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It’s that time of year again where we start thinking about the 20 or so players who can actually win the Green Jacket. Still, would be mean to leave out the other 68, wouldn’t it?
With that in mind, here’s all 89 players teeing up in the 88th Masters ranked from 89 to 1 (obviously)…
Masters field 2024: How they rank at Augusta
89. Akshay Bhatia
Masters record: Rookie
Won the Valero on Sunday to book the final spot at Augusta and become the first player to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt and the Masters. Headlining the “One to Watch” category this year, and only ranked 89th because I can’t be bothered to reorder, so let’s pretend he’s somewhere in the 50s.
88. Jose Maria Olazabal
Masters record: MC-MC-T8-13-2-T42-T7-W-T14-T12-T12-W-MC-T15-4-T8-30-MC-T3-T44-MC-MC-MC-MC-T50-T34-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-T50-MC-MC
Rounds under par: 39/106
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-84
Scoring average: 73.12
Augusta earnings: $2,639,741
The smiling Spaniard is celebrating two Augusta milestones this year as it’s 30 years since his first Masters victory and 25 years since his second. I’ll use the rest of this paragraph to plug the fact I had a lovely chat with Olly a few months ago and you can read that in the Masters preview issue of bunkered.
87. Vijay Singh
Masters record: T27-MC-T39-T17-MC-T24-W-T18-7-T6-T6-T5-T8-T13-T14-T30-MC-MC-T27-T38-T37-54-MC-MC-49-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC
Rounds under par: 33/97
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-82
Scoring average: 73.29
Augusta earnings: $2,633,117
It’s funny how we talk about Rory McIlroy and his career that has so far “only” yielded four major victories when you consider players like Singh, who “only” won three – and two of those were PGA Championships. (That was unnecessary, sorry.)
86. Mike Weir
Masters record: T28-T27-T24-W-MC-T5-T11-T20-T17-T46-T43-MC-MC-MC-T44-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-T51-MC-MC-MC
Rounds under par: 21/72
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-82
Scoring average: 73.82
Augusta earnings: $2,009,428
Another interviewee in the preview issue of our fabulous magazine, and the first of three left-handers to have won the Masters. The Canadian won’t be repeating that feat any time soon – or, indeed, ever – so let’s have a quiz! Can you name the man Weir beat in a playoff to win what turned out to be his only major championship?
85. Stewart Hagestad (a)
Masters record: T36-MC
Rounds under par: 0/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 73-81
Scoring average: 75.67
Augusta earnings: $0
This career amateur will turn 33 during the tournament. He was the low am here on debut in 2017, but he’s best known for his numerous Walker Cup appearances – a tournament in which he must feel increasingly like the uncle on a stag do who was only invited because the bride-to-be insisted.
84. Santiago de la Fuente (a)
Masters record: Rookie
Not to be confused with Santiago de la Fuente, the world’s 1,409th-ranked tennis player. Earned spots at Augusta, Pinehurst and Troon with his win at the Latin America Amateur Championship. Probably has as much chance as his racquet-swishing namesake has of winning any of them.
83. Jasper Stubbs (a)
Masters record: Rookie
Oh, god. Stubbsy. Stubbo. The Big Stubb! Hard to think of a player in the field with a better name than this Australian upstart. Makes his Augusta debut thanks to victory at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne.
82. Christo Lamprecht (a)
Masters record: Rookie
You’re wondering where you know the name from, aren’t you? I’ll put you out of your misery: Lamps is the six-foot-eight South African amateur who led last year’s Open after the first round before going on to win the Silver Medal.
81. Fred Couples
Masters record: T32-10-T10-T31-T5-T11-5-T35-W-T21-T10-T15-T7-T2-T27-T11-26-T36-T28-T6-T39-T3-T30-MC-MC-6-T15-T12-T13-T20-MC-T18-T38-MC-MC-MC-MC-T50
Rounds under par: 57/128
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-81
Scoring average: 72.33
Augusta earnings: $2,859,115
Should really have more Green Jackets than the one he earned in ‘92. Struggled in recent years as age catches up with him and the golf course gets longer, and has been nursing a sore back lately. It was fun while it lasted, Freddie.
80. Grayson Murray
Masters record: Rookie
Was told to “just play better” by Rory McIlroy and here he is making his Augusta debut. Hopefully he doesn’t beat McIlroy as we’d never hear the end of it.
79. Peter Malnati
Masters record: Rookie
I need to know if Malnati is the first player to use a yellow golf ball at the Masters.
78. Neal Shipley (a)
Masters record: Rookie
Shipley sounds and looks like a ’90s Premier League player who made his way up the divisions, having several solid seasons at Sheffield United before ending his career as player-manager of Truro. But somehow he’s only 23. Could be golf’s Luke Littler. Back him for the low-am finish.
77. Taylor Moore
Masters record: T39
Rounds under par: 1/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-78
Scoring average: 73.25
Augusta earnings: $79,200
Oo-ee-oo I look just like Buddy Holly, oh-oh and you’re golfer Taylor Moore, I don’t know what to write about you anyway, just trying to avoid your past.
76. Camilo Villegas
Masters record: MC-MC-T13-T38-49
Rounds under par: 5/18
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-85
Scoring average: 74.06
Augusta earnings: $231,420
Given what he’s gone through in his private life, you can’t imagine a more popular winner. Looking at the data, though, it’s massively unlikely.
75. Charl Schwartzel
Masters record: T30-W-T50-T25-MC-T38-MC-3-MC-MC-T25-T26-T10-T50
Rounds under par: 16/48
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-78
Scoring average: 72.50
Augusta earnings: $2,997,281
Will forever be the Player Who Won The Masters The Year Rory McIlroy Should Have Won It. Which feels a touch unfair given what actually happened that day in 2011. And yet here we are.
74. Stephan Jaeger
Masters record: Rookie
The German booked his Masters debut by doing the impossible and beating Scottie Scheffler at the Texas Children’s Houston Open – which incidentally is the only tournament name that can be sung to the theme tune of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also, we can call him Jaegerbomb, because he’s currently eighth on the PGA Tour this year for Driving Distance. (I’m just saying. The joke works.)
73. Byeong Hun An
Masters record: MC-MC-T33-MC
Rounds under par: 1/10
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-78
Scoring average: 74.40
Augusta earnings: $82,150
No-one in the field who has played eight or more rounds at Augusta has a worse scoring average, but that feels negative. Remember that BMW PGA Championship victory? That was good! (And somehow almost a decade ago.)
72. Adrian Meronk
Masters record: MC
Rounds under par: 0/2
Lowest and highest rounds: 73-76
Scoring average: 74.50
Augusta earnings: $10,000
Shall we just go back to arguing about his Ryder Cup snub?
71. Ryo Hisatsune
Masters record: Rookie
Golf’s second most famous Ryo was the DP World’s Rookie of the Year in 2023 and one of the ten players to earn a PGA Tour card thanks to his performance on the Wentworth-based circuit. This is his major championship debut.
70. Danny Willett
Masters record: T38-W-MC-MC-MC-T25-MC-T12-MC
Rounds under par: 8/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-78
Scoring average: 72.85
Augusta earnings: $2,311,713
Jordan Spieth still doesn’t have a second Green Jacket, but he does have free drinks for life courtesy of the man who benefitted most from his 2016 meltdown. Willett hasn’t played yet in 2024 having gone under the knife at the back end of last year – for surgery, not because he lives in Rotherham – but you know what they say…
69. Austin Eckroat
Masters record: Rookie
Made his PGA Tour breakthrough earlier this year at the Cognizant Classic – which you probably still know as the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic. His T10 at last year’s US Open included a record-equalling front-nine 29. Nailed on top-five through 54 holes before a final-round 78.
68. Adam Schenk
Masters record: Rookie
Schenk is incredibly likeable, and his wife – as you’ll know if you follow her on social media – is very funny. I mean what more do you people want?
67. Eric Cole
Masters record: Rookie
Most of Cole’s bio on the Masters website is about his dad, Bobby, who played in this tournament five times back in the day, and his mum, Laura Baugh, who was a Women’s Amateur champion in the ‘70s. Was Rookie of the Year at the age of 34 and moved into the top-50 to secure his Augusta debut. Solid first-round-leader-who-misses-the-cut material.
66. Lee Hodges
Masters record: Rookie
A wire-to-wire PGA Tour winner with a name like a League 2 left back? Consider me invested.
65. Denny McCarthy
Masters record: Rookie
I’m going to level with you. There is still a long way to go. You can do it!
64. Zach Johnson
Masters record: MC-T32-W-T20-MC-42-MC-T32-T35-MC-T9-MC-MC-T36-T58-T51-MC-MC-T34
Rounds under par: 16/60
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-81
Scoring average: 73.27
Augusta earnings: $2,053,855
Can we stop saying ZJ tarnished his reputation at the Ryder Cup? The man has won at Augusta and St Andrews, for crying out loud. Still, this is comfortably the most bizarre record for a former champion.
63. JT Poston
Masters record: MC-T34
Rounds under par: 1/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-76
Scoring average: 73.33
Augusta earnings: $107,200
I understand why JB Holmes abbreviates his name, but why does Poston? And does anyone except his mum call him James? And is ‘The Postman’ – because it sounds a bit like ‘Poston’ – the worst nickname in the history of nicknames? I’ll see if I can grab him after his first-round 75 on Thursday to find out.
62. Jake Knapp
Masters record: Rookie
A recent PGA Tour champion and owner of one of the most delicious swings in golf, Knappster won’t win the Masters, but he’ll have more fun than anyone.
61. Sergio Garcia
Masters record: T38-T40-MC-8-T28-T4-MC-46-MC-MC-T38-T45-T35-T12-T8-MC-T17-T34-W-MC-MC-MC-T23-MC
Rounds under par: 25/78
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-81
Scoring average: 73.05
Augusta earnings: $3,446,530
As popular a winner as you’ll ever see when he edged out Justin Rose in 2017, but now the full-time LIV player and part-time fashion designer spends most of his time in a permanent state of passive aggression.
60. Kurt Kitayama
Masters record: MC
Rounds under par: 0/2
Lowest and highest rounds: 75-77
Scoring average: 76.00
Augusta earnings: $10,000
This is how I learned that players who miss the cut still bank ten grand, so there’s that.
59. Erik van Rooyen
Masters record: WD-MC
Rounds under par: 0/3
Lowest and highest rounds: 73-79
Scoring average: 76.00
Augusta earnings: $20,000
And ten bags even if you withdraw!
58. Cameron Davis
Masters record: 46
Rounds under par: 0/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 73-79
Scoring average: 75.00
Augusta earnings: $46,500
Taking home nearly 50 bags for shooting rounds of 75, 73, 79 and 73 is alright, isn’t it? But while Davis has been treating the Masters like his own little LIV event, he has fared better elsewhere, including a T4 at the PGA to earn an Augusta return.
57. Luke List
Masters record: T33-MC
Rounds under par: 2/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-78
Scoring average: 74.33
Augusta earnings: $10,000
Guess when List’s Masters debut was? Who said 2005? Did you Google that?
56. Thorbjorn Olesen
Masters record: T6-T44-T21
Rounds under par: 6/12
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-78
Scoring average: 72.00
Augusta earnings: $412,928
The Dane said a tie for sixth on his Masters debut was the best result of his career, which is funny given he’s won some pretty big cases in his time. Tournaments! I mean tournaments.
55. Lucas Glover
Masters record: MC-T20-T36-MC-MC-49-T42-MC-T30
Rounds under par: 5/28
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-79
Scoring average: 74.11
Augusta earnings: $303,325
Ten appearances since his debut in 2006 tells its own story. His mini-revival – including two PGA Tour victories in 2023 – is incredibly impressive, and he can consider himself very unfortunate to miss out on the Ryder Cup in October, but if he wins here I’ll eat his Nike Sasquatch driver.
54. Emiliano Grillo
Masters record: T17-51-T62
Rounds under par: 2/12
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-79
Scoring average: 74.00
Augusta earnings: $199,015
A major record that isn’t much better than yours or mine – though he did finish T6 last time out at Hoylake in July, so maybe this is the start of something.
53. Bubba Watson
Masters record: T20-42-T38-W-T50-W-T38-T37-MC-T5-T12-57-T26-T39-MC
Rounds under par: 23/56
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-78
Scoring average: 72.30
Augusta earnings: $4,121,230
Another player I chatted with for the Masters preview issue of the mag, Bubba is nothing but class. Whatever you think of him for his LIV move, it’s forgotten here. A former champ and an Augusta favourite. A sketchy record in recent years, but he seems to have shaken off his recent injury problems just in time for a solid T34.
52. Nick Dunlap
Masters record: Rookie
The latest amateur to win on the PGA Tour and first since [NAME REDACTED] in 1991. Before turning pro, he also joined Tiger Woods as the only player to win both the US Amateur and Amateur Championship – and you know what Woods did in his first Masters as a pro! (He missed the cut. What were you thinking of?)
51. Bryson DeChambeau
Masters record: T21-T38-T29-T34-T46
Rounds under par: 6/24
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-80
Scoring average: 72.96
Augusta earnings: $240,003
Bryson? An outsider? Well start believing it, baby. Has finished T34, T46 and missed two cuts since describing Augusta National as “a par 67 for me”. An OK start to his LIV Golf season, but he can’t dine out on that Greenbrier 58 forever.
50. Sepp Straka
Masters record: T30-T46
Rounds under par: 2/8
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-78
Scoring average: 73.50
Augusta earnings: $150,750
Add four more rounds in the 70s for a T35 and move onto the next tournament.
49. Harris English
Masters record: MC-T42-T21-T43
Rounds under par: 4/14
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-77
Scoring average: 73.64
Augusta earnings: $243,200
English has a funny ol’ CV. Two wins in 2013 were doubled by two wins in 2021. Ludicrously consistent, but major champion material? Only if he Lucas Glovers one out of nowhere.
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48. Adam Hadwin
Masters record: T36-T24-MC
Rounds under par: 4/10
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-75
Scoring average: 72.60
Augusta earnings: $156,713
This is the Canadian’s first Masters since 2020, and you feel he needs a major win to reclaim the position of Most Famous Person In The Hadwin Family, currently occupied by his wife and social media star Jessica.
47. Keegan Bradley
Masters record: T27-T54-MC-T22-T52-T43-T23
Rounds under par: 9/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-82
Scoring average: 73.12
Augusta earnings: $434,903
As anyone who has watched the latest season of Netflix doc Full Swing can attest, not much would be more satisfying than watching Keegs make a run at the Green Jacket. He’ll have to drastically improve his putting stats if he wants to do that…
46. Min Woo Lee
Masters record: T14-MC
Rounds under par: 1/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-75
Scoring average: 73.33
Augusta earnings: $235,333
As well known for his “Let Him Cook!” exploits on social media as he is his golf. Perhaps the Green Jackets will “Let Him Cook!” the Champions Dinner as that’s probably the closest he’ll get to the Tuesday night shindig.
45. Gary Woodland
Masters record: T24-63-T26-MC-MC-MC-T32-MC-T40-MC-T14
Rounds under par: 10/33
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-85
Scoring average: 73.36
Augusta earnings: $649,342
A headline act in the Players You Forgot Are Major Champions category, it’s been an understandably patchy start to 2024 for Woodland, who underwent surgery to remove a lesion on his brain as recently as September. He is the worst active PGA Tour player in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, though.
44. Tiger Woods
Masters record: T41-MC-W-T8-T18-5-W-W-T15-T22-W-T3-T2-2-T6-T4-T4-T40-T4-T17-T32-W-T38-47-WD
Rounds under par: 51/96
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-78
Scoring average: 71.10
Augusta earnings: $9,619,569
Absolutely no idea what to do with Tiger – so here he is, slap bang in the middle. (Pun intended.) Will he even play? One thing’s for sure, he ain’t winning it. Do we want to see him back to full health? Of course! Do we want to see him continue his ludicrous cuts-made streak at Augusta which has been going on since 1997? Absolutely! Do I hope I’m wrong in my prediction that he won’t trouble the contenders? I really, really do.
43. Nicolai Hojgaard
Masters record: Rookie
The older Hojgaard twin has enjoyed his start to PGA Tour life, notably a couple of runner-up finishes either side of a victorious Ryder Cup debut. Crazy long, so if he can get his short game working then who knows?
42. Patrick Reed
Masters record: MC-T22-T49-MC-W-T36-T10-T8-T35-T4
Rounds under par: 17/36
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-79
Scoring average: 71.89
Augusta earnings: $3,627,851
Thriving in his pantomime villain role more than ever since his move to LIV. Imagine if he pipped Rory McIlroy by one on Sunday. Just typing that made me well up a bit.
41. Chris Kirk
Masters record: T20-T33-MC-T23
Rounds under par: 4/14
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-77
Scoring average: 72.71
Augusta earnings: $352,360
If you look back at historic Masters leaderboards, there’s always one name in the top five or six that you think, ‘How the hell did they get there?’ Kirk is absolutely that guy.
40. Russell Henley
Masters record: MC-T31-21-T11-T15-T30-T4
Rounds under par: 12/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-81
Scoring average: 72.12
Augusta earnings: $1,448,650
Much like his PGA Tour career, Henley goes about his business in an unfussy and uncomplicated manner. It’s no surprise the Georgia native’s record here is sneaky good, and a T4 last year will have him believing if it’s going to happen anywhere, it’s going to happen at ANGC.
39. Adam Scott
Masters record: T9-T23-MC-T33-T27-T27-T25-MC-T18-T2-T8-W-T14-T38-T42-T9-T32-T18-T34-54-T48-T39
Rounds under par: 29/84
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-80
Scoring average: 72.56
Augusta earnings: $3,856,457
Recent Augusta form drops the Australian down into the 30s. Sorry, Adam. You’re still the best-looking player in the field, if that helps?
38. Matthieu Pavon
Masters record: Rookie
Had an electric start to life on the PGA Tour, including a huge win at the Farmers Insurance Open – which means nothing for Augusta but I’m sure he’ll be happy to remind you.
37. Phil Mickelson
Masters record: T46-T34-T7-3-MC-T12-T6-T7-3-3-3-W-10-W-T24-T5-5-1-T27-T3-T54-MC-T2-MC-T22-T36-T18-T55-T21-T2
Rounds under par: 60/114
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-79
Scoring average: 71.30
Augusta earnings: $9,781,117
Averaging under-par from 114 rounds is one of the most underrated achievements in Masters history. That T2 from last year would make him a contender this time around if his game hadn’t fallen off a Saudi cliff since then. But then he wasn’t exactly in form last year…
36. Ryan Fox
Masters record: T26
Rounds under par: 2/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-74
Scoring average: 72.00
Augusta earnings: $147,000
Did rather well to finish in a tie for 26th on debut given he came down with a bout of pneumonia over the weekend. Imagine what he can do while fully fit. The New Zealander absolutely has a top ten in him.
35. Tyrrell Hatton
Masters record: MC-T44-T56-MC-T18-52-T34
Rounds under par: 4/24
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-80
Scoring average: 73.88
Augusta earnings: $376,310
Hatton struggles to hide his dislike for certain golf courses, and Augusta is not immune to the odd middle-fingered salute from the Englishman. He doesn’t like the place, and his record isn’t great, so stick him down for a top-five.
34. Nick Taylor
Masters record: T29
Rounds under par: 1/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-72
Scoring average: 71.25
Augusta earnings: $74,750
I’ve got a lot of time for this Canadian – mainly because there are only 24 players in the whole world who are better at golf than him and yet he uses game-improvement clubs just like us. Hope he wins by five.
33. Max Homa
Masters record: MC-MC-T48-T43
Rounds under par: 2/12
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-78
Scoring average: 74.08
Augusta earnings: $126,650
For a top-ten player with a PGA Tour CV as good as his, Homa’s major record – and excuse my language here – absolutely stinks. His Augusta record is largely representative of his 17 appearances in the Big Four, in which he’s managed one top-ten and nine missed cuts. Yet people will still back him to slip into the Green Jacket on Sunday. Save your money. Give it to charity instead.
32. Sungjae Im
Masters record: T2-MC-T8-T16
Rounds under par: 8/14
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-80
Scoring average: 71.64
Augusta earnings: $1,733,000
Take that missed weekend in ‘21 out of the equation and this is some record by Im, who was a shot back of DJ through 54 holes on debut before the American ran away with it.
31. Sahith Theegala
Masters record: 9
Rounds under par: 2/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-73
Scoring average: 70.75
Augusta earnings: $522,000
The popular Californian is proving that he is much more than just a fan favourite, and his seven birdies en route to a final-round 67 last year show that he can go low here. Now keep reading before I use a cliche like “one to watch”.
30. Tom Kim
Masters record: T16
Rounds under par: 2/4
Lowest and highest rounds: 70-74
Scoring average: 71.50
Augusta earnings: $261,000
Has had a miserable time of it since successfully defending his Shriners title in October, and when you look at the Strokes Gained stats for this season, he isn’t even the top-ranked Kim (Si Woo). Or second (Chan). Or third (Michael). Or fourth (Seong Hyeon).
29. Tony Finau
Masters record: T10-T5-T38-T10-T35-T26
Rounds under par: 10/24
Lowest and highest rounds: 64-75
Scoring average: 71.33
Augusta earnings: $1,262,101
I could have sworn Finau’s won the Masters. A cracking Augusta record for the popular American. It feels like if he is going to get over the line at a major, this is where it will happen.
28. Joaquin Niemann
Masters record: MC-T40-T35-T16
Rounds under par: 5/14
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-77
Scoring average: 73.21
Augusta earnings: $390,263
One of the hottest golfers on the planet, or one of the players doing well on the LIV tour, depending on who you talk to. A Masters record that gets better year after year makes Niemann a must-watch at Augusta. Which will be a nice change for him.
27. Sam Burns
Masters record: MC-T29
Rounds under par: 2/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-78
Scoring average: 73.00
Augusta earnings: $135,100
Winless in more than a year now, but it’s been a good start to 2024 with four top-ten finishes at big events. If ever there was a sleeper pick for Augusta, this is it.
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26. Jason Day
Masters record: T2-WD-3-T20-T28-T10-T22-T20-T5-MC-MC-T39
Rounds under par: 19/41
Lowest and highest rounds: 64-80
Scoring average: 71.85
Augusta earnings: $2,394,048
Recorded top-three finishes in his first three Augusta starts and has even turned the clock back on his clothing range in a bid to find that form of yesteryear. A lot rides on the vertigo. It’s very hilly at Augusta, don’t you know?
25. Tommy Fleetwood
Masters record: MC-T17-T36-T19-T46-T14-33
Rounds under par: 10/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-78
Scoring average: 72.23
Augusta earnings: $750,749
Just missed out on the top category because he’s generally a slow starter at Augusta, Fleetwood will need to storm out the gate to have any kind of a chance. The Opens of the United Kingdom and United States seem more likely tournaments where Fleetwood will finally bag a major.
24. Cameron Young
Masters record: MC-T7
Rounds under par: 2/6
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-77
Scoring average: 72.67
Augusta earnings: $590,500
A frankly absurd record since joining the PGA Tour ranks in 2022: 47 cuts made from 60 events, seven runner-ups, 12 further top 10s, and a major record that includes four top-eight finishes in ten, including when second to Cam Smith at St Andrews. And yet he cannot seem to get over the line. Will it be here? Don’t bet against the bridesmaid becoming the bride.
23. Brian Harman
Masters record: MC-T44-T12-MC-MC
Rounds under par: 3/14
Lowest and highest rounds: 69-77
Scoring average: 73.29
Augusta earnings: $283,700
There seems to be an unwritten rule in the modern game that every lefty must win the Masters at least once in their career – and Harman is golf’s most recent major champion, of course. He’ll be hoping for miserable weather in Augusta. We’ll be hoping we don’t get a repeat of Hoylake.
22. Rickie Fowler
Masters record: T38-T27-T38-T5-T12-MC-T11-2-T9-T29
Rounds under par: 21/38
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-80
Scoring average: 71.47
Augusta earnings: $2,480,050
Fowler has inexplicably not played this tournament since 2020 after a confidence-crushing fall from grace. But there’s no living in the past here and his record here is not to be sniffed at. Rickie, we’re all dying to see what green looks like with orange. Make it happen.
21. Justin Rose
Masters record: T39-T22-T5-T36-T20-T11-T8-T25-T14-T2-T10-2-T12-MC-T23-7-MC-T16
Rounds under par: 35/68
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-81
Scoring average: 71.79
Augusta earnings: $4,394,265
Fun fact: Rosey was world No.1 when Tiger Woods won his fifth jacket in 2019. Apart from a certain Ryder Cup teammate, it’s difficult to think of anyone with a better record around this place without winning it. And you really wouldn’t bet against him keeping a cool head coming down the stretch on Sunday to see out victory.
20. Shane Lowry
Masters record: MC-T39-MC-MC-T25-T21-T3-T16
Rounds under par: 7/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-79
Scoring average: 72.62
Augusta earnings: $1,418,313
The loveable Irishman’s record here – particularly in recent years – is sneaky good, and he is one of only three players to have finished in the top-25 in each of the last four years. Absolutely the kind of player who could quietly plot his way to four good rounds and have a new jacket to try on.
19. Corey Conners
Masters record: MC-T46-T10-T8-T6-MC
Rounds under par: 11/20
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-80
Scoring average: 71.85
Augusta earnings: $1,201,700
Not many have three top-tens in a row at Augusta, but he clearly didn’t enjoy himself when the weather turned last year. The fact he’s a notoriously bad putter will be his downfall here.
18. Dustin Johnson
Masters record: T30-T38-T13-MC-T6-T4-T10-T2-W-MC-T12-T48
Rounds under par: 23/48
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-78
Scoring average: 71.52
Augusta earnings: $4,637,235
DJ has a frankly ludicrous record at Augusta, including that victory during the patron-free November Masters in 2020. Last year was his worst finish when making the cut, but don’t bet against a run at it this year. (As long as there are no stairs in his rental place.)
17. Si Woo Kim
Masters record: MC-T24-T21-T34-T12-T39-T29
Rounds under par: 9/26
Lowest and highest rounds: 68-81
Scoring average: 72.38
Augusta earnings: $680,431
Mr Consistent, just off the back of a T3 at The Players, and third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on the PGA Tour this year. Hasn’t missed a cut yet this season, and is due a career-defining win. One hot week with his broomstick and he’ll be flying.
16. Justin Thomas
Masters record: T39-T22-T17-T12-4-T21-T8-MC
Rounds under par: 15/30
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-78
Scoring average: 71.70
Augusta earnings: $1,679,100
Is it just me or have we never really discussed JT as a potential Masters champion? And yet it feels like every year there is at least one or two players ahead of him in the conversation. This year, you have to say it’s as many as 15. Only one player in the field – and 14 on the PGA Tour – has a worse Strokes Gained: Putting record than Thomas this year. And yet it is not entirely unfathomable to see the two-time major champion slipping into green on Sunday.
15. Collin Morikawa
Masters record: T44-T18-5-T10
Rounds under par: 8/16
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-75
Scoring average: 71.44
Augusta earnings: $1,234,500
Those PGA and Open wins seem so long ago but that is a Masters record that absolutely would not look out of place with a W in it. One of the best iron players on the planet on his day, which, as we know, is vital in this luscious corner of Georgia.
14. Ludvig Aberg
Masters record: Rookie
In the nine months since Aberg turned pro, he’s won on the DP World Tour, he’s won on the PGA Tour, he’s helped Europe regain the Ryder Cup, he’s finished in the tied-eighth on his Players debut, and he’s moved into the world’s top-ten. But sing it with me! All together now! A one, two, three: “No rookie has won the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979!” If anyone can do it, it’s our favourite Ameriswede.
13. Matt Fitzpatrick
Masters record: MC-T7-32-T38-T21-T46-T34-T14-10
Rounds under par: 14/34
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-78
Scoring average: 72.24
Augusta earnings: $1,285,691
Want to feel old? Fitz is only a few months from his 30th birthday. How is this his 11th appearance at the Masters? He’s certainly trending in the right direction at Augusta, and Lord knows we could do with another English winner. Hoping to become South Yorkshire’s second winner of that iconic item of clothing.
12. Patrick Cantlay
Masters record: T47-MC-T9-T17-MC-T39-T14
Rounds under par: 10/24
Lowest and highest rounds: 64-79
Scoring average: 72.38
Augusta earnings: $904,750
Was one half of last year’s best double act when his sedated pace triggered Viktor Hovland to go stomping off down the fairway ahead of his playing partner. Cantlay has only broken 70 once on Masters Sunday, when he finished in a tie for ninth in 2019. We are due a winner that is a combination of world class and underwhelming, and no-one fits that bill better than the man whose bill doesn’t fit. (Allegedly.)
11. Viktor Hovland
Masters record: T32-T21-T27-T7
Rounds under par: 7/16
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-76
Scoring average: 71.69
Augusta earnings: $811,100
Hovland has averaged one PGA or DP World Tour win every six months since turning pro in the summer of 2019, and he banked the FedEx Cup jackpot at the end of last season. It’s been a rocky start for the Norwegian this year, though, as for some reason he feels the need to change his swing. Augusta is a course he likes, and it would be to the surprise of absolutely no-one to see him pull on that Green Jacket next week.
10. Hideki Matsuyama
Masters record: T27-T54-MC-5-T7-T11-19-T32-T13-W-T14-T16
Rounds under par: 23/46
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-80
Scoring average: 71.54
Augusta earnings: $3,948,867
If I read out that Masters record to you without saying who it belonged to, how long do you reckon it would take for you to guess Matsuyama? Leads the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Around the Green in 2024, which is rather useful at Augusta. Add to the fact he’s an introvert who carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. Wow.
9. Cameron Smith
Masters record: T55-T5-T51-T2-T10-T3-T34
Rounds under par: 14/28
Lowest and highest rounds: 66-82
Scoring average: 71.61
Augusta earnings: $2,716,668
Holds a very cool slice of Masters history after becoming the first player to record four rounds in the 60s in a single tournament. The Aussie is 12th in LIV Golf’s Strokes Gained standings, just behind Dean Burmester. A win would see him join the likes of Tiger, Jack, Bobby, Seve, Sir Nick and, uh, ZJ (pronounced Zee Jay, I guess) to win majors at St Andrews and Augusta.
8. Xander Schauffele
Masters record: T50-T2-T17-T3-MC-T10
Rounds under par: 12/22
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-78
Scoring average: 71.32
Augusta earnings: $2,173,637
Should have won in 2021 before picking the worst possible time to test how well golf balls float. Feels like a nailed-on Green Jacket, except he closes like a revolving door. Second in Strokes Gained: Total, sixth Off the Tee, second Tee to Green, 18th Approach, and ninth Around the Green are all good indicators, but if you back him and he’s leading through 63 holes, don’t get too excited. There’s a lot of water between there and the clubhouse.
7. Will Zalatoris
Masters record: 2-T6
Rounds under par: 6/8
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-75
Scoring average: 70.50
Augusta earnings: $1,773,250
A major machine whose record in the Big Four reads six top-eight finishes from nine, including a second and a tie for sixth here. And check this out from CBS writer Patrick McDonald who kindly did the hard work for me: Zalatoris (+3.52) leads the field in Strokes Gained round ANGC for players with a minimum of eight rounds, edging out Jon Rahm (+2.86), Scottie Scheffler (+2.82), Jordan Spieth (+2.81), and Tiger Woods (+2.40). He also shares the best scoring average in the field, along with a certain defending champion. Pro tip: You can get him at 33/1 in some places.
6. Jordan Spieth
Masters record: T2-W-T2-T11-3-T21-T46-T3-MC-T4
Rounds under par: 23/38
Lowest and highest rounds: 64-76
Scoring average: 70.66
Augusta earnings: $6,015,828
Sixth?! Yes. Get over it. The man who has come closer than any other to breaking the rookie drought, it is frankly ludicrous that Spieth doesn’t have more than one Green Jacket in his wardrobe. Is 12th in Strokes Gained: Total, 19th in Around the Green, and – perhaps most crucially – sixth in Putting. On the flipside, is 129th in the Approach column – just below Ryan Palmer, Webb Simpson and Rafael Campos. But there aren’t many better players around this track than the Texan – he has the third best scoring average in the field – and for that reason I’m ready to have my heart broken again.
5. Wyndham Clark
Masters record: Rookie
Since hiring a psychologist to stave off his anger issues (‘The Wyncredible Hulk’?), Clark has become a major champion and cemented himself as a top five player in the world. He’s already had a course record at Pebble Beach this year, as well as runner-up spots at Bay Hill and Sawgrass. Another legitimate contender to be the First Rookie To Win The Masters Since 1979. The man who is third in SG: Total, 14th Off the Tee, 11th Tee to Green, and 12th Putting make it a very real possibility. The streets will say that high fade he hits will work against him here, though.
4. Rory McIlroy
Masters record: T20-MC-T15-T40-T25-T8-4-T10-T7-T5-T21-T5-MC-2-MC
Rounds under par: 32/54
Lowest and highest rounds: 64-80
Scoring average: 71.50
Augusta earnings: $4,167,521
There wouldn’t be a dry eye – or glass – in the house if Rory was to finally get over the line and into that jacket he so desperately craves. But he absolutely must get over this mental block if he is to have any kind of a chance. Don’t be fooled by the good finishes in recent years, he was never in contention at any of them. In fact, the only times Rory’s really had a chance on Sunday is 2011 – and we all know what happened there – and 2018, when he was three back of Patrick Reed and chunked his way to a final-round 74. Those, incidentally, were the only two times he broke 70 on the opening day. In the last five years, his average first-round score is 74, while his average second round is 70. Then it’s 70 and 67 for the weekend – by which point, of course, his tournament is over. Nine of the last 12 winners here have carded a score in the 60s on the opening day, so McIlroy can ill afford another slow start or it’s over before it’s started. And yet here he is in fourth, because I am a weak, pathetic excuse of a man.
3. Jon Rahm
Masters record: T27-4-T9-T7-T5-T27-W
Rounds under par: 16/28
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-77
Scoring average: 70.50
Augusta earnings: $5,063,017
The Spaniard’s dreams all came true last year when he followed in the footsteps of his childhood heroes to slip into the Green Jacket. But – and I had to triple-check this – that was his last victory on any tour. It will be interesting to see the reaction to Rahm since his recent defection to LIV – and his pre-tournament press conference is sure to be fiery – but defending champions notoriously don’t do well at Augusta. There’s a reason Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo are the only players to have gone back-to-back. In the past 50 years, 11 defending champions have not made the weekend, while the average finishing position is 13th. I thought about typing, “Well if anyone can do it, Rahm can!” – but then I remembered we did that with Scottie Scheffler. And Dustin Johnson. And Jordan Spieth. And Phil. And Vijay. And Seve…
2. Brooks Koepka
Masters record: T33-T21-T11-T2-T7-MC-MC-T2
Rounds under par: 14/28
Lowest and highest rounds: 65-76
Scoring average: 71.46
Augusta earnings: $3,224,284
Picked Keopka as my champion in the Masters preview issue of the mag, and you’ll hear me say it again on the preview episode of The bunkered Podcast. He will still be fuming about that loss to now LIV Golf colleague Rahm at Augusta last time out. And when Koepka is pissed off, Koepka almost always comes out on top. Should really have a Green Jacket by now and says it is “statistically your best chance to win a major”. Missed 2018 with a wrist injury before rattling off two of the other three – including a successful US Open defence – while his two runner-up finishes at Augusta were actual runner-up finishes. By which I mean he had a legitimate chance of winning – none of this final-day 64 to back-door it nonsense – and they sandwiched two cuts while he was struggling with his health issues. Broke 70 in both of those second-place years, so a fast start is key for Koepka.
1. Scottie Scheffler
Masters record: T19-T18-W-T10
Rounds under par: 12/16
Lowest and highest rounds: 67-75
Scoring average: 70.69
Augusta earnings: $3,437,325
The man to beat, without a shadow of a doubt. Aside from his remarkable Masters record, and the fact he’s headed to Augusta having won back to back at Bay Hill and Sawgrass, the world No.1 currently leads no fewer than 26 (twenty-six) stats categories including Strokes Gained: Total, Tee-to-Green, Approach, and Greens in Regulation. Imagine if he could find form with the flatstick like the man currently top of the SG: Putting stats. You guessed it, Aaron Baddeley! Fun fact: Only six top-ranked players have won the Masters in the OWGR era. But Scheffler almost certainly doesn’t know that, so it shouldn’t affect him too much.
(It was Len Mattiace, by the way. What do you mean you’ve forgotten the question?)
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