by The first of the four major golf tournaments of the year, the Masters is part of the spring sports calendar, which is timed when the azaleas are in full bloom in Georgia.
When does the Masters start?
This year’s competition will take place from Thursday, April 11 to Sunday, April 14.
Officially, there are three days of practice and preparation before the opening round, including the Par 3 tournament on Wednesday, April 10, which will feature the families of some of golf’s best players. The Par 3 competition has had 107 holes in one since it opened in 1960.
How can I watch the Masters on TV?
In the UK, the Masters is broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports Golf.
Free-to-air coverage is also broadcast on the Masters website, where viewers can watch each individual shot minutes after it takes place and also get rolling coverage of selected groups and holes.
There will be radio coverage of the tournament in the UK on Talksport.
In previous years the Masters were shown on free-to-air TV in the UK, either live or as highlights. Last year, however, the BBC cut ties with the competition entirely.
Where is the Masters played?
The Masters is the only one of golf’s four majors that is played on the same course every year.
Augusta National Golf Club is in northeast Georgia, close to the South Carolina border. Augusta National is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world. It is understood that there are only approximately 300 members, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The only way to play the course is by invitation from a member.
However, there is a worse side to the club’s exclusivity. Augusta did not admit an African American member until 1990, although there were no female members until 2012 when Condoleezza Rice joined.
What is the Master’s prize money?
This year’s total purse is estimated to be $18 million, the same as last year. The winner takes home $3,240,000, with progressively smaller prize money for each of the top 50 finishes.
The winner also receives a replica of the official trophy (which never leaves the club). The champion golfer also receives a gold medal and, most popular of all, a green jacket.
There are also trophies for finishing second, being the top amateur golfer, recording the lowest score of the day, hitting a hole in one, hitting an eagle and hitting a double eagle.
How do players qualify for the Masters?
Technically, players are invited to play in the Masters. Unlike the US Open or the Open Championship, there is no ‘open’ qualification process.
There are 20 different ways to make sure an envelope from Augusta drops through your mailbox. The easiest way is to be in the top 50 world rankings on January 1st.
All previous Masters Champions can play, if they choose to accept the invitation, as well as those players who finished in the top 12 of the previous year’s tournament.
Any player who won a major or fully sanctioned PGA Tour event the previous season will also book their spot at Augusta. The same goes for any player who finished in the top four in any of the previous season’s major events, with major winners securing their Masters berth for five years.
Any player ranked in the top 50 in the world the week before the Masters who has not qualified for any other event will also be invited. The Masters also reserve the right to invite wild card players.
The rest of the field is made up of the winners of the most important events in the amateur game. The Masters is a smaller field than the other three majors, with around 90 players usually in attendance.
Will there be LIV golfers at the Masters?
Yes, but in lower numbers than last year. The main problem for LIV golfers is that tournaments on the escape circuit do not award world ranking points, which is how most players qualify for the Masters (see above).
The LIV golfers for the 2024 Masters are Bryson DeChambeau (because he won the 2020 US Open), Cam Smith (who won the 2023 Open Championship), Brooks Koepka (who won the PGA Championship in 2019), Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed , Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson (all former Masters Champions), Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk (who were in the world’s top 50 earlier this year) and Joaquin Niemann (who received a special invitation award).
How do you get tickets for the Masters?
If you want a ticket for this year’s competition, you are well out of time. Tickets go on sale the year before, and the deadline for applications expires in June. Tickets are allocated by ballot, and applicants are notified in July of their success.
A ticket for one of the three practice days costs $100. A ticket for one of the tournament days costs $140.
Full list of Masters winners
What are the tea times?
The draw times for rounds one and two will be announced during the week of the competition itself.
For the opening round, the first group is likely to come out at 8am local time (1pm UK time) with the last group starting at 2pm (7pm UK time). That means the finalists are likely to be out on the course until 7pm (midnight UK time).
What are the latest options?
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Scottie Scheffler 9/2
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Rory McIlroy 10/1
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Jon Rahm 11/1
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Brooks Koepka 20/1
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Jordan Spieth 20/1
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Viktor Hovland 20/1
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Xander Schauffele 20/1
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Will Zalatoris 22/1
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Ludwig Aberg 22/1
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Justin Thomas 25/1
Valid until March 20, 2024
