No roars at Augusta as Masters to be played without fans

The Masters, the major known as much for the roars of the crowd as the raw beauty of Augusta National, will be on mute this year. The club decided Wednesday there will be no spectators.

That means all three majors in this year of COVID-19 will not have fans, and the silence figures to be most deafening at Augusta National when the Masters is played Nov. 12-15.

From Amen Corner all the way through the back nine, players can often figure out what's happening with others just by listening. That will be missing this year, along with the azalea and dogwood blooms from having to move it from April.

"Part of the allure and kind of majesty of Augusta National is the patrons," PGA veteran Brandt Snedeker said. "You have that electricity from the first moment on Thursday morning to the last putt goes in on Sunday night on every hole. It's not just on the back nine — it's on every hole. So to not have that there is going to be a different feeling."

"Ultimately, we determined that the potential risks of welcoming patrons and guests to our grounds in November are simply too significant to overcome," club chairman Fred Ridley said.

Golf is coming off its first major without fans last week at the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open, moved from June to Sept. 17-20 because of the pandemic, previously announced it won't have spectators at Winged Foot.

The British Open announced in April it would be cancelled this year.

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