The air horns and weather bulletins sounded just past 1 in the afternoon.

Angel Cabrera bides his time on the clubhouse veranda after rain delayed the third round of the Masters. Golfers are used to such interruptions and have created a routine, Rod Pampling said. (Chris Thelen/Staff)

Less than 20 minutes later, the players' locker room at Augusta National Golf Club had filled with damp golfers.

The first weather delay of the 70th Masters Tournament sent everyone scurrying for cover.

"Usually on the tour, you have to scramble for seating in the players' locker room when it rains," Stewart Cink said. "Not here. This is nice. We've got a lot of seats by the players' lunch buffet and cushioned seats in front of our lockers. So we're well-equipped."

Ernie Els sat in a lounge next to the clubhouse grill. A television set had absorbed all eyes in the room. The weather report was on, showcasing a mass of green and orange globs.

A security officer was pointing out Alabama on the radar map. The Big Easy then made a forecast that matched his nickname.

"So it is still coming, huh?" Els said.

Angel Cabrera went onto the veranda next to the locker room for a smoke. He looked into darkened skies and watched patrons scurry across a sand-blotted walkway crossing the first hole.

Shingo Katayama had brought his lunch plate next to his locker in a corner. Rod Pampling signed a few flags for another player and then took a quick look outside.

"It's basically the same drill," Pampling said. "You dry off. You snack a bit. You sign a bit. You check the radar every 15 minutes or so. Then when the delay gets longer than that, you just sit down with a few guys and swap stories. When you've heard all of their stories and they've heard all of yours, you get up and move on. You find a new group of guys and repeat."

Cink knew it was coming. He lacked the motivation to meet his trainer on time Saturday morning at Augusta National, showing up about 20 minutes late. The reason why he wasn't really jazzed to show up that early? He was surprised he actually teed up on time.

Sergio Garcia waits out the rain in a van during a delay. Some players stuck to the locker room, others the clubhouse grill. (Andrew Davis Tucker/Staff)

"It looks like a pretty big weather event," Cink said. "I expected all this. But I think it'll come down for a few hours and we will get in some more golf today."

He might not care if he didn't. His son Reagan was celebrating his ninth birthday Saturday.

Pampling thought he saw a flash on the fourth hole.

"And then the warnings and the air horns came," Pampling said. "So it must have been a little lightning. I knew it was going to come at some point today. I don't really know if we will play any more today right now."

Fans went about calculating their own amateur forecasts.

"Big drops are falling," one Masters patron said. "That means a big rain. Big raindrops equals a lot of rain is on the way."

Ben Crenshaw was asked shortly after that what the players do when inclement weather halts play at the Masters.

"You just twiddle your thumbs a lot," he said.

Staff Writer Steve Sanders contributed to this article.

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.