The day the lights went down on the Masters

“At 36, it was still an easy ‘no’ because I always believed I would have this moment,” he said. “If I got to be 46 I might have had a change of heart on that one”

Malnati’s reward was a Masters Monday just a little odder than any other. For him, it turned into the ultimate family outing, in which his little boy just might place a natural phenomenon above the phenomenal story of his old man.

“Oh, it’s the eclipse for sure,” Malnati said, when asked what his son would rank first. “He’s going to be wearing his eclipse glasses for days.”

Hand it once more to the keepers of the Masters. They are never left unprepared. As fans poured onto the course Monday morning, they were handed official-looking paper eclipse glasses. Can’t have the patrons going blind staring unprotected at the sun. That would put a sizable crimp in the Masters experience.

Those official Masters eclipse glasses are destined to become a valued part of tournament kitsch. A strangely treasured souvenir. Nothing wearable with a Masters logo is free around here – in fact most comes at a punishing mark-up. But these glasses cost nothing, at least until they hit the secondary market.

On her blouse, Aiken’s Holly Lopes wore one of the “Arnie’s Army” buttons they gave out here in 2017 after the death of Arnold Palmer. In her hand, she proudly held a pair of 2024 Masters eclipse glasses.

“I’ll pass these along to my son, just like my Arnie pin, after I’m gone,” she said.

As with those outside the ropes, the players shared a fascination with the simple paper glasses.

“I will be keeping those for absolutely the rest of my life,” Will Zalatoris said. “Those will be some collectables that will be in my office forever.”

By around 1:30 in the afternoon, the moon was taking its first little bite out of the sun here. Camilo Villegas, Vijay Singh and Emiliano Grillo were just finishing their practice round when they borrowed glasses from some fans to sneak a look up at the sun.

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