It’s not a shocking statement in one sense: we’ve known a Masters without fans would be different and might benefit players not used to the pressures of a huge gallery.

After three days and a four-stroke Dustin Johnson lead, Justin Thomas said the Sunday morning task—up early boys and girls, the NFL apparently matters more!—is tougher for chasers.

From Rex Hoggard’s GolfChannel.com story:

“I think it's a really big deal there's no patrons here,” said Justin Thomas, who pulled to within two strokes of front-runner Dustin Johnson before making four bogeys over his last seven holes. “That would have really played to my advantage or other guys trying to chase DJ.”

Another perk of the early start to accommodate the NFL: the leader will not have all day to ponder the possibilities. Normally, Masters leaders tee off around 2 pm when they’ll be finishing this Sunday’s. That’s four-and-a-half hours not to think of everything that might go wrong.