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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
AUGUSTA, Georgia — Along with the blooming azaleas and pollen-covered pines at Augusta National Golf Course, there are other signs that the 88th Masters Tournament, the first major championship of the season, is finally here.
Some of the best golfers in the world who have labored this season are making last-minute changes. Rory McIlroy, who will try to complete the career Grand Slam by finally winning a green jacket, visited swing guru Butch Harmon for help. Justin Thomas, who painfully missed the cut in a driving rainstorm in 2023, parted ways with his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay.
Defending champion Jon Rahm made the biggest change of all in December, when he jumped from the PGA Tour to the LIV Golf League. He’ll be one of 13 LIV Golf players in the field, along with Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, who were runners-up a year ago.
It is the first time in more than eight months that the game’s top golfers — from both the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League — will be competing in the same tournament.
Here’s a look at the 89 golfers in the field, from the guys who can win to those who are simply trying to make the cut.
Jump to a section:
The guy everyone is chasing
Players who can win
If everything goes right
Hey, miracles happen
Happy to make the cut
Past champions | Amateurs
Tier I: The guy everyone is chasing
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler is an overwhelming betting favorite to win a second green jacket with his odds currently listed at +450 (odds by ESPN BET). According to ESPN Stats & Information, no golfer has started a Masters tournament with odds shorter than 5-to-1 since Tiger Woods in 2013.
Scheffler’s Tiger-esque ballstriking, magic around the greens and recent form — he was under par in 30 of his past 31 rounds — might give him a decided edge at Augusta National Golf Club. The 2022 Masters champion hasn’t finished outside the top 20 in four starts at Augusta National and had just two rounds over par. In 10 different events the past two seasons, he finished first in strokes gained: tee to green, including four times this year. Even if he’s an average putter this week, he might win by at least 4 strokes.
Tier II: The guys who can win
Here are the legitimate contenders other than Scheffler. They have the games, guts and nerves to handle four pressure-packed rounds on one of the most treacherous golf courses in the world.
Jon Rahm
Rahm became the fourth Spanish player to win the Masters last year, joining Seve Ballesteros (1980, 1983), José María Olazábal (1994, 1999) and Sergio Garcia (2017). Now, the LIV Golf League star will try to join Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) as the only back-to-back winners.
Brooks Koepka
Last year, the five-time major champion held a 4-stroke lead heading into Sunday, but he could manage only a 3-over 75 in the final round to tie for second. Koepka finished in the top 11 in each of the past four Masters starts in which he was healthy. He’s probably hoping to avoid a tee time behind Patrick Cantlay as much as hitting a ball into Rae’s Creek.
The Olympic gold medal winner is the highest-ranked player in the world (fifth) without a major championship victory, and it seems like no golfer is closer to picking up his first than Schauffele. In 26 starts in majors, he has two runners-up (including a tie for second in the 2019 Masters), two thirds, six top fives and 11 top 10s.
Matsuyama became Japan’s first male golfer to win a major when he collected a green jacket in 2021. He has eight top 20s in his past nine starts at the Masters and arrives with confidence. He won for the ninth time on tour at the Genesis Invitational and tied for sixth at the Players Championship.
Rory McIlroy
Rory’s drought in the majors is nearing nine years, and this will be his 10th attempt to win a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. He would join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nicklaus and Woods as the only players to do it. McIlroy missed the cut in two of his past three starts at Augusta National (he was solo second in 2022). Are we getting close to “now or never” territory?
The 2015 Masters champion has six top-four finishes in 10 starts at Augusta National, including a tie for fourth last year. His recent form hasn’t been great, with missed cuts at the Players Championship and Valspar Championship, but he played good golf in Hawaii and on the West Coast. Few players know how to work their way around Augusta National — from almost every angle — than Spieth.
The reigning U.S. Open champion will be making his first Masters appearance. Only one first-timer — Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 — has won a green jacket since 1935. Clark has won three times since May and finished second to Scheffler against elite fields at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship. At this point, it’s dangerous to overlook him in any big event. He was battling a back injury in his last start in Houston.
After collecting a runner-up in his first start at the Masters in 2021 and a tie for sixth in 2022, Zalatoris seemed primed to challenge for a green jacket last year. He was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a back injury, however, and underwent surgery two days later. Zalatoris is back after missing the rest of the 2023 season. His improved performance on the greens with a broomstick putter gives him an even better chance to win.
Four years ago, Smith came close to becoming only the second Australian to win the Masters when he became the first golfer to post four rounds in the 60s in the tournament — and somehow lost to Dustin Johnson by 5 strokes. The LIV Golf star has posted four top-10s in his past six starts at Augusta National, but he looked rusty while tying for 34th last year. He withdrew from last week’s LIV Golf tournament in Miami because of illness.
The reigning FedEx Cup champion has struggled mightily to start the 2024 season — he doesn’t have a top 10 in five starts — but is more than capable of putting things together at the Masters. He tied for seventh last year and hasn’t missed a cut in four starts at Augusta National. His chipping woes have been a problem again recently.
Niemann’s track record in majors hasn’t been great, with zero top-10 finishes in 19 starts and one top-25 in four appearances at the Masters. The Chilean-born golfer, who is playing in the Masters after receiving a special invitation, has been red-hot over the past four months. He won the Australian Open in December and LIV Golf League tournaments in Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
The former Texas Tech star is not only making his first appearance in the Masters, but also his first in any major championship. The Swedish golfer already has seven top 10s in 23 starts on tour, including a victory at the RSM Classic in November. European Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald called him a “generational talent,” so maybe the stage won’t be too big.
Dustin Johnson
The 2020 Masters champion is inexplicably ranked 336th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he’s undeniably one of the most talented golfers on the planet. He picked up third LIV Golf victory in Las Vegas on Feb. 10. DJ finished in the top 12 in six of his past eight starts at Augusta National.
Patrick Cantlay
Another top-10 golfer in the world without a major championship victory, Cantlay has been criticized for his slow pace of play and wanting to be paid at the Ryder Cup. The golfer who was once dubbed “Patty Ice” has only four top-25s in 27 starts in majors. His putting performance on Augusta National’s greens in the past won’t make it any easier.
Fitzpatrick is driving the ball more accurately off the tee, and he should be more comfortable at Augusta National after finishing in the top 15 in each of his past two starts. Fitzpatrick made 27 birdies or better while finishing fifth at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
Morikawa, a two-time major champion, has back-to-back top 10s at the Masters, finishing solo fifth in 2022 and tying for 10th last year. He has struggled on the greens this year, ranking 164th in strokes gained: putting (-.531).
Tier III: If everything goes right
Here are the sleeper candidates to slip on a green jacket. The list features past champions, rising stars and others whose games have been works in progress so far this season. Will it all come together at Augusta?
Last year, Young was tied for second at 5 under after the first round and closed with a 4-under 68 on Sunday. He was 3 over in the 36 holes in between and tied for seventh at 6 under. Young finished in the top eight in four of the past eight majors.
Theegala posted a 5-under 67 in the final round last year to finish solo ninth at 5 under, his first top-10 in a major. The round included a familiar chip-in from behind the No. 16 green. He is playing some of the best golf of his career.
Sahith Theegala chips in for birdie on No. 16 to move into a tie for third place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/NBtrLAW2BV
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023
Justin Thomas
JT’s missed cut at the 2023 Masters sent him into a tailspin for the rest of the season. He has bounced back and played better this year, but Augusta National isn’t a place where you want to show up with a balky putter — or with a new caddie. He and renowned caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay unexpectedly parted ways last week.
You might not remember that Day was cruising in solo second at 9 under after 31 holes of the 2023 Masters. Unfortunately, he battled vertigo for much of the tournament from there. He was 14 over in his final 41 holes to finish in a tie for 39th at 5 over.
The Canadian missed the cut at the Masters last year, ending his streak of three straight finishes in the top 10. He ranks 11th on tour in shots gained: tee to green (1.179) and sixth in approach (.872), a good recipe at Augusta National. If Conners tightens up his short game, he could be a contender on Sunday.
The five-time PGA Tour winner’s struggles in majors have been perplexing — he has just one top-25 in 14 starts. Burns tied for 29th at the Masters last year, and his strong putting and improved iron play should come in handy at Augusta National.
Henley grew up in Macon, Georgia, about 120 miles from Augusta National Golf Club. He had three sub-par rounds to tie for fourth last year, his best finish in seven starts.
The six-time PGA Tour winner is coming off a tie for second at the Texas Children’s Open in Houston. He finished in the top 10 in half of his first six Masters starts. Will his putter cooperate over 72 holes?
Few golfers have been more consistent at the Masters than Rose. The English player had top-25 finishes in 14 of his past 18 starts at Augusta National. He missed the cut in his past two starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship.
Homa’s tie for 10th at The Open at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, in July might have been a breakthrough in majors. It was his first top 10 in 17 starts.
Kirk has won twice on tour since February 2023, picking up his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Honda Classic and sixth at The Sentry in the 2024 season opener. He tied for 23rd at Augusta National last year, his first Masters start since 2016.
It has been feast or famine for the reigning Open Championship winner at Augusta National. He had missed cuts in his past two starts and a tie for 12th in 2021.
Lowry goes into Augusta National on a pretty good run with three straight top-20s, including a solo third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He has four consecutive top 25s at the Masters.
The 2018 Masters champion got off to a slow start in the LIV Golf League this season with four straight finishes of 20th or worse — including two of 40th or worse. He tied for fourth at the Masters last year and needs to play well this week to secure spots in the other three majors.
The former University of Georgia star’s history at Augusta National isn’t great, with a missed cut and two finishes outside the top 40 in four starts. But he’s playing good golf again — he was 21st or better in six of his first eight starts on tour — more than two years removed from hip surgery.
Phil Mickelson
Augusta National Golf Club tends to bring out Mickelson’s best, and that was once again the case in 2023 when he tied for second. His 7-under 65 was his lowest final round in the event and the best by a golfer age 50 or older. At 52, Lefty was the oldest player to finish in the top five of a Masters. Mickelson’s form hasn’t been great lately, and his caddie and brother, Tim, retired last week.
The youngest player since Woods to win three times on tour, Kim had a solid debut at Augusta National in 2023, tying for 16th with two rounds under par.
The Ryder Cup snub could find his place in the “boys club” by winning the Masters. His best finish in six starts was a tie for 22nd in 2015. His putting hasn’t been as good as last year.
One of the best players without a PGA Tour victory (he has six worldwide wins), Lee tied for 14th in his Masters debut in 2022.
It’s hard to believe it was 11 years ago that Scott became the first Australian to win a green jacket. He was tied for sixth at 4 under after 18 holes in 2023, but faded on the weekend and tied for 39th. Scott last finished in the top 10 in 2017, but hasn’t missed the cut since 2009.
Pavon’s mother, a golf teacher in France, buried a coin next to a tree in the early 2000s as a good luck charm for her son. On Jan. 27, he became the first French golfer to win on the PGA Tour since 1907 when he captured the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He’s sixth on tour in strokes gained: putting (.773).
DeChambeau, ranked 210th in the world, qualified for the next two Masters based on his five-year exemption for winning the 2020 U.S. Open. He leads the LIV Golf League in driving distance with a 321.9-yard average.
Fleetwood has fared better in the other three majors — he doesn’t have a top-10 finish in seven starts at Augusta National. He has scored in the 60s in just two of 26 rounds. He won the Dubai Invitational on Jan. 14, his 11th worldwide victory.
The Canadian golfer has won twice on tour since June, including a win against a loaded field at the WM Phoenix Open in February. He’ll make his second Masters appearance and first since tying for 29th in 2020.
After tying for second in his Masters debut in 2020, Im piled up two more top-20s, tying for eighth in 2022 and for 16th last year. The South Korean golfer has struggled with his irons and putter so far this season.
Fowler will be making his 11th start at the Masters but his first since 2020 after failing to qualify for the past three. He finished in the top 12 in five of his past seven starts, including a runner-up in 2018.
Kim made the cut in each of the past six starts at Augusta National, including top 25s in 2018, 2019 and 2021. He had six top 25s in his first nine tour starts this year.
The Austria native who played golf at Georgia made the cut in each of his first two starts at Augusta National, tying for 30th in 2022 and for 46th in 2023.
Tier IV: Hey, miracles happen
They are the long shots. This tier includes a past champion, a few players struggling with their form and a handful of first-timers.
Fox, from New Zealand, has a pair of top-25 finishes in majors on his belt. He just missed another one by tying for 26th in his Masters debut in 2023.
The former mini-tour legend is making his first appearance at Augusta National. He tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship, which helped him win PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last season.
A three-time winner on the DP World Tour, Hojgaard is considered one of the European Ryder Cup team’s building blocks for the future. It’s his first Masters appearance.
The Australian golfer had a pair of top 25s against elite fields at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and Arnold Palmer Invitational. He caught lightning in a bottle at last year’s PGA Championship, tying for fourth at 3 under, which punched his ticket to Augusta National.
Grillo is making his first start in the Masters since tying for 62nd in 2019. He’s one of the best putters on tour.
The Englishman has never been a big fan of Augusta National’s setup, as evidenced by his one top-25 finish in seven starts.
The 34-year-old from Germany was one of the last golfers to earn a spot in the field by claiming his first PGA Tour win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open on March 31. He’s eighth on tour in driving distance (309.4 yards), which will help in his first Masters start.
Kitayama missed the cut in his first Masters start in 2023, then earned a trip back by tying for fourth at the PGA Championship in May.
A four-time winner on the DP World Tour, Meronk left for the LIV Golf League after he was left off the European Ryder Cup team. He won the 2023 Seve Ballesteros Award as the player of the year in voting by his peers.
Moore tied for 39th in his Masters debut last year, and his recent form — he tied for 12th at the Valspar Championship and for second at the Texas Children’s Houston Open — probably means he’ll play on the weekend again.
After a sizzling start to the season, the past month was a bit of a grind for Poston. He finished 45th or worse in three straight starts. He tied for 34th at the 2023 Masters.
The 2011 Masters champion tied for 10th in 2022, proving he still has something left in the tank. He finished third in the LIV Golf League tournament in Saudi Arabia in early March.
The former U.S. Open champion tied for 21st at the Houston Open, his best finish since returning from brain surgery in September. He tied for 14th in the 2023 Masters, his best finish in 11 starts at Augusta National.
Tier V: Happy to make the cut
They aren’t expected to be among the contenders unless something special happens. For various reasons, just being around on the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club would be considered a victory.
Tiger Woods
It’s clear the five-time Masters champion’s best golf is in the rearview mirror because of injuries and age. He’ll try to set the tournament record with his 24th consecutive made cut, but the bigger challenge for Woods will be finishing the tournament. He withdrew during the rain-delayed third round last year because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Since returning to professional golf after a February 2021 car wreck, Woods has withdrawn or missed the cut in four of his six starts in official tour events.
The former Oklahoma State star picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the Cognizant Classic on March 4. He tied for 10th at the U.S. Open last year, carding a 6-under 29 on the front nine of the Los Angeles Country Club.
The first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 33 years at the American Express on Jan. 21, Dunlap has a boatload of talent but not much experience.
The six-time PGA Tour winner hasn’t been much of a factor at the Masters — his best finish was a tie for 20th in 2007. His putting is becoming a problem again; he ranks 171st in strokes gained: putting (-.773).
The 22-year-old lefty earned a spot in his first Masters with a playoff win in this past week’s Valero Texas Open. He injured his left shoulder while celebrating a 12-foot birdie that forced a playoff.
Sergio Garcia
The LIV Golf League captain has missed the cut in four of five Masters starts since winning a green jacket in 2017.
The Canadian golfer is making his first Masters start since tying for 24th in 2018. He qualified by finishing 49th in the world rankings at the end of 2023.
The 21-year-old made history on the DP World Tour last season, becoming the first Japanese winner in Europe in four decades at the Cazoo Open de France. He also was the first golfer from Japan to win Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
The former Alabama star picked up his first PGA Tour victory with a wire-to-wire win at the 3M Open on July 30, which earned him his first trip to Augusta National.
Father time seems to be catching up with the 2007 Masters champion. He tied for 34th at Augusta National last year but has only one top-20 finish in his past 37 PGA Tour starts..
The former UCLA golfer won in Mexico on Feb. 25 and added top-five finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Cognizant Classic, but it has been a bit of a struggle for him more recently.
The Augusta resident is making his second appearance at the Masters in the past three years after picking up his second PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Oct. 8. He last made the cut with a tie for 33rd as an amateur in 2005.
After 260 starts on the PGA Tour, Malnati is finally making his Masters debut. He’s coming off a surprising victory at the Valspar Championship on March 24.
McCarthy is one of the best putters on tour, so it’s surprising he had to wait this long to compete in the Masters. He probably doesn’t hit it far enough to be in the hunt at Augusta National.
It has been quite a year for Murray, who got engaged in December and claimed his first PGA Tour victory in more than six years at the Sony Open in Hawai’i on Jan. 14. It’s his first Masters appearance.
Olesen, making his first Masters appearance since 2019, won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 28, his eighth DP World Tour victory. He missed the cut in three of his first four PGA Tour starts this season.
Schenk qualified for his first Tour Championship at East Lake in 2023 and tied for ninth, earning him his first Masters appearance. The Purdue graduate might have a late Monday night with the Boilermakers men’s basketball team playing UConn for a national championship.
His victory at the World Wide Technology Championship on Nov. 5 was one of the most emotional moments of last season. He dedicated the victory to his friend and former University of Minnesota teammate, Jon Trasamar, who had stage 4 cancer. Trasamar died six days later.
The Colombian-born golfer returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014 with a victory at the opposite-field Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Nov. 12. It’s his first Masters start since 2015.
Tier VI: Past champions
They’re competing this week because they won green jackets and earned the right to come back to play, but their days of competing are behind them.
The 1992 Masters winner, now playing on the PGA Tour Champions, pulled out of an event on March 29 because of a back injury. Last year, he became the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters at 63 years old.
It’s the 25th anniversary of Olazabal’s second Masters victory in 1999. He missed the cut in seven of his past eight starts; he tied for 50th in 2021.
The 2000 Masters champion last made the cut when he finished 49th in 2018. The 61-year-old picked up his fifth PGA Tour Champions victory at the Ally Challenge on Aug. 27.
Watson, who won green jackets in 2012 and 2014, missed the cut last year for the first time since 2017. He hasn’t done much as a playing captain for RangeGoats GC in the LIV Golf League with one top-10 finish in 18 starts.
The only Canadian golfer to win the Masters in 2003, Weir will captain the international team at the Presidents Cup in Montreal on Sept. 27-29. He missed the cut in eight of his past nine starts at Augusta National.
The 2016 Masters champion hasn’t played a competitive round since undergoing surgery to repair two tears in his left shoulder in September. He tied for 12th at the 2022 Masters.
Tier VII: The amateurs
They’re the new kids in the Crow’s Nest and the most talented (and most fortunate) amateur players in the world. They’re trying to do what Ryan Moore (tied for 13th in 2005), Matsuyama (27th in 2011) and DeChambeau (21st in 2016) did before turning pro by making the cut as amateurs.
The University of Houston senior won the Latin America Amateur Championship by two strokes in Panama City, Panama, to earn a Masters invitation. He was the second Mexican champion of the event, joining Alvaro Ortiz (2019).
The former USC star is living out every amateur’s dream. He will be playing in his seventh major championship since 2017. He won his third U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship on Sept. 15 to qualify.
The 6-foot-8 golfer from South Africa won the Amateur Championship, earning him exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. The Georgia Tech senior rose to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in September and had a share of the first-round lead at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club before tying for 74th.
Neal Shipley
Shipley lost to Dunlap in the finals of the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado in August. He completed a degree in quantitative finance at James Madison in three years before transferring to Ohio State. Ranked 1,497th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at JMU, he’s now 37th.
The Australian won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in a playoff at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia in October. Playing as an amateur, he tied for 21st at the Australian Open on Dec. 3 and for 69th at the New Zealand Open on March 3.