Solar Eclipse 2024: Masters fans are handed protective glasses at Augusta to watch historic spectacle as Tiger Woods and Co. head out early for first day of practice

With Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and John Rahm set to begin practicing at the Masters on Monday, attendees at Augusta National received a unique complementary collectible: Official tournament-issued solar viewers.

The glasses are intended to protect attendees' eyes from Monday afternoon's solar eclipse. And while they are technically disposable, fans might be wise to hang onto the green cardboard spectacles emblazoned with the famed tournament logo.

'All media members (and I assume patrons) received Masters-logoed eclipse glasses upon entry at Augusta National this morning,' The Athletic's Gabby Herzig wrote on X. 'Yes, I will be framing mine when I get home.'

'What a cool surprise,' Grant Thomas, who entered the gates at 7am, told USA Today. 'We get to experience a solar eclipse and Augusta on the same day. Not bad.'

Tournament officials issued a warning about the eclipse in a statement: 'During the eclipse, please do not look at the sun without appropriate solar glasses. We ask that you exercise caution and be aware of your surroundings while wearing the glasses.'

The statement went on to warn attendees about pointing their camera lenses at the eclipse.

'Optics can magnify the intensity of sunlight, and this can cause damage to your equipment,' the statement read.

According to a subsequent post on X, Monday's 'solar eclipse will be visible from Augusta National starting at 1:50 p.m.'

The maximum 'obscuration will be 76.1 percent at 3:08 p.m. and the eclipse will end at 4:32 p.m.'

Augusta, which sits on the Georgia-South Carolina border, is not along the narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the US to Canada, where Monday's eclipse will be most visible.

The best weather was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

It promised to be North America's biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting. The show gets underway in the Pacific shortly before noon EDT.

As for the Masters, that show will get underway on Thursday at Augusta National, where Woods & Co. began practicing on Monday.

Woods is part of the conversation every time the Masters rolls around and this year will be no different even though the five-time champion is a longshot who has been severely limited when it comes to competition due to health reasons.

Woods, who endured an abbreviated 2023 season that featured two PGA Tour starts before having ankle surgery last April, will tee off Thursday in the first round of the Masters having played 24 holes of official golf this year and none since February.

Arriving at Augusta National without many competitive reps is nothing new for Woods, who famously made a comeback at the 2022 Masters where he finished 47th just 14 months after a car crash that nearly resulted in doctors amputating his right leg.

But Woods requires hours of preparation to get his battered 48-year-old body ready for a round of golf, and the toll that a taxing Augusta National layout and tournament play has on him -- specifically his back and rebuilt leg -- should temper expectations.

'There's no doubt he's going to hit a lot of good shots, and there's no doubt he's going to make some putts, but can he sustain that over two, three, four days?' ESPN analyst and twice US Open winner Curtis Strange said on a conference call.

'That's the question ... and it's a big question mark.'

At last April's Masters, which was hit by heavy rains, strong winds and cold temperatures, Woods was visibly limping and withdrew before completing the third round due to plantar fasciitis and had ankle surgery later that month.

Woods' only PGA Tour start since then came in mid-February at the Genesis Invitational where he abruptly withdrew early in the second round due to the flu a day after battling back spasms over the closing holes of the first round.

While competitive rust inevitably exists in Woods' game, he may take some comfort in playing the Masters as it is the only men's major played at the same course every year and he knows the layout better than anyone in the field.

Woods, who has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional, will also be seeking a tournament record 24th consecutive made cut after tying Gary Player and Fred Couples last year.

Given Woods is roughly a 160-1 longshot to win a sixth Masters title this year, just making the cut and getting to play the weekend might be considered a victory for the most decorated golfer of his generation.

'If you asked him in the (pre-tournament) press conference, and it will be asked, he'll tell you he's there to compete and to win. He means that. That's not performative,' ESPN's Scott Van Pelt said on the media call.

'But I think quietly, alone with his thoughts on Friday, if you said you've played well enough to play two more rounds, I would have to think that that is a victory.'