Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said the home of the Masters suffered extensive damage in last week’s Hurricane Helen, but vowed the tournament would go ahead as planned next April.
Ridley said Augusta National suffered “extensive damage” from the storm, which knocked out electricity and water to the famous course.
He said: “There has been a lot of damage and a lot of people are working hard to restore and operate the club.Dozens of staff have worked at the club over the years and I am really proud of them.” What we have is that while everyone is certainly focused on getting the club back up and running, the employees are very focused on the community as a whole.
“As far as golf courses go, we don’t know exactly what that means, but we do know that if it’s humanly possible, we’ll be back open sooner rather than later.”
Ridley also announced that the club has donated $5 million to a fund to support local recovery efforts from the storms that hit the southeastern United States last week.
“I was in Augusta right after the storm and saw its devastating effects firsthand,” Ridley said. “Our employees, neighbors, friends, and business owners need and deserve immediate and meaningful support to overcome the challenges we are currently experiencing across Augusta.”
Coach Ridley said the Masters will begin as scheduled on April 10th.
“The Masters will take place,” he said. “The event will be held as scheduled.”
