AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 09: Gary Woodland swings over his ball on the 12th tee box during the first round of Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2026 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

PGA TOUR

School mandates requiring phones to be stowed away—or locked into Yondr pouches—are spreading as educators look to curb distraction and improve students’ mental health. Thirty-six states now have bans or restrictions on cell phone use in schools, part of a broader societal push to reclaim attention spans.

From classrooms to concert venues, enforced disconnection is gaining traction. Sports, however, has largely resisted that trend—moving in the opposite direction with more screens, more integrations and more branding noise.

In a sports culture built on incessant commercialization and uninterrupted engagement, the Masters remains a rare property that still prioritizes restraint.

On site, the first major on the calendar is an analog outlier. Phone-free, “patrons”—Augusta National’s preferred term for spectators—keep their eyes on the action, a refreshing contrast at a time when a scan of most sporting events reveals heads down, thumbs scrolling. At Augusta National, without the distraction of devices, attention is focused rather than fragmented. The rules, which also outlaw cameras during tournament rounds, are strictly enforced and apply to all, as a former major champion found out this week.

“We’re so used to phones being around, and it steals our time and our attention and that’s just not a thing at Augusta,” Swedish golfer Ludvig Åberg, who has posted three consecutive top-five finishes heading into the Masters, said.

“The fans are more engaged and more tuned to what is going on. Just the fact that no one is taking videos on every shot. They are actually looking and applauding. It is cool from a player’s perspective to feel that and you definitely notice it,” said Ludvig Åberg, the two-time PGA Tour winner and Mercedes ambassador, who finished runner-up in his Masters debut in 2024 and followed it up with another top-10 performance last year.

Åberg did fail to close the deal at the Players Championship last month after taking a three-shot lead into the final round at TPC Sawgrass. The Sunday slip back proved to be a valuable learning moment he believes he can build on.

“If I had done a few things differently, I think I would have slowed things down a little bit and that’s definitely something that would be beneficial to do at the Masters,” he said.

Mercedes-Benz, a longtime top-tier Masters partner alongside IBM, AT&T and Bank of America, has been aligned with Augusta National since 2008. Over that span, the German automaker has leaned into the tournament’s distinct environment—one defined less by visibility and more by context. It is, after all, the most prestigious tournament in golf.

At Augusta National, players are introduced to the property during their drive down Magnolia Lane—a placid entrance lined with magnolias older than Karl Benz’s Patent-Motorwagen, widely considered the first practical automobile. A steady stream of contemporary descendants—Sprinter vans, AMGs and Maybachs—move along the most recognizable roadway in golf as keen-eyed onlookers take note.

The parade of high-end cars underscores why Mercedes-Benz values the opportunity to operate within such a tranquil, controlled setting, where it can showcase its latest models with subtlety rather than scale.

That same approach extends to the 1886 Club (named for the year the Motorwagen was introduced), the brand’s hospitality hub in the River Island community, where Mercedes-Benz hosts and entertains dealers, partners and clients during tournament week.

Last year, Mercedes integrated the official Masters Tournament app into its in-vehicle infotainment system, allowing drivers of a growing roster of models to keep tabs on the Augusta action all tournament week from behind the wheel.

The luxury auto brand is also expanding its reach in the city of Augusta itself, coming aboard as a sustaining partner of Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known as ‘The Patch’. The public facility sports a re-imagined 18-hole course courtesy of Tom Fazio and Beau Welling and a new nine-hole short course, the handiwork of Tiger Woods’ TGR Design set to reopen April 15^th.