The top golfers in the world will converge at Augusta National for the Masters, golf’s first major championship, in 2024. With former Masters champions like Jon Rahm and Bubba Watson joining the Saudi-sponsored LIV Golf breakaway tour, the past few years have been turbulent for the sport.
Thursday, April 11, marks the official start of the tournament's round one, and Sunday, April 14, marks the conclusion. However, when players show up to play practice rounds on Monday, preparations will get serious. An amusing Wednesday competition on the par-three course is a yearly tradition. A "curse" that has become part of tournament legend states that no player has ever won the Par-3 course and gone on to win the Masters.
The Augusta National Golf Club is situated in Georgia's northeastern region, not far from the Savannah River and South Carolina's border. One of the world's most exclusive and private golf clubs is Augusta National. There are only about 300 members, including Peyton Manning, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates. The only way to play the course is on a member's invitation.
Masters Tournament History
Bobby Jones came up with the concept for Augusta National because he wanted to construct a golf course after quitting the sport. Clifford Roberts, who later took over as the club's chairman, provided him with advice. In Augusta, Georgia, they came across a plot of land, and Jones remarked, "Perfect! And to think this ground has been lying here all these years waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course upon it."
The area had been a plant nursery since 1857 and an indigo plantation in the early nineteenth century. The project started in 1931 after Jones hired Alister MacKenzie to assist with course design. Although MacKenzie passed away before the first Masters Tournament was played, the course was officially opened in 1933.
Horton Smith took home the $1,500 first prize after winning the inaugural "Augusta National Invitation Tournament," as the Masters were formerly known, on March 22, 1934. In 1939, the current name was chosen. The first competition was held with holes 10 through 18 as the first nine and 1 through 9 as the second nine; however, for the 1935 competition, the layout was permanently switched.
The initial field for the “Augusta National Invitation” was made up of Bobby Jones' close friends. Jones had asked the USGA to hold the U.S. Open at Augusta, but the USGA rejected the request, citing the challenging playing conditions that the hot Georgia summers would bring.
Gene Sarazen's double eagle on the par-5 15th hole in 1935 was known as the "shot heard round the world." This put Sarazen and Craig Wood in a tie, and Sarazen won the subsequent 36-hole playoff by five strokes. Due to World War II, the tournament was not played from 1943 to 1945.
Recent Past
Jordan Spieth tied Tiger Woods' record for the highest 72-hole scoring in 2015, becoming the second-youngest winner (behind him) in just his second Masters. In a playoff, Sergio Garcia defeated Justin Rose in 2017 to win his first major championship after a long wait. Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters, his first major championship since 2008 and his first victory at Augusta National in 14 years.
The 2020 Masters Tournament, which was initially slated to take place April 9–12, was moved to November due to the then-ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. By a margin of five strokes, Dustin Johnson prevailed in the competition. Hideki Matsuyama won in 2021 with a one-stroke (3 under par) margin of victory. In 2022, Scottie Scheffler won by three strokes (10 under par). He defeated Rory McIlroy by three shots for a score of 278, under 10.
In 2023, Jon Rahm won his first Masters tournament, his second major title and his 20th overall professional win. The third round was delayed due to weather, finally Rahm won the event for a two-shot deficit. He defeated Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson by a margin of four strokes with a score of 276, under 12.
Only those who have received an invitation may compete in the Masters Tournament, which also has the smallest field of all the major tournaments. Invitations are given based on a number of factors, such as past winners, recent major champions, top finishers in the majors the year prior, top players on the PGA Tour the year before, winners of full-point tournaments on the PGA Tour the year before, and top players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The complete field list for the 2024 Masters Tournament is as follows:
Invitee
Country
Åberg, Ludvig
Sweden
An, Byeong Hun
Korea
Bhatia, Akshay
United States
Bradley, Keegan
United States
Burns, Sam
United States
Cantlay, Patrick
United States
Clark, Wyndham
United States
Cole, Eric
United States
Conners, Corey
Canada
Couples, Fred
United States
Davis, Cameron
Australia
Day, Jason
Australia
de la Fuente, Santiago (a)
Mexico
DeChambeau, Bryson
United States
Dunlap, Nick
United States
Eckroat, Austin
United States
English, Harris
United States
Finau, Tony
United States
Fitzpatrick, Matt
England
Fleetwood, Tommy
England
Fowler, Rickie
United States
Fox, Ryan
New Zealand
Garcia, Sergio
Spain
Glover, Lucas
United States
Grillo, Emiliano
Argentina
Hadwin, Adam
Canada
Hagestad, Stewart (a)
United States
Harman, Brian
United States
Hatton, Tyrrell
England
Henley, Russell
United States
Hisatsune, Ryo
Japan
Hodges, Lee
United States
Højgaard, Nicolai
Denmark
Homa, Max
United States
Hovland, Viktor
Norway
Im, Sungjae
Korea
Jaeger, Stephan
Germany
Johnson, Dustin
United States
Johnson, Zach
United States
Kim, Si Woo
Korea
Kim, Tom
Korea
Kirk, Chris
United States
Kitayama, Kurt
United States
Knapp, Jake
United States
Koepka, Brooks
United States
Lamprecht, Christo (a)
South Africa
Lee, Min Woo
Australia
List, Luke
United States
Lowry, Shane
Ireland
Malnati, Peter
United States
Matsuyama, Hideki
Japan
McCarthy, Denny
United States
McIlroy, Rory
Northern Ireland
Meronk, Adrian
Poland
Mickelson, Phil
United States
Moore, Taylor
United States
Morikawa, Collin
United States
Murray, Grayson
United States
Niemann, Joaquín
Chile
Olazábal, José María
Spain
Olesen, Thorbjørn
Denmark
Pavon, Matthieu
France
Poston, J.T.
United States
Rahm, Jon
Spain
Reed, Patrick
United States
Rose, Justin
England
Schauffele, Xander
United States
Scheffler, Scottie
United States
Schenk, Adam
United States
Schwartzel, Charl
South Africa
Scott, Adam
Australia
Shipley, Neal (a)
United States
Singh, Vijay
Fiji
Smith, Cameron
Australia
Spieth, Jordan
United States
Straka, Sepp
Austria
Stubbs, Jasper (a)
Australia
Taylor, Nick
Canada
Theegala, Sahith
United States
Thomas, Justin
United States
van Rooyen, Erik
South Africa
Villegas, Camilo
Colombia
Watson, Bubba
United States
Weir, Mike
Canada
Willett, Danny
England
Woodland, Gary
United States
Woods, Tiger
United States
Young, Cameron
United States
Zalatoris, Will
United States
Players who have qualified for Masters 2024
The 2024 Masters field is given above.
Masters Tournament Winners List
Since the Masters Tournament began in 1934, the winner's list includes 87 Masters winners through 2023 (excluding 1943–1945, due to World War II), but there are more repetitions than the total of 86 golfers. 17 golfers have 45 victories to their names, which are listed below:
6, Jack Nicklaus, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986
5, Tiger Woods, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019
4, Arnold Palmer, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
3, Jimmy Demaret, 1940, 1947, 1950
3, Sam Snead, 1949, 1952, 1954
3, Gary Player, 1961, 1974, 1978
3, Nick Faldo, 1989, 1990, 1996
3, Phil Mickelson, 2004, 2006, 2010
2, Horton Smith, 1934, 1936
2, Byron Nelson, 1937, 1942
2, Ben Hogan, 1951, 1953
2, Tom Watson, 1977, 1981
2, Seve Ballesteros, 1980, 1983
2, Bernhard Langer, 1985, 1993
2, Ben Crenshaw, 1984, 1995
2, Jose Maria Olazabal, 1994, 1999
2, Bubba Watson, 2012, 2014
Masters Tournament 2024 Broadcasting Details
Coverage of the tournament's opening two rounds will begin at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN in the US. CBS will broadcast the next two rounds of the Masters, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday and 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The event can be live streamed on the Masters website, Masters app, ESPN+, Paramount+ Premium, and Hulu+ Live TV. While the Masters website and app can be used for free streaming, other options will be available to those with subscriptions.
The 2024 Masters Tournament FAQs
A. The Masters Tournament 2024 runs from Monday, April 8, to Sunday, April 14, 2024.
A. On Wednesday, there's a par-3 contest, but no player has ever won both this contest and the Masters.
A. Augusta National is situated in Georgia, near the Savannah River and the South Carolina border.
A. Horton Smith won the first Masters Tournament in 1934, then known as the "Augusta National Invitation."
A. The prize money for the Masters Tournament varies each year; for 2024, it has not been disclosed yet.
A. Coverage will be on ESPN and CBS in the US, with live streaming available on various platforms like ESPN+, Paramount+, and Hulu+ Live TV.