Mientras esperamos que la tormenta pase

As we wait for the storm to pass

The forecasts at Augusta National were fulfilled and the Masters had to be canceled due to inclement weather, a thunderstorm, and strong winds that knocked down three huge and ancient trees. The safety of players and the public is essential and in these conditions, it became impossible to play.

Today it is planned to resume the game as soon as conditions allow it, there are even already established departure times, but as I said, that will be respected as long as conditions improve remarkably.

While we wait I will tell you some curiosities about this traditional tournament that integrates the calendar of the four majors or Grand Slam if you prefer, I have already mentioned in another previous publication that it is the first to be played and always in the second week of each April.

It began to be played in 1934, being the winner on that occasion Horton Smith who repeated it in 1936, only three years the tournament was not played since that beginning, it was during the Second World War between 1943 and 1945 when a great part of this huge expanse of land was used by the US army to raise cattle to feed the large number of soldiers who went to war.

This is a sport created by the British and it is clear that most of the top golfers were and are from nations influenced by them, perhaps like no other even today, despite the popularization of golf throughout the world, the British continue to and the Americans being the most winners in these big tournaments, there are exceptions of course although we Latinos have few wins in Augusta, only three Spaniards and one Argentine have been able to put on the green jacket that distinguishes the winner of this tournament in all his history, here I must clarify that Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazábal each won twice, the third in contention was Sergio García, who won in 2017, being his only major tournament to date. The Argentine who won Augusta Ángel Cabrera in 2009 and scratched the big story by starting second from Adam Scott in 2013, falling on the second playoff hole after tying both at the end of the 72 regulation holes. Another Argentine, the remembered multiple champion Roberto De Vicenzo, was on the verge of obtaining this major when he mistakenly signed a card to which his occasional opponent had added one more stroke.

It took until 2021 for an Asian to win the Masters for the first time and the honor went to Hideki Matsuyama who entered the great history of sports in Japan, he is considered a hero for this enormous conquest.

It was also necessary to wait until 1961 for someone not born in the United States to win the Augusta Masters, it was Gary Player, a member of the famous Big Three along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, the name came from the representative of Arnold Palmer at the end of 1962 when the three of them shared almost without a solution of continuity all the majors, that precisely year Palmer had won the Masters and the British Open, Nicklaus the United States Open and Player the PGA Championship. From that moment on, their names were linked forever, and also their friendship lasts to this day, despite the fact that Palmer died a few years ago.

Every year the three were in charge of taking the coup de honor, that is, taking the first shot from the tee of hole one. Palmer has been replaced by Tom Watson, somewhat younger than the previous three, but also the one grand champion winner of 8 majors.

He could go on for much more about Augusta and her legend, but I'd instead let the players return to the field and the story continues as it should.