It’s time for the first Major Championship of the year and the golf world makes its way to Georgia for the 88th Masters.
All eyes will be on Augusta, Georgia for the golf as well as the accompanying story lines resulting from the first tournament of the year where players from LIV Golf and the PGA Tour will play together.
This year there will be 13 LIV Golfers in the field compared to 18 in last year’s event.
The drop is mainly due to LIV Golf not receiving Official World Gold Ranking points for its event, and it’s players subsequently dropping in the rankings and not receiving invites.
Despite the drop of LIV Golf players invited to the Master, more intriguing is that the reigning Masters Champion Jon Rahm, left for LIV Golf in December 2022 making him ineligible to participate on the PGA Tour.
It will be interesting to see Rahm’s reception at Augusta National as well as the Champion’s Dinner on Tuesday the week of the Masters.
Rahm also make news after his avocation for LIV Golf to move from a 54 hole to a 72 hole format in an attempt to get OWGR points.
Keep in mind that LIV is the Roman Numeral for 54, so it’s interesting how a change like Rahm is suggesting would affect the branding of the league.
Players to Watch
Tiger Woods
Woods will make his 26th appearance at Augusta National and try for his sixth Green Jacket.
His last win in 2019 at age 43 made him the 2nd oldest golfer to win the Masters behind Jack Nicklaus who won in 1986 at age 46.
Since his car accident in 2021 that caused severe damage to his leg, Woods has played a limited schedule.
Despite kipping most PGA Tournaments including several Major Championships, the Masters has remained on his scheduled since he was able to return to golf.
Sahith Theegala
This will be Sahith’s second trip to Augusta National for the Masters. His prior trip in 2023 resulted in a ninth place finish.
In nine events this season Sahith has five top-25 finishes, including four top-10s. His best finish came in In January where he finished runner up at The Sentry.
Theegala is ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup and 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Akshay Bhatia
This will be Akshay’s 1st trip to Augusta National for the Masters as well as his first appearance at a Major Championship.
Akshay qualified at the 11th hour by winning the Valero Texas Open; the last event prior to the first Major Championship of the year, the Masters.
In 10 events so far this season Akshay has six top-25 finishes in the six cuts that he has made. His best finish was his second career win on the PGA Tour, the aforementioned Texas Valero Open.
Akshay other win on the PGA Tour was the Barracuda Championship last season.
By winning last week Bhatia moved up from 55th in the FedEx Cup to 12th and from 87th in the Official World Golf Ranking to XXth.
Tony Finau
This will be Tony’s seventh trip to Augusta National. In six trips Tony has made the top-10 three times. His best finish was fifth place in 2019.
In nine events on the PGA Tour this season Tony has five top-25 finishes, including 2 top-10 finishes. His best result of the season was runner up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open at the end of March
Finau is ranked 38th in the FedEx Cup and 26th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Tee Times
Woods: Thursday – 1:24 PM; Friday – 10:18 AM
Bhatia: Thursday – 12:24; Friday – 9:12 AM
Theegala: Thursday – 1:48; Friday – 10:42 AM
Finau: Thursday – 9:36; Friday – 12:48 PM