AUGUSTA (AFP) ‒ Top-ranked defending champion Dustin Johnson and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy delighted the first spectators at Augusta National since 2019 with a practice round together on Monday ahead of the 85th Masters tournament.
Spectators were banned last year and the event was delayed until November by the Covid-19 pandemic while this week only a limited number of fans are allowed onto the famed course under Covid-19 safety protocols which include mandatory face masks and social distancing.
“It’s fantastic to see people out here again,” England’s 16th-ranked Matthew Fitzpatrick said.
Those who arrived early, the first fans at a major since the 2019 British Open, were treated to a tour of the front nine by McIlroy, trying to win a green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam, and Johnson, bidding to become the first back-to-back Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02.
“It’s nice to have the patrons back,” Johnson said. “It’s shaping up to be a wonderful Masters. Conditions are perfect. The course is in really good shape, right where they want it.”
McIlroy, ranked 12th, continued onto the back nine while Johnson headed back to the practice range.
Masters officials have not said how many fans are expected to attend the tournament, but US media reports have estimated about 12,000 spectators per day will be allowed compared to a usual 40,000 to 50,000.
“The patrons play such a massive role,” 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth said. “It won’t take many people for it to feel close enough to normal to make it a fantastic event.”
Swing coach Pete Cowen worked Monday with McIlroy and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
“Just go back to the simple process of practicing to improve,” he said of working with McIlroy. “There’s no getting better in the past so we’ve got to move forward.”
Koepka practiced for a second straight day, planning to play despite right knee surgery on March 16 for a dislocation and ligament damage after slipping in Florida.
“I feel like I can win it,” Koepka said Monday. “I feel like my game is in good enough shape to win it. From there, it’s about making it the four days.
“I didn’t come here to finish second.”
Koepka says he still feels pain as he prepares for a grueling Masters walk.
