Masters will likely play without its signature azaleas this year

This year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club will likely be played without its most colorful player: the azaleas.

The golf club’s signature shrubs, with their varying hues of red, pink and white, began blooming more than a month ahead of the 81st edition of the tournament, which tees off April 6.

It should be no surprise. Georgia's Gen. Beauregard Lee predicted an early spring.

This is, of course, not the first time the tournament will be played without its distinctive colorful landscape. Most recently in 2012, the more than 1,600 azalea bushes that brighten the 13th hole -- named “Azalea” -- from tee to green, were dull and wilting when the tournament began.

Flowers play a big role at Augusta National, built on the home of a former nursery. This year fans will have to settle for the lush greens.