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| 4/8/2003 |
Storms wash away Masters dreams
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11:18:16 AM
Georgia, April 8 - At least a score of the world's top golfers saw their chances of winning the 2003 Masters washed away here Monday morning - four days before they even had a chance to strike a ball in anger.
Payers arriving for their Monday practice round were greeted by a furious thunderstorm that had officials quickly closing the course and keeping fans off the grounds because of the danger of being struck by lightning.
It was the first time for 20 years that spectators were barred from the course, leaving thousands of frustrated fans hanging around outside the gates.
Club officials said they had no choice, citing safety reasons.
By the time the storm had passed, the first fairway had a series of rivers pouring back down towards the first tee and the opening practice round cancelled.
Monday's closure is estimated to have cost the club over one million dollars in lost revenue from their souvenir shops.
The club also said they would refund an estimated half-million dollars to ticket holders.
With more heavy storms forecast over the next four days, the game's shorter hitters are facing a nightmare of simply trying to make the cut for the weekend.
Davis Love, one of the tours bigger hitters admitted that the bad weather spelled bad news for many of the players - drastically reducing the number of players who can win come Sunday.
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