If, like me, you are obsessed with fantasy sports – you need to get involved with The Masters edition. The free-to-enter competition allows you to pit yourselves against your friends, or the wider golf-o-sphere, and all you have to do is pick four golfers through the app.
Sounds easy, right? Well, in this article, Golf Monthly's Barry Plummer outlines his strategy for creating the perfect Masters fantasy line-up and even helps you tackle the tricky tie-breaker question...
The Masters Fantasy: How To Build Your Line-Up
To build your line-up, you need to pick one golfer from each of four categories. The first is former champions, and in my opinion is the easiest one to get right. There are only 17 players available in this section, with many of them here in what I would call a 'ceremonial' capacity – as in they aren't going to win!
Realistically, there are only a handful that can get it done in this category, and I can't look past the best player on the planet right now... Scottie Scheffler. The World No.1 is actually too short a price to bet on, in my opinion, so using him in this type of fantasy contest is a great way to still be involved when he inevitably contends.
This is where strategy comes into it, however, as you can actually take Scottie in three out of four sections, but using him here frees you up for other options later in the process.
The next section requires you to select a player from the United States. This is a much harder prospect, as there are plenty of top players to choose from. You should really only be considering players you think can win the event, as you have just four golfers to represent your team. With that in mind, I am going for LIV Golfer and Major juggernaut, Brooks Koepka.
He could have won last year, and in 2019, and I believe it's only a matter of time before he takes a Green Jacket. You can actually go back to another American later, if you like someone else in this list, so don't worry too much if you are between two players.
The next category to choose from is the international players. Another broad zone, this again affords you plenty of opportunities.
The app provides you with a confidence rating for each player, with names like Cam Smith and Jon Rahm unsurprisingly ranking highly in this metric. Rahm is going for uncommon back-to-back Masters wins, so I am happy to miss him out, but I can see lots of players taking the Spaniard in their line-ups.
Instead, I am going to go for Hideki Matsuyama in this one, as I think he is playing some of the best golf of his life right now. As a former Masters Champion, I could have taken him earlier on, but by taking this route I can squeeze Scheffler and Koepka in alongside him.
The final group to pick from is a fully-open area labelled the 'wild card'. To complete your team, this is where you can have anyone you like and perhaps separate yourself from your friends with a 'zig' where they might 'zag'.
I am sticking to my guns and going with someone I have said on multiple occasions can win The Masters – Joaquin Niemann. The Chilean has been on fire on the LIV Golf series of late, and when he strikes the ball well, winning seems to follow him.
How Many Pars Were Made In The Masters Last Year?
To ensure we have a winner, fantasy players are asked to answer a tie-breaker question as the final stage of the entry process. This year, the question is... How many total pars will be made by the entire 2024 Masters field?
In 2023, there were 3,029 pars made in The Masters at Augusta National, which could point us towards a ball-park figure to base our estimate. I actually believe it will be very similar, but in the interest of protecting my winning chances... I will let you decide this last one for yourself! Best of luck with your selections.
