Masters: Augusta National will be 'very different' without those huge roars

They can be loud at Ryder Cups and also, occasionally at The Open. But there is nothing in golf that matches the roars at the Masters as the sound echoes around the tree-lined corridors of Augusta National.

Patrons cheer as Tiger Woods walks off the 18th green after winning the 2019 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

In Amen Corner, in particular, and also around the 15th and 16th holes, it really does make the hair on the back of your neck bristle as patrons react by generating an almighty cheer that carries all around the Georgia venue.

This year, though, it will be eerily silent. As has been the case with the two other men's majors in the COVID-19 world, the rescheduled event is being played behind closed doors.

The patrons will have to watch the action on TV, though the ticket holders from April can still get in the Masters mood by accessing the event's first online shop, with items for sale including a Taste of the Masters food pack.

"Augusta will be very different next week," said world No 1 Dustin Johnson. "I've played it with no people there just for fun and then obviously playing during the Masters, even practice rounds, it looks like a different golf course.

"It's still going to be good, it's Augusta, it's the Masters, I'm going to enjoy it. But the look's going to be quite strange."

Over the past 20 or so years, no-one has sent more of those roars into the Augusta air tham Tiger Woods, who claimed his fifth Green Jacket with a spectacular return to winning ways in majors in the 2019 event.

"There's no other place like it," said Woods. "It echoes there, it travels. When you know the pairings, you know where certain players would be at that particular time and you can figure out who's doing what.

"The roars for certain people are louder than others, and then you hear eagle roars and hole-outs on 16, or whatever it may be. It's unlike any other place in the world."

Recalling the 1998 event, won by his close friend and mentor Mark O'Meara, the 15-time major champion added: "Davis [Love] and I were paired together in the final round and Jack [Nicklaus] made a run.

“We were the group ahead. We knew it was Jack behind us, but the roars were so much louder - those were Nicklaus roars. And that's what I had grown up watching and got a chance to experience it in person."

According to Johnson, the absence of fans could produce a third first-time major winner in a row in 2020 after victories for Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau in the US PGA and US Open respectively.

"Even teeing off, it's a whole different ball game when there's 40-50,000 people there and it's definitely strange, especially at a major on a Sunday," said the American, who tied for second behind Woods in that 2019 event.

"Especially for me because I've been in the situation, I've got a lot of experience in that situation, whereas a lot of the guys haven't been there and experienced what it's like to be in a major, especially come the back nine on a Sunday."

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