The Masters, the first of the year’s four major golf tournaments, is a regular fixture on the spring sports calendar and comes to a head when Georgia’s azaleas are in full bloom.
When does the Masters start?
This year the tournament runs from Thursday April 11 to Sunday April 14.
Officially there are three days of practice leading up to the opening round. This year, however, Tiger Woods showed up on Sunday as he bid for an unlikely sixth Masters title.
The traditional Par 3 competition is on Wednesday April 10, with the families of some of golf’s best players in attendance. There have been 107 holes in one in the Par 3 competition since it opened in 1960.
How can I watch the Masters on TV?
In Great Britain, the Masters will be broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports Golf.
Free-to-air coverage will also be broadcast on the Masters website, where viewers can watch every single shot a few minutes after it happens and also see ongoing coverage of select groups and holes.
Radio coverage of the tournament in Great Britain will be on Talksport.
In previous years the Masters has been shown on free-to-air television in Britain, both live and as highlights. However, last year the BBC cut ties with the tournament completely.
Alternatively, you can bookmark this page and return to follow the tournament on our live blog, with commentary and analysis from Augusta National.
Where is the Masters played?
The Masters is the only one of the four majors that is played on the same course every year.
Augusta National Golf Club is located in northeastern Georgia, close to the South Carolina border. Augusta National is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world. It is believed there are only about 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 more damaging side to the club’s exclusivity. Augusta did not allow an African American member until 1990, while there were no female members until 2012 when Condoleezza Rice joined.
What is the prize money for the Masters?
This year’s total purse is expected to be $18 million (£14.2 million), the same as last year. The winner will receive $3,240,000 (£2.51 million), with decreasing prize money for each of the top 50 winners.
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 coveted of all, a green jacket.
There are also trophies for second place: leading amateur golfer, 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 receive an invitation to compete in the Masters. Unlike the US Open or the Open Championship, there is no ‘open’ qualifying process.
There are 20 different ways to ensure that an envelope from Augusta falls through your letterbox. The easiest way is to be in the top 50 of the world rankings on January 1.
All previous Masters champions can participate if they accept the invitation, as well as the players who finished in the top 12 of last year’s tournament.
Any player who won a fully sanctioned PGA Tour event last season will also reserve their place for Augusta. The same goes for any player who finished in the top four in any of the previous season’s majors, with major winners securing their Masters place for five years.
Any player ranked in the top 50 in the world the week before the Masters will also be invited. The Masters also reserves the right to invite wildcard players.
The remainder of the field is made up of the winners of the amateur game’s premier events. The Masters is a smaller field than the other three majors, typically with around 90 players.
This year’s tournament will feature just five or six British golfers (depending on whether Danny Willett has recovered well enough from shoulder surgery). James Corrigan explains why so few British players now make it to Augusta.
Will LIV golfers be at the Masters?
Yes, but in lower numbers than last year. The biggest problem for LIV golfers is that tournaments on the breakaway circuit do not award world ranking points, which is the route by which most players qualify for the Masters (see above).
The LIV golfers who will be at the 2024 Masters are Bryson DeChambeau (for winning the 2020 US Open), Cam Smith (who won the 2023 Open Championship), Brooks Koepka (who won the 2019 PGA Championship) , 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 ranked in the top 50 in the world earlier this year) and Joaquin Niemann (who received a special prize invitation).
Will Tiger Woods play?
Yes. The five-time champion came to Augusta to train on Sunday and played an earlier practice round over the Easter weekend.
Woods is still recovering from the 2021 car crash that nearly cost him his right leg, but his withdrawal from the second round of the LA Open in February – his first official event in 10 months – raised doubts about whether he would appear at the first major of the season.
How do you get tickets for the Masters?
If you want to get a ticket to this year’s tournament, you’re running out of time. Tickets went on sale last year and the registration deadline expires in June. The tickets are allocated by ballot, with applicants being told in July whether they have been successful.
A ticket for one of the three practice days costs $100 (£78.00). A ticket for any of the tournament days costs $140 (£110).
The full list of Masters winners
What are the starting times?
The start times for rounds one and two will be announced the week of the tournament itself.
For the opening round, the first group is likely to tee off at 8am local time (1pm UK time), while the final group will start at 2pm (7pm UK time). That means the last finishers are likely to be on track until 7pm (midnight UK time).
What are the latest odds?
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Scottie Scheffler 7/2
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Rory McIlroy 9/1
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Jon Rahm 10/1
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Brooks Koepka 12/1
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Jordan Spieth 18/1
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Xander Schauffele 16/1
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Ludvig Aberg 20/1
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Victor Hovland 25/1
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Wyndham Clark 28/1
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Tiger Forest 125/1
The odds are correct until April 9, 2024