Masters chairman: Augusta National suffered 'a lot of damage' from Hurricane Helene
2 Min Read
Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Fred Ridley commented on damage to the course following the devastating Hurricane Helene. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Masters chairman Fred Ridley has confirmed that Augusta National suffered “a lot of damage” from Hurricane Helene, which swept through the Southeast region late last week.
Ridley discussed the destruction to the course and the wider Augusta area during a press conference at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan on Thursday.
More than 225,000 Augusta, Georgia, residents have lost power from the storm. According to NBC News, at least 190 people are known to have died as a result of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene.
“We have been without power and water and other essentials for a number of days,” Ridley said. “So it really does impress upon you what can happen when there’s a natural disaster such as that.
“As far as the golf course, it really was affected just as the rest of the community was … there was a lot of damage and we have a lot of people working hard to get us back up and running.”
The update comes a few days after Ridley released a statement saying Augusta National was “assessing the effects” of the storm while shifting the focus to the wider community. That was the tenor of his Thursday press conference, prioritizing the community impact before the club.
“We've had literally dozens of people working at the club, and what I really have been most proud of is while everyone certainly is focused on getting us up, back and running, our employees have been so focused on the community at large,” Ridley said. “We've been able to take care of our employees, but we've also been focused on what the Red Cross and other organizations are doing in Augusta, and our employees really have been a big part of that, which I think really speaks for them and the culture at the club.”
Augusta National announced Thursday it is donating $5 million towards the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund, which will support local relief efforts throughout the greater Augusta community.
Ridley added he’s confident that next year’s Masters will be held as scheduled, April 10-13.
“The Masters will be held, [and] it will be on the dates it’s scheduled to be held,” he said.