The 2020 Masters will take place from November 9-15, and college football fans will have one big reason to tune in. On Tuesday, Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club announced that ESPN‘s College GameDay will be airing live from Augusta National on Nov. 14. The show will air from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET before the third round of the Masters airs on CBS.
“Given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the delivery of quality content is as important as ever to the storytelling of the Masters Tournament,” Ridley said in a statement. “While we will dearly miss our patrons at Augusta National this fall, we are excited to showcase what promises to be a truly memorable Masters in a variety of ways for viewers around the world.” Ridley went on to explain that bringing in the flagship show of college football will attract a new group of fans and show them how exciting the Masters can be.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“When exploring ways to showcase a fall Masters, we were drawn to the concept of hosting College GameDay at Augusta National to introduce the Tournament to a new audience and provide even more anticipation and excitement to the event,” Ridley continued. “We appreciate the collaboration with ESPN, our longtime broadcast partner, for this first-of-its-kind opportunity.”
Originally, the Masters were set to take place in April but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “While more details will be shared in the weeks and months to come, we, like all of you, will continue to focus on all mandated precautions and guidelines to fight against the Coronavirus,” Ridley said when the announcement was made in April. “Along the way, we hope the anticipation of staging the Masters Tournament in the fall brings a moment of joy to the Augusta community and all those who love the sport. We want to emphasize that our future plans are incumbent upon favorable counsel and direction from health officials.”
The Masters Tournament is the biggest golf tournament of the year. Last year, Tiger Woods won the green jacket and it was the fifth time in his career he won in Augusta. Woods has the second-most Masters victories while Jack Nicklaus has the most with six. Arnold Palmer, who died in 2016, has third-most with four.
