2020 Masters postponed until 'some later date'
The 2020 Masters will be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, it was announced Friday.
"Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision," Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National, said in a statement. "We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date."
The Augusta National Women's Amateur and the Drive, Chip, and Putt National Finals are also postponed.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the PGA Tour canceled the remainder of The Players Championship and the following three weeks of competition. That move saw all Tour events canceled up until the now-postponed Masters, which was set to begin April 9.
There have been two Masters tournaments contested outside the month of April - the first one ever, in 1934, and the 1939 event, which were both played in March, according to ESPN's Bob Harig.
The Masters Tournament hasn't been completely canceled since 1945 when the event was called off due to World War II.
The next scheduled PGA Tour event is the RBC Heritage beginning on April 16. The season's next major is the PGA Championship, which is scheduled to start May 14 in San Francisco.