9 big names not yet in The Masters field

For many of the world’s best players, that famous drive down Magnolia Lane is only a matter of weeks away. 

The Masters is just around the corner and the field is almost assembled for the first major championship of the season. 

However, there are also a number of high-profile players set to miss out on a visit to Augusta National.

Here’s a few names who aren’t in the field…

Talor Gooch

“If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his [career] Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk.”

That’s how Talor Gooch now infamously hit out at majors being determined by the Official World Golf Rankings in an interview with Australian Golf Digest. LIV Golf’s 2023 individual champion finished T34 at the Masters last year but has now plummeted outside the top 400 in the world and isn’t yet eligible for any of the Big Four this season.

Francesco Molinari

The 2018 Open champion so nearly won the Masters in 2019 to secure a lifetime exemption at Augusta. But it all started to fall apart after he found the water on the 12th in the final round and Tiger Woods would go on to complete one of the greatest sporting stories ever told. Molinari’s five-year major exemption from his triumph at Carnoustie is now over and he won’t have another shot at a Green Jacket this year.

• The full field for the 2024 Masters

• The 5 best players never to win The Masters

Billy Horschel

Horschel has made nine Masters appearances, but has slipped outside the top 90 in the world and is in danger of missing out in 2024. The former FedEx Cup champion and winner on both the PGA and DP World Tours reached a low point in his game last year with a series of poor results, but showed signs of a resurgence with a T9 finish at the recent Cognizant Classic.

Webb Simpson

The former US Open and PLAYERS champion now assumes an important role in the future of men’s professional golf due to his position on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. But it looks like Simpson won’t be teeing it up in this year’s first year. The 38-year-old has struggled to find consistency in an extended barren spell of form.

Louis Oosthuizen

He was so close to completing the famous double. A Green Jacket to add to his Claret Jug picked up at St Andrews was within Oosthuizen’s grasp before Bubba Watson played one of the best shots in Masters history to oust the South African in the 2012 playoff. The LIV golfer is now ranked 109th in the world and has no route into this year’s renewal.

• Want to go to The Masters? Here’s your chance…

• 7 Masters stats you didn’t know (until now)

Bob MacIntyre

The Oban man has finished T12 and T23 in his two Masters appearances so far. But MacIntyre has not yet done enough during his first season on the PGA Tour to secure his place at Augusta National this year through the top 50 in the world rankings.

Abraham Ancer

He won the most recent LIV Golf event in Hong Kong, but Mexico’s Abraham Ancer won’t be playing at Augusta National. Fellow LIV player Joaquin Niemann received a special invite by Augusta National officials for his performances on the DP World Tour during the breakaway league’s off-season, but Ancer missed out on a discretionary pick of his own.

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar has three top-five finishes in the Masters, but the 45-year-old American has not won on the PGA Tour since 2019 and has started his season with six missed cuts out of seven. As it stands, the world No.89 will miss out on a trip to Augusta National for the third straight year.

Bernhard Langer

This was supposed to be Bernhard Langer’s major farewell after he announced it was going to be his final Masters tournament. However, the two-time winner tore his Achilles tendon during a game of pickleball and has been forced to withdraw. He will, however, be on site to attend the famous Champions Dinner, this year hosted by Jon Rahm.