The opening round of the 2003 US Master in Augusta has been rescheduled to begin on Friday after persistent heavy rain which has been falling all week has taken its toll on the course.
Almost an inch of rain fell during Monday's thunderstorms which forced practice rounds to be cancelled and the gates to be closed to the public for the first time since 1983.
Further heavy rain has continued to fall since then, and the weather is not forecast to improve until Friday at the earliest.
A statement on the tournament's official website, www.masters.org, said: " Due to course conditions and more rain approaching the area, the first round of the Masters Tournament has been postponed until Friday with a two-tee start at 7:30 A.M., and the second round tentatively beginning with a two-tee start at 1:30 P.M."
Greenkeeping staff have been out in force spraying a drying agent on the course, but competition committee chairman Will Nicholson said: "The golf course has taken just about as much water as it can take."
Despite the extremely wet conditions, tournament officials will not sanction the use of 'preferred lies', where players can lift and clean their ball on the fairway.