Augusta National and the surrounding community in Georgia suffered extensive damage due to Hurricane Helene in late September, but the golf course is expected to be in its typical excellent condition in April for the Masters—just minus a number of trees.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley spoke on the matter Thursday at a news conference in Buenes Aires, where the Latin America Amateur Championship is taking place.
“As far as the impact, the long-term impact, we have not quite as many trees as we did a year ago,” Ridley said. “As far as the golf course goes, it's in spectacular condition. I think we had minor damage to the course, the playing surfaces themselves, but we were able to get that back in shape, but I don't think you're going to see any difference in the condition for the Masters this year.”
Ridley was joined by USGA CEO Mike Whan and R&A chairman Niall Farquharson at Pilar Golf Club for a news conference at what is the 10th playing of the LAAC.
The winner will receive a spot in the Masters, U.S. Open and the British Open, along with spots in the U.S. Amateur and the Amateur Championship in Britain.
Ridley described the damage to the community as “catastrophic and historic” in October when he issued a statement concerning the situation. The club delayed its fall opening for more than a month due to the storm.
Later that month, Ridley announced that Augusta National in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area was donating $5 million to the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund.
“Hurricane Helene was really a devastating event for the Augusta community and for a number of communities in the southeast, particularly in western North Carolina,” Ridley said Thursday. “We suffered a fair amount of impact from the hurricane and as did the entire community.
“I think what I'm the most proud of is the response of our entire organization to that natural disaster, which is really what it was. And not only what they did to get Augusta National back in shape, but as importantly, how they pitched in with the Augusta community and really helped out because there were many, many people, many of our people were out of their homes for a number of weeks. No electricity. The community didn't have water for a while.
“So, I'm just really proud of how our entire organization responded to that.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Augusta National Expected to Be In Top Condition (Minus a Few Trees) for Upcoming Masters.
