 1983 after Friday rains wiped out an entire day of play. That year, Seve Ballesteros vaulted to the top of the leaderboard on Monday, nabbing a four stroke win over Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw.

Those with a sharp memory will recall that Augusta National moved up tee times and condensed groups to three players for Sunday at last year’s Masters in order to finish the tournament on Sunday. Rather than Augusta’s traditional Sunday evening finish, Tiger Woods holed his winning putt at around 2:30 p.m. local time, shortly before swathes of rain blanketed the area.

While the forecast won’t help us fill the void created by Augusta’s absence, maybe it’ll make us a little more grateful for November—wind chill and all.

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