In a devastating display of nature’s fury, Hurricane Helene carved a 400-mile path of destruction, leaving Augusta National in its wake and casting a shadow of uncertainty over the future of The Masters in 2025.
The category four hurricane brought winds of 140 mph and forced several states to declare a state of emergency. As a result of Helene and the significant damage inflicted on Augusta National Golf Club, there have been fears among some golf fans that The Masters could be cancelled next year.
Mother nature
Helene, along with a separate weather system earlier in the week, dumped more than 30 inches of rain on North Carolina, producing the most significant local flooding in recorded history. The flooding in western North Carolina surpassed records that had stood for more than a century. The French Broad River in Asheville peaked at 24.67 feet, breaking the previous record of 23.1 feet set in July 1916.
Chairman confident
Fans need not panic just yet, as Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley believes golf’s first major of the season will go ahead as planned from 10-13 April 2025. “I’m confident that The Masters will be held on the dates it’s scheduled, and I think we have a few announcements to make regarding that project, so stay tuned,” Ridley said at a news conference ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan.
People power
He added: “We’ve had literally dozens of people working at the club, and what I’ve really been most proud of is that while everyone is certainly focused on getting us back up and running, our employees have been so focused on the community at large. “As far as the golf course is concerned, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was. There was a lot of damage. We have many people working hard to get us back up and running. We don’t really know exactly what that’s going to mean, but I can tell you that if it’s humanly possible, we’ll be back in business sooner rather than later.”
