Masters cancel Green Jacket Ceremony due to storm threat having already moved the tee times forward

MASTERS officials have cancelled the Green Jacket Ceremony due to the threat posed by today’s forecast storms. Tournament bosses had already taken the unprecedented step of shifting the final day’s tee times to avoid the impending bad weather. Masters chiefs paired players in threesomes and plan to send them off from different tees – the […]

MASTERS officials have cancelled the Green Jacket Ceremony due to the threat posed by today’s forecast storms.

Tournament bosses had already taken the unprecedented step of shifting the final day’s tee times to avoid the impending bad weather.

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Masters chiefs paired players in threesomes and plan to send them off from different tees – the first and tenth – to beat the storms.

Now tournament officials have revealed there will be no traditional Green Jacket Ceremony on the putting green.

However, the jacket presentation in Butler Cabin will go ahead.

Masters officials claimed the cancellation of the putting green ceremony was “in order to expedite gate closures.

SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT

Late on Saturday, speaking of the weather warning, Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National and the Masters tournament said safety was the main priority.

Ridley claimed: “The safety of everyone on our grounds is paramount.

“We also believe the earlier start will give us the best opportunity to complete the Masters on Sunday.

“This decision should benefit everyone – the players, our patrons and our fans watching around the world.

“Given the competitiveness and drama of this year’s tournament, we look forward to an exciting conclusion tomorrow.”

The weather has already intervened once this weekend, with players evacuated from the course during the practice round due to thunderstorms.

Coverage on Sky Sports Golf will begin from 1pm with play set to finish around 7pm.