At The Masters on Monday, play was halted because of a rather unique set of conditions that had developed. The Augusta National Golf Club was completely engulfed in darkness as a result of the total solar eclipse, which occurred soon after 3 p.m. local time in Georgia. As a result, the first practice round of the major championship came to a halt as players, caddies, and tourists turned their attention upward.

On the other hand, there was no requirement to bring your own eclipse glasses to the legendary location. Everyone who was present was given solar viewing glasses with the Masters logo on them so that they could see the celestial display without risking their eyesight. These glasses are a one-of-a-kind collector’s item that comes from a tournament that is unparalleled in terms of its memorabilia.

A golfer from the United States named Will Zalatoris, who finished in second place in 2021, told reporters, “I will be keeping those for absolutely the rest of my life.”

“Those are going to be some collectables that will remain in my office for the rest of my life.”

At around 3:08 p.m., when approximately 76% of the sun was obscured by the moon, the partial eclipse reached its greatest level of obscurity. This occurred shortly after the eclipse began, which was just before 2 p.m.

Amen Corner, a well-known and feared three-hole stretch on the back nine of the course, was promised by the organizers to offer the best view of the eclipse. Players gathered from all over the course to observe the peak of the eclipse.

Stewart Hagestad, an amateur golfer, was blessed with the opportunity to see the world’s number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, compete. However, in order to do so, he was first given a pair of viewing glasses by a young fan who was very helpful.

Hagestad, who is 32 years old, told the reporter, “I personally believe that those little moments are part of what makes the week so special.” In addition to the golf, there are a lot of other things that take place throughout this week that you will probably remember.

“To have the young girl come over with the glasses and to basically say, ‘Hey, check out the eclipse,'” the speaker said. So, that’s really cool, isn’t it?

There is no doubt that I did not brighten her day, but I am hopeful that Scottie did. The material in question is extremely cool.

Although residents of Georgia were able to witness a total eclipse in 2017, the only people who can claim to have witnessed the spectacle during tournament week are those who were present during the sixth edition of The Masters golf tournament, which took place 84 years ago.

In the final round of the 1940 tournament, Jimmy Demaret was able to secure his first of three green jackets despite the fact that about 90 percent of the sun was blocked during one stage of the competition. After winning the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour a month ago, Peter Malnati, who was 36 years old at the time, received his first ticket to the Masters tournament. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the ’24 eclipse that happened on Monday at my first Masters,” Malnati said. “The two memories will be connected.”

“I, too, am a bit of a nerd when it comes to things like this. He continued, “I am fascinated by science, but I am not very good at it.”

On the other hand, not all players were as emotional about the event. One of them was the reigning Open Championship winner, Brian Harman, who had been stuck in a playoff at a tournament during the North American eclipse seven years ago.

To which the American said with a chuckle, “This is timed up pretty good; you get to watch the end of the world at Augusta National.” While there were golfers who only used solar glasses when the sun was at its darkest, there were also golfers who were able to monitor many of their strokes through the darkness of their commemorative eyewear.

Every ten minutes, Sahith Theegala, who is ranked fifteenth in the world, switched to the glasses as he was at the 18th tee for prime viewing.

At 3:08, I made it a point to peek upstairs. He said that it was quite thrilling.

“However, for approximately forty-five minutes, I attempted to take shots while wearing my glasses since… the environment seemed blurry, and my eyes were beginning to feel a little bit of discomfort. On the other hand, I was definitely paying attention to it. It’s a lot of fun.”

Corey Conners, a prominent player from Canada, went one step further and played the length of his practice round while wearing the glasses. He did not see much of an affect on his swing.

“I removed them for a brief period of time, and it did appear to be a little darker,” Conners shared further.

I took a quick glance at the eclipse, and I thought it was really interesting.