Drunk Masters crasher arrested in Augusta for ‘criminal trespass’

Monday brought the first day of Masters Week 2026. Eager patrons entered the gates excited to experience Augusta National sacred grounds, all the time INmy best behavior That’s in addition to a ticket-less Masters fan who was arrested after refusing to leave the property.

He hoped to find himself watching the pros at Amen Corner, but ended up spending the day in jail.

Here’s what you need to know.

Man arrested after refusing to leave Augusta at 2026 Masters

According to one report from Augusta PressMatthew Stroud, a 36-year-old from Easley, Ga., arrived at Augusta National’s North Gate on Monday at the Masters “drunk.”

Once there, Stroud allegedly approached Masters patrons waiting to enter Augusta and asked for their tickets for Monday’s practice round. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies initially asked Stroud to leave the premises at 11 a.m. ET.

But the event was not over. Richmond County Sheriff’s Capt. Scott Gay said Augusta Press that Stroud initially agreed to their commands and left. However, a short time later, Stroud returned and “continued the behavior” of harassing customers for their Masters tickets.

Officers again told Stroud to leave, but this time he refused. At that point, officers arrested Stroud for criminal trespass.

From there, he was taken to the local Charles B. Webster Detention Center. Stroud was released on a $285 bond later in the day.

You can read it in full Augusta Press REPORT here.

Master ticket scheme leads to Texas family fares

Master Tickets are one of the hottest products in sports, and one of the most difficult to achieve. Most tickets are awarded through the Masters ticket lottery and resale of tickets is strictly prohibited by Augusta National.

But in the past, many people have been arrested for Masters ticket schemes.

In 2019, a Texas family was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with in an illegal Masters ticket venture.

The four relatives arrested in the incident bought mailing lists to get people’s names and addresses, which were used to create fake accounts for the Masters online ticket lottery, according to court documents. Fake accounts were entered into the lottery using email addresses belonging to the family.

“These profiteers thought they had succeeded in hijacking Augusta National’s generous ticket lottery system to satisfy their greed,” Bobby Christine, who later served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in a statement at the time.