The bloom is off the azaleas at this year’s Masters Tournament.
A warm winter and early spring in Augusta means patrons will see little of the colorful flowers that normally dot the course, particularly at Amen Corner.
The only color Ron and Cindy Pearlman from Oregon could find on their first trip to Augusta National Golf Club on Monday was a few red flowers between the eighth and ninth holes.
“It’s a little disappointing,” Ron Pearlman said. “We had heard so much about the flowers and when we got here, it was all green.”
Sue Norman, of the University of Georgia Extension Service office for Richmond County, said the hot temperatures and heavy rainfall in the past few weeks caused the famous flowers to peak before the tournament.
“There are a few varieties of azaleas,” she said. “So there is a chance some might bloom later in the week. It may not be as colorful, but it will still be beautiful.”
Cindy Pearlman said the green was just as brilliant as she expected and that the course looked beautiful. Still, there was something missing.
“We just wish we could see Amen Corner like it was supposed to be,” she said.
She said she came out early to get a good spot at Amen Corner and almost didn’t find it.
“I was looking for pinks and purples,” she said. “I had to stop someone and ask if I was in the right place.”
Lance Barrow, a coordinating producer for CBS Golf, said he would like to see the flowers as well but that it isn’t something anyone can control.
“Everybody would love to see the flowers and would love to have them here, but one thing that we have no control over is Mother Nature,” he said. “Like everywhere in the country, it’s been a warm spring and a warm winter already, so we can’t do anything about the flowers.”
Tracey Ballwood, from North Carolina, said she and her three girlfriends had planned their bright sundresses on the colors the flowers were supposed to be.
“I guess you can’t have it all,” Ballwood said.
Staff writer Billy Byler contributed to this article.