Showers make brief appearance at Masters

The sky opened above Au­gusta National Golf Club on Friday morning, sending many Masters Tournament patrons to the merchandise shops and concession stands for an early lunch.

Overcast skies and a steady breeze early offered signs of the rain, which came about 10:30 a.m. and lasted for more than an hour. Play was not interrupted.

Green-and-white Masters umbrellas and green ponchos were seen throughout the course. Groups of patrons huddled beneath awnings at the main concession stand and at entrances to restrooms, while others simply ignored the rain.

Brad and Joye Scott, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., slipped clear ponchos over their heads and headed to the course to grab the best viewing spots.

“We knew there was a slight chance of rainy weather and thought this would get us by if we needed it,” Joye Scott said.

At the merchandise shop, employees carried boxes of umbrellas to restock supplies as a long line formed at the entrance. Shawn Fields, of Edmond, Okla., bought a $45 umbrella.

“You know it’s going to stop raining now,” he said. “That’s how it works.”

When the rain stopped just before noon, Debbie Freeman, of Cedartown, Ga., planned to use the $25 poncho she bought to cover her chair, which sat at the 18th green during the showers.

“Sun’s about to come out,” Freeman said. “It’s still fun to be here.”

The weather is forecast to stay dry for the rest of the tournament, with only a 20 to 30 percent chance of rain around 7 p.m. Sunday, said Bruce Cherry, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in West Columbia, S.C. Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday are expected to reach the upper 70s.