The Masters weather delay: When will Round 1 start on Thursday?

Unfortunately, when The Masters is played in early April at Augusta National Golf Club, that means that it is being played at a notorious time of year in northern Georgia. And it's notorious because weather is constantly a factor in this area of the country at this time of year.

Sure enough, it was always in the forecast for The Masters in 2024 to see some of that weather. Despite a warm, sunny start to the week on Monday-Wednesday, thunderstorms and heavy winds (15-25 mph with gusts up to 30-40 mph) starting late Wednesday night and lasting throughout the morning and through lunchtime. With the honorary starters originally set for 8 a.m. ET and tee times right after starting, many wondered if that'd be pushed back.

The forecast never wavered, and after sending out an announcement that gate-openings would be delayed on Thursday morning and updates would come, Augusta National Golf Club announced that the start of The Masters would be delayed on Thursday.

But when will The Masters Tournament start on Thursday to get the first major championship of 2024 underway? Let's take a look.

The Masters delay: When will play at Augusta start?

According to Augusta National, the first round of The Masters is now set to start at 10:30 a.m. ET with the honorary starters ceremony going off at 10:10 a.m. ET.

Thunderstorms and electrical systems were supposed to clear out of the area around Noon ET or soon after before 1 p.m. ET. That would give the agronomy team time to get the course ready and get players onto the course.

But it changed even beyond that to give us more of a window for The Masters to get as much golf as possible in on Thursday.

Perhaps the best news, though, is that Thursday is the only day in which play is expected to be delayed due to weather. There are some showers after the thunderstorms clear out still in the early afternoon in the forecast, but that will make way for mostly sunny skies and windy conditions. The rest of the forecast for the weekend is all sun and even the winds will die down on Saturday and Sunday.

As for now, we wait for this tradition unlike any other to get underway as golf fans are salivating for major championship golf.