Eclipse can’t stop Masters stars from shining in practice

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - AUGUSTA: Not even an eclipse could prevent golf’s top stars from shining in Monday’s practice round for the 88th Masters, with Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods exciting spectators at Augusta National.

World No. 1 Scheffler and 15-time major winner Woods were available for stargazing for those who weren’t looking to the cloudless afternoon sky for 76 percent moon shading of the sun.

Scheffler, an oddsmakers darling seeking his second green jacket in three seasons, played alongside US amateur Stewart Hagestad, stopping with help to look at the eclipse through specially prepared Masters eclipse glasses.

“Just to have the little girl come over with the glasses and to be like, ‘Hey, check out the eclipse,’ that’s neat,” Hagestad said. “I certainly didn’t make her day but hopefully Scottie did. That stuff is really cool.”

Scheffler, the 2022 winner, could match Woods as the only player to win the Masters twice while atop the world rankings.

Woods, whose 82 PGA Tour titles are level with Sam Snead for the all-time record, is making a comeback after right ankle surgery last April. He played alongside Will Zalatoris on the back nine when the sun had barely risen.

“He played great today,” Zalatoris said. “He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. He looks great. He’s moving as well as he can be.

“With everything he has gone through, it’s pretty amazing to see how good he’s swinging it.”

The 48-year-old legend, still struggling to walk after severe leg injuries from a 2021 car crash, hopes to make his 24th consecutive Masters cut and break the tournament record he shares with Gary Player and Fred Couples.

Five-time Masters winner Woods, whose most recent major title came at the 2019 Masters, withdrew last year after making the cut due to plantar fasciitis. He withdrew from his PGA return at Riviera in February after one round due to illness.

Zalatoris found the Masters-logo spectacles, the prized eclipse viewers.

“Found a couple of Masters eclipse glasses, which I will be keeping for absolutely the rest of my life,” Zalatoris said.

The sun appeared like a banana, or a crescent, in the glasses while the course didn’t get much darker, although lights were turned on at the driving range.

“I knew 3:08 was the max peak,” said Sahith Theegala. “Every 10 minutes I would borrow someone’s glasses and I made sure at 3:08 to look up. It was pretty wild.

“It almost felt hazy out there and my eyes were almost hurting a little bit, but I was paying attention to it for sure. It was fun.”

Peter Malnati admitted he was a “nerd about stuff like this,” adding, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the ‘24 eclipse happened on Monday at my first Masters, so the two memories will be connected.”

Canada’s Corey Conners, with three Masters top-10s in the past four years, was impressed with the eclipse.

“It exceeded my expectations. It was really cool,” he said. “It was way more defined than I expected.

“I had my sunglasses on the whole round, so I didn’t really notice, but I took them off for a moment and it did seem a little darker.”

It was not the first time the lights have gone out on the Masters.

There was an eclipse during the final round of the 1940 Masters, when Jimmy Demaret fired a 71 to defeat Lloyd Mangrum by four strokes.

Other players are chasing Masters history.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, has not won a major since 2014 but makes his 10th attempt to complete a career grand slam by winning the Masters.

Defending champion Jon Rahm of Spain, among 13 LIV Golf players in this week’s field, could become only the fourth player to win Masters titles in back-to-back years, joining Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo.