Fears of a first-day washout at the Masters are growing – with a storm zeroing in on Augusta National.

Heavy rain is due Wednesday night and was set to continue for the rest of the day while thunderstorms are expected to roll in just as the first players are due to tee off at 1pm GMT.

Significant delays should not cause a huge problem and, even in the event of no play, the tournament would still be likely to finish on Sunday in its traditional slot.

A limited field of players allows for flexibility, and many may be asked to play two rounds in one day should the need arise.

Augusta famously deploys a ‘Sub-Air’ system that allows them to control moisture levels on surfaces. However, water may well slow down some of the greens, which some thought may have been the fastest in the tournament’s 88-year history.

The Masters faced a first-day washout with a storm closing in on Augusta National 

Rory McIlroy is due at 3.42pm with Americans Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele

Golf legend Tiger Woods is competing at The Masters in hopes of getting his sixth green jacket

Rory McIlroy, hoping to break his Masters hoodoo, is due out at 3.42pm in a stellar group with star Americans Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. 

Wet weather was a feature of last year’s Masters, when delays on Friday and Saturday resulted in a marathon Sunday. The 2019 version was also impacted.

In better news, the forecast for the rest of the week is close to perfect. From Friday to Sunday forecasters predict sunny skies with a fewer than five per cent chance of rain. Strong winds on Friday should also help dry out the famous course, should they be needed.

Last year, three pine trees collapsed following a gust of wind, sending patrons desperately scurrying for cover. Miraculously nobody was hurt. Officials have not commented on what, if any, measures are in place to prevent a repeat this year.

Meanwhile, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley poured cold water on the prospect of slots being directly allocated to those who play on the LIV Golf Tour via a new system.

Fred Ridley dismissed the prospect of slots being directly allocated for those in LIV Golf 

Despite the weather conditions, the tournament is still expected to end on Sunday 

The number of rebels teeing up has decreased from 18 last year to 13 this year thanks to LIV’s inability to receive World Ranking points.

‘I don't know the answer,’ said Ridley. ‘I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that had any connection to the rest of the world of golf because they're basically, not totally, but for the most part, a closed shop.’

Ridley added: ‘I don't think that that prevents us from giving subjective consideration based on talent, based on performance to those players. Our goal is to have, to the greatest extent possible, the best field in golf, the best players in the world. Having said that, we never have had all the best players in the world because of the structure of our tournament. It's an invitational. It's limited field, it's a small field.’