UPDATE: Play will resume at 10:22 a.m. ET. You can follow all of the action here.
UPDATE: At 9:35 a.m. ET, two hours after play was first suspended, it’s still raining hard in Augusta National, and more rain and lightning could come before noon. The good news? Thursday afternoon’s weather looks promising, and the weather forecast for the rest of the week is a good one.
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The first round of the 2020 Masters didn’t last long — 25 minutes, to be exact. Opening-round tee times were supposed to begin at 7 a.m. ET on Thursday at Augusta National, but those were delayed 10 minutes due to darkness. When play began at 7:10 a.m., only a handful of players actually got holes in before play was suspended at 7:35 a.m. ET due to inclement weather.
It’s been a rainy and humid morning at Augusta National. While plenty of rain is expected during Thursday’s first round and also into Friday, there was a hope that storms or lightning wouldn’t slow play, since the tournament will already be difficult to finish on Thursday and Friday due to the lack of daylight. This is also why the Masters decided to have players start on the 1st and 10th tees for the first two rounds.
Nine players were able to complete at least one hole on Thursday morning. The suspension, according to the Golf Channel broadcast, could last an hour or longer — and any lengthy delay might put completing the first round on Thursday in jeopardy.
Thursday started with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player kicking off the 84th Masters with their ceremonial opening tee shots.