AUGUSTA, Ga. — The last time so many people looked up to the sky during the Masters was in 2010. That time someone hired a plane to pull up a sign mocking Tiger Woods' extramarital affairs.
“Sex addiction? Yeah. Right. Of course. Me too!” Read one.
“Tiger, did you mention bootyism?” read another.
Augusta National wasn't too keen on this, even though laughing at Woods' personal shortcomings was the most popular sport in America at the time. Then-chairman Billy Payne also publicly reprimanded him for his “terrible” behavior.
Despite this, the FAA quickly grounded the plane pending “repairs.” Neither this nor any other aviation advertisement was seen again at this convention. (Tiger shot a 68 that day anyway.)
AGNC members have considerable influence, but even if they wanted to, they could not prevent the moon from passing in front of the sun on Monday and causing a partial solar eclipse on these palatial grounds. could not.
So the attention from about 3 p.m. to about 3:20 p.m. wasn't just focused on the practicing golfers. Instead, many people wore official Masters Tournament filters and stared into the light. Cell phones may be illegal here, but that doesn't stop the heavenly entertainment.
Well, maybe. This was only slightly exciting since only 76.1 percent of her sun was covered.
“It's incredible, it's fascinating, it's life-changing, it's life-changing,” joked Kyle Duke of Charleston, South Carolina.
The grounds here looked more like being inside an Instagram filter than darkness. Everyone seemed to agree that the eclipse was okay, but the main topic was where you could see it, namely this famous golf course. Everything is better at Augusta National.
“This is a completely unique day,” said Kyle's father, Bob Duke. After earning a few badges during Monday's practice round, the two Dukes took a break from work and soaked it all up.
“First of all, I'm at Augusta National with my son,” Bob said. “Secondly, there are no cell phones. And thirdly, there was a solar eclipse. It's a wonderfully unique day.”
A solar eclipse at the Masters had not occurred since 1940, when 90 percent of the sun was covered during the final round of the tournament. It got dark, but not enough to stop play. Jimmy Demaret won by four strokes.
Monday was a practice round, so my boastful “Path of Totality” was meaningless.
Brian Herman said he prepared his round early in the day “so I could see the end of the world at Augusta National.”
Yahoo Sports reports that the world isn't actually ending.
Mondays at Augusta National are always pretty casual, mostly with a bunch of regulars who are happy to be here. Therefore, the focus was not only on the sport, but also on the course. Most people ignored the eclipse or just looked at it briefly, and then moved on for the better.
It was even more fun to drink beer, enjoy pimento cheese sandwiches, and compare purchases in the merchandise tent.
Or maybe this is SEC country and we're talking about college football. At least that's the case with Brent Carter (Alabama fan), Pete Wilson (Tennessee fan), and Jason Wiley (Georgia fan), who hang out along the first fairway, already in mid-October. He was getting better.
“The eclipse was really amazing,” said Wiley, a Bulldog fan who lives in Dalton, Georgia. “But it’s not as cool as winning back-to-back national championships.”
