At the Masters Tournament, beneath a towering oak tree, executives, sports agents, well-connected golf fans and club members in green jackets mingle as past and aspiring champions roam.

Bring a business card. Better yet, bring an antihistamine.

Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters is held, boasts one of the world’s most beloved courses. It also presents a sniffle-and-sneeze-laden assault on the senses at this time of year. The oak by the clubhouse is but one of its scourges.

“The pollen is just killing my eyes,” Tiger Woods said years ago after he donned sunglasses at a Masters. “I’ve been sneezing and hacking all week, so trying to keep it out of my eyes the best I can.”

Pollen, it turns out, is an equalizer of players and patrons, as Augusta National refers to the spectators who gaze upon great golf. Given the hundreds of acres of manicured Bermuda grass and majestic pine, oak and magnolia trees, the cost can be misery.

The tournament begins Thursday, and weather conditions will help dictate how high the pollen counts peak by the time the tournament is scheduled to conclude on Sunday evening. Pollen-cleaning rain on Monday brought some relief. That relief was gone by Wednesday.

Georgia has been enduring a mostly unhappy run.

On March 29, an Atlanta allergy clinic reported a pollen count of 14,801, the highest level the practice had measured in 35 years of tracking. Dusty pollen has sometimes grown disturbingly and disgustingly cakelike on driveways, mailboxes, playground equipment and doorknobs. And if you’ve got a car in a dark paint color, bless your heart (and maybe head to a carwash).