Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said on Thursday he was confident the Masters would go ahead as planned in April as the club turned its attention and resources to helping the area recover from devastating damage from Hurricane Helene.
Augusta National and the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area announced a joint donation of $5 million to a fund that provides essential services throughout the greater Augusta area.
Ridley was a few days late arriving in Japan for the Asia-Pacific Amateur. He said the Masters’ home suffered “a lot of damage,” just like the rest of the Georgia city on the South Carolina border.
“We’ve literally got dozens of people working at the club and what I’ve been most proud of is that while everyone is certainly focused on getting us back up and running, our employees have been so focused on the community at large,” Ridley said at a news conference to kick off the Asia-Pacific Amateur.
“As far as the golf course, it was really affected just like the rest of the community,” he said. “There was a lot of damage. We have a lot of people working hard to get us going again. We don’t know exactly what that’s going to mean but I can say that if it’s humanly possible, we’ll be back in business sooner rather than later.”
More than 180 people have been killed from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida and caused massive damage as it moved through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia.
The Masters is scheduled for April 10-13. The club has resources that allow for rebuilding and even creating new structures in a short time. It is closed during the summer and was not due to reopen until mid-October. The club did not say if that had been postponed.
“I am confident … that the Masters will be held, that it will be held on the dates it is intended to be held, and I think we have a few announcements to make in relation to that project. So stay away,” Ridley said.
He also said the club, CSRA and the Medical College of Georgia Foundation have made separate contributions to support recovery efforts led by the American Red Cross.
“We’ve been able to take care of our employees but we’ve also focused on what the Red Cross and other organizations are doing in Augusta,” Ridley said. “And our employees have been a big part of that, which I think speaks for them and the culture of the club.”
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AP Golf:
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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