MIAMI — Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson won’t be surprised if Augusta National Golf Club is in spectacular condition at next week’s Masters, which will be played about six months after the course was heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene.
On Sept. 27, the category 1 hurricane, with wind gusts of 80 mph to 100 mph, killed at least 11 people, downed thousands of trees and damaged thousands of homes and businesses in the Augusta area.
Augusta National Golf Club was also affected, mostly by the loss of trees.
“As far as the impact, the long-term impact, we have not quite as many trees as we did a year ago,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley told reporters at February’s Latin America Amateur Championship.
“As far as the golf course goes, it’s in spectacular condition. I think we had minor damage to the course, the playing surfaces themselves, but we were able to get that back in shape, but I don’t think you’re going to see any difference in the condition for the Masters this year.”
Mickelson, one of only five golfers to win a green jacket three times (2004, ’06 and ’10), recalled playing a practice round at Augusta National about two weeks before a tournament.
Mickelson was about to hit his tee shot at the par-4 11th hole, the start of the famed Amen Corner, when a tall pine tree fell in the middle of the fairway, about 100 yards from the group playing in front of him.
As Mickelson was walking down the 11th fairway, he heard workers’ radios going off, with a supervisor telling them, “Get to 11.”
“There were a number of workers piling in, racing to this tree, firing up the chain saws and cutting this thing down,” Mickelson said. “By the time I walk off of 11 green, all the limbs of the tree have been cut off and put on the back of these carts.”
When Mickelson reached the 15th hole, workers were cutting up the trunk of the tree. At the 18th hole, he saw workers resodding the 11th fairway.
“You couldn’t tell two days later this had happened,” Mickelson said. “I just thought, ‘If that was my home course, that tree would still be there like three weeks later,’ and they had this thing removed. It was one of the most impressive things I had seen — their ability to handle stuff like that. I’m sure the course is going to be in great shape.”
Augusta National Golf Club will host the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday.
The 89th Masters will be played on April 10-13. First-round coverage will air on ESPN from 3 p.m. ET to 7:30 p.m. ET
