AUGUSTA, Ga. — There was plenty to see at Augusta National Golf Club on Monday. Oh, and there was the first official practice round of the 2024 Masters going on too.
Early risers enjoyed getting to watch Tiger Woods work his way around the back nine of the famed course, playing alongside Will Zalatoris and testing out a balky back ahead of competing in the Masters for the 26th time in his career. Indeed, most of the 89 players in the field—Akshay Bhatia grabbing the last spot on Sunday with his victory at the Valero Texas Open—got in some work in preparation for Thursday’s first round.
But the sight that grabbed the attention of many patrons was one in the sky. On a cloudless afternoon, the fisolar eclipse that crossed the continental U.S.—the first since 2017 and the last until 2044—became its own storyline, visible for a few hours to those not gazing inside the ropes. Augusta National made special glasses available to patrons so they could safely witness history.
Photo by J.D. Cuban
Photo by J.D. Cuban
RELATED: The Internet is going bananas over the solar eclipse at Augusta
Photo by Ben Walton
Interestingly this was not the first time the Masters has been impacted by such a celestial event. During the final round of the 1940 Masters, an annular eclipse obscured with about 90 percent of the sun passed overhead just after 5 p.m. and lasted about 2½ hours. Jimmy Demaret won the first of his three green jackets that day, beating Lloyd Mangrum by four strokes.
Photo by Ben Walton
Photo by Ben Walton
Photo by J.D. Cuban
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
