7 players who could break the Masters ‘rookie curse’ this week

You have to go all the way back to 1979 to find the last time a player won The Masters on their tournament debut.

Not since Fuzzy Zoeller beat Tom Watson and Ed Sneed on the second extra hole of a sudden death playoff has somebody slipped into the Green Jacket at the first time of asking.

Zoeller, in fact, is one of only three players to have won on their first appearance at The Masters, fortifying the widely-held conviction that Augusta National is a golf course where experience really counts.

This year’s 95-man field comprises no fewer than 26 first-timers, all of whom will be desperate to emulate Zoeller and burst this particular hoodoo. Some, it must be said, have an especially strong chance.

Over the next few pages, we run the rule over the rookies who could contend.

Hit the NEXT button below to get started.