The first Major of the year, The Masters, is almost upon us and, following Akshay Bhatia's win at the Valero Texas Open, the field is now complete with the inclusion of the American.
Unlike the build-up to the 2023 tournament, there is no issue over the eligibility of LIV Golf players. Ultimately, it was decided that invites would be sent out to those on the circuit who had qualified for last year’s event, and it’s the same for the 2024 tournament at Augusta National.
That means we’ll see Jon Rahm defend his title despite him signing for LIV Golf in December. The Spaniard finished ahead of fellow LIV Golf players Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson in 2023, and he will be among the favourites to win again.
Koepka also plays. Despite narrowly missing out on victory last year, the Smash GC captain locked in his invite for the next five tournaments thanks to his PGA Championship win.
Any player who wins The Masters is exempt for life, and that includes Mickelson, who has won the Green Jacket three times. Other LIV golfers who have qualified via that criteria are Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel, while Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith also qualify thanks to their Major wins within the last five years.
One player who it would be impossible to write off is, of course, 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods. The American has won the tournament five times, most recently in 2019, and he will command much of the attention throughout the week.
Rory McIlroy will also be under close scrutiny by virtue of the fact that The Masters remains the one Major title that eludes him. Last year was one of the most disappointing Augusta National outings of his career as he missed the cut, and he has filled his schedule in the run-up to the event with one eye on finally completing the career Grand Slam.
Other players fancied to do well include 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler, while 2021 victor Hideki Matsuyama will be hoping to continue a recent resurgence that included a win at the Genesis Invitational.
The likes of Swede Ludvig Aberg, who competes in a Major for the first time, and another Scandinavian, Norwegian Viktor Hovland, will also be among those expected to do well.
Veterans in the field include Jose Maria Olazabal and 1992 champion Fred Couples. Last year, Couples became the oldest player to make the cut at the event, overtaking the record of two-time winner Bernhard Langer. The German had been due to make his last appearance at the Major in 2024, but a torn achilles has ruled him out.
Below is the list of players who have qualified for the tournament, and how they got there.
The Masters Qualifying Criteria 2024
1. Masters Tournament Champions (lifetime)
2. US Open Champions (honorary, non-competing after five years)
3. The Open Champions (honorary, non-competing after five years)
4. PGA Champions (honorary, non-competing after five years)
5. Winners of The Players Championship (three years)
6. Current Olympic Gold Medalist (one year)
7. Current US Amateur Champion (7-A) (honorary, non-competing after one year) and the runner-up (7-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
8. Current The Amateur Champion (honorary, non-competing after one year)
9. Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion (one year)
10. Current Latin America Amateur Champion (one year)
11. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion (one year)
12. Current NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Champion
13. The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
14. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's US Open
16. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's The Open Championship
16. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship
17. Individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
18. Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship
19. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
20. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament
21. Special invite
The Masters Field 2024: Who is playing at Augusta?
- Ludvig Aberg, 19, 20
- Byeong Hun An, 20
- Akshay Bhatia, 17
- Keegan Bradley, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Sam Burns, 18, 19 20
- Patrick Cantlay, 18, 19, 20
- Wyndham Clark, 2, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Eric Cole, 19, 20
- Corey Conners, 18, 19, 20
- Fred Couples, 1
- Cam Davis, 16, 19
- Jason Day, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Bryson DeChambeau, 2, 16
- Santiago De la Fuente (a), 10
- Nick Dunlap, 17
- Austin Eckroat, 17, 20
- Harris English, 19, 20
- Tony Finau, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Matt Fitzpatrick, 2, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Tommy Fleetwood, 18, 19, 20
- Rickie Fowler, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Ryan Fox, 19, 20
- Sergio Garcia, 1
- Lucas Glover, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Emiliano Grillo, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Adam Hadwin, 19, 20
- Stewart Hagestad (a), 11
- Brian Harman, 3, 18, 19, 20
- Tyrrell Hatton, 18, 19, 20
- Russell Henley, 13, 18, 19, 20
- Ryo Hisatsune, 21
- Lee Hodges, 17
- Nicolai Hojgaard, 19, 20
- Max Homa, 18, 19, 20
- Viktor Hovland, 13,16, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Sungjae Im, 18, 19, 20
- Stephen Jaeger, 17, 20
- Dustin Johnson, 1
- Zach Johnson, 1
- Si Woo Kim, 18, 19, 20
- Tom Kim, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Chris Kirk, 17, 20
- Kurt Kitayama, 16, 19, 20
- Jake Knapp, 17, 20
- Brooks Koepka, 4, 13, 19, 20
- Christo Lamprechet (a), 8
- Min Woo Lee, 19, 20
- Luke List, 17
- Shane Lowry, 3, 19, 20
- Hideki Matsuyama, 1, 17, 19, 20
- Denny McCarthy, 19
- Rory McIlroy, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Adrian Meronk, 19
- Phil Mickelson, 1, 4, 13
- Taylor Moore, 18
- Collin Morikawa, 3, 4, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Grayson Murray, 17
- Joaquin Niemann, 21
- Jose Maria Olazabal, 1
- Thorbjorn Olesen, 21
- Matthieu Pavon, 17, 20
- J.T. Poston, 19, 20
- Jon Rahm, 1, 2, 15, 18, 19, 20
- Patrick Reed, 1, 13
- Justin Rose, 19
- Xander Schauffele, 13, 18, 19, 20
- Scottie Scheffler, 1, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Adam Schenk, 18, 19
- Charl Schwartzel, 1
- Adam Scott, 1, 19
- Neal Shipley (a), 7
- Vijay Singh, 1
- Cameron Smith, 3, 5, 14, 19
- Jordan Spieth, 1, 13, 18, 19, 20
- Sepp Straka, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
- Jasper Stubbs (a), 9
- Nick Taylor, 17, 18, 20
- Sahith Theegala, 13, 17, 19, 20
- Justin Thomas, 4, 19, 20
- Erik van Rooyen, 17
- Camillo Villegas, 17
- Bubba Watson, 1
- Mike Weir, 1
- Danny Willett, 1
- Gary Woodland, 2
- Tiger Woods, 1
- Cameron Young, 13, 19, 20
- Will Zalatoris, 19, 20
