When it comes to weather conditions, Augusta National doesn’t get much better than it did on Thursday at these 2023 Masters. But according to the latest Masters forecast, things are about to take an ugly turn on Friday and Saturday.
If you were lucky enough to be a patron on the grounds or a player between the ropes at Augusta National on Thursday, you were treated to warm, humid temperatures and barely a breeze when it came to the wind.
Players in both the morning and afternoon waves benefitted from the calm conditions and receptive greens, with many of them going low, including the trio of co-leaders — Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka — who each managed impressive rounds of 65.
Masters weather forecast for Friday, Saturday
Unfortunately, the fun will likely come to an end on Friday. According to Weather.com, after a cloudy start to the day, thunderstorms will roll into Augusta at 12 p.m. ET. Thunderstorms will stick around until 4 p.m. ET, when they turn to rain and the wind picks up to 14 mph by 7 p.m. ET.
As a result of the impending storms, second-round tee times have been pushed up 30 minutes. That’s good news for players scheduled to tee off in tomorrow’s morning wave, some of whom should finish their entire second rounds. However, if the forecast holds true, the tee time adjustment will be of little help to the afternoon wave.
In the worst case scenario, some players may not even be able to begin their second rounds on Friday. Unfortunately, the weather forecast doesn’t look much better for Saturday. In fact, it might be worse.
As of this writing, the forecast calls for rain all day Saturday, with the chance of precipitation stubbornly sticking in the 90% and above range. Temperatures will plummet into the high-40s, and steady winds up to 14 mph will harass players as well, that is, if any golf ends up being played on Saturday.
All of this is bad news for Masters tournament officials. Unless the forecast improves dramatically, weather delays are a certainty on Friday and Saturday, which will wreak havoc on the schedule. Rain and wind are also predicted for Sunday morning, which means there is a realistic chance we could experience a rare Monday finish at this year’s Masters.
