Cooler weather catches some Masters patrons by surprise

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Brandy Hayes, a patron from Charlotte, N.C., tried to keep warm Friday.
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A bundled-up Jason Dufner walked to the sixth green Friday. Temperatures hovered in the mid-50s early on.

Sabastian High, of Atlanta, thought he came prepared to watch the Masters Tournament on Friday in a short-sleeve shirt and sun visor.

Before he made it to the first hole, though, he was already shivering and had to stop at the main gift shop for a beanie and pullover sweater.

“It was like 85ish yesterday, you know?” High said. “So it surprised me. I can’t afford to be cold since I already don’t have hair,” he said smiling, one hand on his bald head.

The change in temperature surprised many patrons. Many swarmed the gift shops to buy sweaters, pullovers and hats to stay warm in temperatures that hovered in the mid-50s during the morning and early afternoon.

Sumit Gupta, 36, finished his souvenir shopping earlier in the week, so he wasn’t expecting to drop $125 more on an argyle sweater Friday.

“It’s our first time here, so that’s why we’re OK with spending the extra money,” he said. “So it’s all good.”

The main gift shop was shoulder-to-shoulder shortly before noon, with patrons huddling around racks of sweaters.

High said he didn’t mind paying for the unexpected attire, but some of his friends might.

“I was still going to get souvenirs; it’s just some people are going to get shorted now,” he said.