With a poor Saturday and Sunday weather forecast predicting heavy rains and fierce winds, there is a realistic possibility the final round of the 2023 Masters could be forced into a Monday finish.
If there is a Monday finish at the Masters, it would mark the sixth time in Masters history the tournament has concluded on a Monday. Augusta National Golf Club will recognize Sunday tickets for Monday entry in the event the tournament has to finish then. CBS would broadcast Monday coverage.
A history of Masters Monday finishes
The last time the Masters had a Monday finish was in 1983, when Seve Ballesteros emerged as champion on Monday. The Monday finish was forced by a full rainout on Friday, forcing the second round to Saturday with a split-tee start in bleak hopes of finishing by Sunday night.
However, when six players had to return on Sunday to finish their second round, Augusta National officials chose to start the third round on Sunday and leave the final round for Monday. In the Monday final round, Ballesteros shot 3-under 69 to win on 8-under 280 by four shots over Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite, capturing his second green jacket.
Prior to 1983, the last Masters Monday finish was in 1973. Poor weather on Saturday cost much of the day, and Masters officials chose to wipe out any recorded third-round scores in favor of starting the third round anew on Sunday, playing the fourth round on Monday. Tommy Aaron became just the second native Georgian to win the event, closing with a 4-under 68 to beat JC Snead. However, Aaron had to notice playing partner Johnny Miller had accidentally marked him down for a 5 on 13 instead of a 4, which was the difference in winning.
Gary Player won his first Masters in 1961 in a Monday finish. Greens had been flooded and parts of the course were unplayable, forcing club officials to wipe out 10 completed Sunday final rounds and restart the final round on Monday. Player won when Arnold Palmer was unable to get up-and-down for par from the greenside bunker on No. 18, making the South African the first foreign-born winner of the Masters.
Other Masters Monday finishes include two of the early years of the tournament, in 1936 and 1938. In 1936, the scheduled final day of 36 was moved to Monday because of weather. In '38, poor weather forced the tournament to start on Saturday, with 36 played on Sunday and the final 18 on Monday.
