The coronavirus has forced the PGA to postpone The Masters Tournament. The major championship is now scheduled to be held from Nov. 9-15.
The sports world keeps enduring more and more cancellations and suspensions, even within the more socially-distant event of golf. Nonetheless, erring on the side of caution is crucial in today’s universe, so the PGA needed to postpone The Masters.
One of the association’s four major championships was supposed to occur this weekend (April 9-12). But now, it looks like rescheduled dates of Nov. 9-15 have been agreed upon, per Masters Chairman Fred Ridley.
Statement from Chairman Ridley:
"We have identified Nov 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters. We hope the anticipation of staging the Tournament brings a moment of joy to the Augusta community and those who love the game."
Full details at https://t.co/rSr9YUhCX2 pic.twitter.com/1lVmbq8jzJ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2020
For bettors, The Masters having a concrete date is an opportunity to put some money down on golf—even if the tournament itself is months from now. Caesars Sportsbook has updated odds:
The Masters — Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA
Nov. 12-15, 2020
R McIlroy 8/1
J Rahm 12/1
B Koepka 14/1
J Thomas 16/1
D Johnson 16/1
T Woods 16/1
P Cantlay 25/1
X Schauffele 25/1
R Fowler 25/1
T Fleetwood 30/1
B DeChambeau 30/1
The PGA has additionally announced the rescheduled dates for two of its other major championships. The PGA Championship (originally May 14-17) will occur from Aug. 6-9, and the U.S. Open (originally June 18-21) will occur from Sept. 17-20.
Just like everything else right now, these dates aren’t 100% guaranteed, as no one knows how long this issue will truly last.
Breaking: The PGA TOUR has announced the rescheduled dates for three of golf's major championships.
PGA Championship: Aug. 6-9, 2020
U.S. Open: Sept. 17-20, 2020
The Masters: Nov. 12-15, 2020 pic.twitter.com/Hr92NpryqT— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2020
The Masters is broadcast on CBS, so what’s interesting is that now the network will possibly have to hold both that and football on Sunday, Nov. 15. It’s unclear how they would approach that, and also unclear if this virus will even clear up by then.
CBS will POTENTIALLY have to juggle the final round of The Masters and the NFL on Nov. 15.
Damn.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) April 6, 2020
If CBS somehow keeps the games they’re scheduled to hold that day and doesn’t give them to any other networks, that likely means no Jim Nantz in the football booth. Nantz is the voice of The Masters Tournament, someone they couldn’t — and shouldn’t — replace.
Maybe CBS broadcasts the local football games on CBS Sports Network instead of their main channel? Maybe the schedule is pushed back and there are multiple games held in primetime?
This pandemic just keeps on introducing a multitude of questions, some of which we thought we’d never have to discuss.
