The Masters Tournament is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf. Established in 1934, the tournament features a smaller, invitation-only field, making it unique among golf’s major events. Since its inception, the event has always been held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, a course co-designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie. The course has undergone numerous renovations over the years, with changes to greens, bunkers, tee boxes, and hazards to keep the course challenging
The tournament has produced some of golf’s most legendary winners, including Jack Nicklaus, who holds the record with six victories, followed by Tiger Woods with five and Arnold Palmer with four. Further, traditions play a significant role at the Masters, including the green jacket ceremony or the champions' dinner. The latter began in 1949 due to Clifford Roberts, while the former, started by Ben Hogan, began in 1952.
The Masters Tournaments' Attendees
The fans or attendees of the Masters Tournament are called "patrons."
The Golf Monthly reported that Clifford Roberts, who saw fans as much more than just individuals who pay their money, watch the play of the day, and depart, intended the Masters to be a more prestigious experience for them. Thus, he gave the attendees the term “patrons.” Since 1934, the Augusta National prefers to call attendees patrons.
As per the Cambridge dictionary, the word patron means "a person or group that supports an activity or organization, especially by giving money." Attendees buy the tickets for the experiences Roberts wanted to provide, which validates the meaning.
The Augusta National also follows several stringent rules for patrons, like no sunbathing, sitting on the grass, clearly branded items, no running, no wearing caps backward, no cell phones, coolers, selfie sticks, flags, banners, signs, or shoes with metal spikes, either. Also, the patrons are given a badge to wear (via Golf Monthly).
Also read: Why Do the Masters Wear Green Jackets?
FAQs on What are Masters fans called?
A. The Masters is held at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, during the first whole week of April every year.
A. The Masters is a four-day, 72-hole stroke-play competition. At 90–100 players, the field is usually smaller than in other large tournaments.
A. The Masters is well-known for several customs, like the green jacket ceremony, champions dinner, par-3 contest and many more.
A. Yes, the Masters Tournament can be attended by purchasing tickets, which are available on the event's website.
