Essentially the most prestigious occasion in golf begins in much less then 24-hours, that includes the largest names from LIV and the PGA Tour.
With all the joy, it’s generally tough to know who to look at. Listed below are the largest names and storylines at Augusta Nationwide this Masters weekend.
The Heavy Hitters
Yearly, Masters protection is dominated by the massive names followers anticipate to win, and for good cause. The previous 5 winners of the coveted Inexperienced Jacket have all been names each fan is aware of. Rahm, Scheffler, Matsuyama, DJ and, in fact, Tiger Woods weren’t thought-about surprises once they received at Augusta Nationwide.
This 12 months, the highest names stay on the high of the percentages sheet with one identify favored amongst the remainder, Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler has been on a tear this season, defending his Arnold Palmer and Gamers Championship titles in back-to-back weeks. However the greatest story out of Scheffler’s immaculate run has really been, none apart from, his beard. For the primary time whereas on tour, the world No. 1 has been rocking facial hair, and the golf world can’t cease speaking about it. No matter his grooming habits Scheffler stays the clear favourite to win this weekend at +400.
The beard returns at Augusta 👀 pic.twitter.com/OSOHQMDOHh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 8, 2024
The subsequent group of projected winners in Augusta comes within the type of a six participant clump. Rory Mcllroy, John Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Kopeka and Jordan Speith are all acquainted with the perils of Augusta Nationwide.
The Masters marks the primary of one other 4 possibilities to win a fifth main for Mcllroy. The 17-year professional has confirmed time and time once more that he is without doubt one of the greatest gamers on tour, but he’s gone a decade with no main win. His final coming on the 2014 PGA Championship. Mcllory additionally wants this win to turn into simply the sixth golfer to win a profession grand-slam, cementing his legacy on tour. Mcllroy does have one benefit over a lot of the area: his expertise.
“That is my sixteenth begin in The Masters, so I really feel like I’ve achieved it fairly just a few alternative ways,” Mcllroy mentioned. “I play 25 weeks a 12 months, and there’s no level in doing something totally different.”
New Names and Faces
With The Masters being the primary main of this season, just a few new names and faces handle to sneak in to the sector on the final minute. Nobody matches this class higher than 2024 Valero Texas Open winner Akshay Bhatia.
Bhatia took the PGA world by storm this previous weekend beating out Denny McCarthy on the primary playoff gap to safe a spot at Augusta. The five-year professional notched his second profession win taking pictures 20 underneath and shifting to twelfth in FedEx Cup standing.
Can Tiger Win One other?
The best golfer of all time returns to The Masters for the twenty sixth time. The five-time winner doesn’t want one other Inexperienced Jacket to show himself, however Woods expects to contend for his sixth this weekend.
The place to Watch
The Masters will likely be broadcast on ESPN in addition to at Masters.com. The PGA Tour app may also have dwell updates and rating trackers.
