Here’s a look at the history of rain at the Masters Tournament

This is a recording of WRDW First at Four News at 4 p.m.
Published: Apr. 9, 2023 at 10:00 PM EDT|Updated: Apr. 9, 2023 at 10:17 PM EDT
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A tradition unlike any other – and over the past 40 years this tradition has been a mostly dry one, historically speaking.

I did some research and compiled data from the past 20 years about rain totals from previous Masters tournaments.

In 2005, we saw over an inch and a half of rain fall over the four-day span of the tournament.

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Last year’s tournament also fell among the top five wettest tournaments over the past 20 years claiming the second spot. We started off Masters week last year with storms, tornadoes, and flooding – but finished off on a much drier and cooler note.

In 2006, we received just under and inch of rainfall, 2009 we saw a little over half an inch. And 2018 we saw just under half an inch of rainfall.

Now as I mentioned before, the Masters Tournament has managed to stay dry enough over the past 40 years to avoid extending play into Masters Monday.

Back in 1983, over 3 inches of rainfall fell during the four-day span of the tournament. There was no SubAir system in place at this time but now all 18 greens at the course have sub air systems in place. These systems help pump water away from the greens and release it in areas away from play.

Here’s a look at Masters tournaments that were affected by inclement weather over the past four decades:

  • 2019: Round 2 was delayed a half-hour. Split tees were used in the final round, which began at 7:30 a.m. Sunday in anticipation of foul weather later in the day. The leaders teed off at 9:20 a.m. Tiger Woods won his fifth green jacket.
  • 2006: A four-hour delay on Saturday forced Round 3 to be completed Sunday morning. Phil Mickelson went on to capture his second Masters title.
  • 2005: A five-hour delay on Thursday led to first-round play being suspended by darkness with 68 players still on the course. They returned to complete the opening round on Friday morning. More weather delays pushed the completion of Round 3 into Saturday. The third round was suspended by darkness and had to be completed Sunday morning. Woods won for the title for the fourth time, beating Chris DiMarco in a playoff.
  • 2000: A two-hour delay on Saturday led to the third round being finished Sunday morning. Vijay Singh captured the green jacket.
  • 1992: The third round was suspended for nearly three hours because of thunderstorms, with play halted at 7:50 p.m. because of darkness. Six players were forced to complete Round 3 on Sunday morning, and Fred Couples capped the day with a Masters victory.
  • 1989: The third round was suspended for two hours. Twelve players finished up Sunday morning before Nick Faldo claimed the first of two straight green jackets with a playoff victory over Scott Hoch.
  • 1984 — The third round was suspended twice because of adverse weather and had to be completed Sunday morning. Ben Crenshaw went on to capture the victory.
  • 1983 — The most recent of four Masters that finished on a Monday because of inclement weather. The schedule got off track with a 40-minute delay in the opening round, then play was totally wiped out by heavy rains on Friday. The second round finally began at 11 a.m. Saturday, but two more weather delays pushed its finish to the next morning. The third round finally began at 10:54 a.m. Sunday, forcing the final round to be played on Monday, Seve Ballesteros captured his second green jacket.