By Rory Carroll
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg said the strict ban on cell phones at the Masters is one of the characteristics he enjoys most about the prestigious tournament, saying it fosters a more focused environment for players and fans.
Augusta National strives to cultivate a traditional atmosphere and anyone caught on the grounds with a mobile device risks removal and the potential loss of entry privileges.
“The fact that the patrons don’t have their phones out, it actually makes it feel like they’re so much more engaged,” said Aberg, who finished a surprising runner-up in his first appearance at the major tournament last year.
“There’s a lot more eye contact with the fans. You can really tell that they watch and appreciate good golf.”
The 25-year-old, one of the few players who managed to practice on the course on Monday before wet weather and approaching thunderstorms cancelled the session, said he could immediately feel the difference.
“Yesterday when we played, it almost felt like a tournament round because there were so many people,” he said.
“The fact that no one is on their phone, no one is taking pictures, it feels like they’re a lot more engaged, which I as a player really appreciate.
“I think that’s very cool.”
The cell phone ban is not the tournament’s only limit on technology.
In homage to a bygone era, there are no electronic scoreboards, only manual ones where numbers are changed by hand. Cameras are also banned during tournament rounds.
Aberg last year came up short of making history by just failing to become only the third player to win the tournament on the first try, which would have put him alongside Gene Sarazen (1935) and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979).
Horton Smith won the first Masters ever played in 1934.
“It sucks that I don’t get a second try on that, that I can’t do it again,” he said.
“Looking back to last year, it was really cool, and it would have been cool to do that and put my name on that list, but I hope to do it in another way.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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