Why was the start of 2024 Masters delayed? Has there ever been a Monday finish?

The start of the 2024 Masters has been delayed due to inclement weather at Augusta National, as had been predicted before the tournament.

When will play begin on Thursday at the 2024 Masters?

The forecast for the next four days had claimed there was “a 90% chance of showers and thunderstorms prior to 1 p.m. ET,” on Thursday with “a 40% chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms after 4 p.m”. As a result, Thursday’s tee times was pushed back for one initially, although that has since been extended to two and a half hours.

Erik van Rooyen and Jake Knapp had been scheduled to go out first in a two-ball at 8 a.m. ET, 20 minutes after honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson. There now won’t be any official play until 10:30 a.m. ET at the very earliest.

This will be the sixth Masters in succession that has been affected by a weather delay, with last year’s third round running into Sunday, when Jon Rahm eventually took the win.

Conditions are expected to improve on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which should lessen the likelihood of the tournament running into Monday. That has only happened on five occasions in Masters history.

Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros among Masters Monday finish winners

In 1936, the third edition of the tournament, then called Augusta National Invitation Tournament, saw both the third and fourth rounds played on Monday due to no play being possible on either Thursday or Sunday.

Two years later in 1938, Thursday and Friday were both written off, with two rounds taking place on Sunday before a final round on Monday.

In 1961, Gary Player became the first non-American to win the Masters and did so on a Monday, pipping Arnold Palmer and Charles, an amateur, by a single shot to claim his first major.

Bad weather meant there was little play on Saturday at the 1973 tournament, which was won on the Monday by Tommy Aaron, his only major victory.

For the most recent Monday finish at the Masters, we have to go back all the way to 1983, when Friday’s play was postponed, setting the last three rounds back 24 hours. Seve Ballesteros won by four shots, his second triumph at Augusta and this third major (of five).