The Masters, golf’s first major tournament of the year, has been postponed due to fears of the coronavirus.
The Masters was scheduled to be played April 9-12 and becomes the fifth straight tournament on the PGA Tour schedule to be put off due to the global pandemic. Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, made the announcement in a statement Friday morning.
“Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision,” Ridley wrote. “We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date.”
No new dates has been announced.
The Players Championship was started on Thursday with fans not having the usual access to golfers. It had been scheduled to continue Friday without fans, but late Thursday the PGA Tour canceled the remainder of the event with all competitors splitting half of the $15 million prize purse.
Next week’s Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, the WGC-Dell Technologies Championship in Austin, Texas, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio have also been canceled.
Tiger Woods is the defending champion, having won his fifth tournament at Augusta National last April.