Masters tickets drop sans Woods

April 5, 2014: Tiger Woods or no Woods, it certainly matters. It matters to those who are in trade of selling tickets for entry into the Augusta National ahead of Masters next week. Because the toughest ticket in sports took a plunge, when Woods, after 19 years of continuous appearance, announced his inability to play Masters due to his back surgery.

Chris Matcovich of TiqIQ, one of the largest online aggregators of event tickets, says that the “get-in” price (the lowest price to get on the grounds) has dropped significantly.

However, Ticket brokers are hopeful of better sales in coming days.

“They took a dive, but it’s still a strong ticket, still demand,” said a representative for Westside Tickets, another private ticket broker. “People like going to the Masters no matter what just cause it’s the Masters.”

Bloomberg reported that in 2013 resale prices rose 276 percent because Woods had just won three events and entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the world for the first time since 2010.

“Prices started out so high this year because prices went through the roof last year, but they are back to what they were before the market blew up,” said Ram Silverman, co-owner of Texas-based ticket reseller Golden Tickets, which specializes in Masters-related travel. “It’s just like the stock market. The price goes down, so more people can afford to buy, so the price moves back up.”

There were eight licensed Masters ticket brokers last Monday, though there have been as many as 18 in the past, according to the City of Augusta’s licensing manager Larry Harris. Those Masters fans who would try their luck at bargain-hunting on Washington Road, be warned.

“Scalping is against the law, and we do everything within our power to make sure it doesn’t happen,” said Harris. “But where there’s a will, there’s a way, every year.”