Masters patrons given special eclipse viewing glasses

A patron look up at the sun during an solar eclipse during a practice round  for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Monday. Picture: Matt Slocum/AP

Patrons arriving for the 88th Masters week on Monday were given something never before available at Augusta National – eclipse viewing glasses.

For the first time, a solar eclipse coincided with Masters week. Augusta was not in the path of totality — which stretched across the US from Texas up through a dozen states into Maine and southern Canada — but the sun was 76.1% occluded by the moon — essentially a crescent sun — over Augusta National Golf Club at 3:08pm (8.08pm Irish time) while players were still playing practice rounds and the course was packed with patrons.