What to know about the 2023 Masters field, tee times, Tiger watch and more
Spring has sprung, which means it’s time for golf’s best to gather at Augusta National in Georgia for the Masters. Here’s a look at everything you need to know for this year’s tournament.
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When is the Masters?
The Masters is scheduled to begin Thursday and end Sunday.
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How can I watch the Masters?
• TV:
Wednesday (par-3 contest): noon, ESPN
Thursday-Friday: noon, ESPN
Saturday: noon, CBS
Sunday: 11 a.m., CBS
• Streaming at Masters.com
Wednesday: On the range, 6-8 a.m.; par-3 contest, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Thursday: Streaming coverage, including the honorary starters, on the range, featured holes and featured groups, begins at 5:15 a.m.
Friday: Streaming coverage begins at 5:30 a.m.
Saturday-Sunday: Streaming coverage begins at 7:15 a.m.
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Who is the defending Masters champion?
Last year, Scottie Scheffler continued his ascent by winning his first major championship at Augusta National, a dominant three-stroke victory that saw him grab the lead on Friday afternoon and never relinquish it. Scheffler has barely cooled down since that victory and enters this year’s tournament as the world’s top-ranked golfer, having won two tournaments this calendar year (the Phoenix Open and the Players Championship, both featuring top-notch fields).
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What is the size of the Masters field?
The Masters field is smaller than most tournaments on the U.S. or European tours, usually numbering between 90 and 100 players (this year there are only 89). There are numerous paths to qualifying for the tournament, among them:
• Former Masters champions receive lifetime invitations. (This year, the former champions in the field are Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, José María Olazábal, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Sandy Lyle and Larry Mize.)
• Winners of the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship receive five-year Masters exemptions. Winners of the Players Championship receive three-year exemptions. (Cameron Smith, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry and Francesco Molinari.)
• Winners of five national amateur competitions in the United States, England, Asia and South America, along with the runner-up from the previous year’s U.S. Amateur. (Sam Bennett, Ben Carr, Aldrich Potgieter, Harrison Crowe, Mateo Fernández de Oliveira and Matthew McClean.)
• The top 12 and ties from the previous year’s Masters. (Rory McIlroy, Corey Conners, Will Zalatoris, Sungjae Im and Cameron Champ.)
• The top four and ties from the previous year’s U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. (Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Mito Pereira.)
• Winners of full-field PGA Tour events played between last year’s Masters and this year’s Masters. (Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, K.H. Lee, Sam Burns, Billy Horschel, J.T. Poston, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Mackenzie Hughes, Keegan Bradley, Seamus Power, Adam Svensson, Si Woo Kim, Justin Rose, Chris Kirk, Kurt Kitayama and Taylor Moore.)
• Golfers who qualified for the previous year’s Tour Championship. (Brian Harman, Tom Hoge, Joaquín Niemann, Scott Stallings, Sepp Straka and Sahith Theegala)
• Golfers in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings on two dates: as of Dec. 31 of last year and as of the week before the Masters. (Abraham Ancer, Ryan Fox, Talor Gooch, Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, Jason Kokrak, Adrian Meronk, Kevin Na, Alex Norén, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III, Jason Day, Harris English, Min Woo Lee and Keith Mitchell.)
• Golfers who receive special invitations from Augusta National. (Kazuki Higa and Gordon Sargent.)
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What is the cut line?
After two rounds, the top 50 and ties advance to play the weekend. This is different from a normal PGA Tour event, at which the top 65 and ties usually advance after two rounds.
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What is the weather forecast?
As of Tuesday, the forecast for Augusta, Ga., isn’t looking great, with steady rain Friday and Saturday and showers Sunday. There will be a bit of wind all four days, and temperatures will be in the 50s or 60s after Thursday’s high in the mid 80s. The Masters hasn’t had to finish on a Monday because of the weather since 1983, when rain washed out Friday’s second round.
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Have there been any course changes at Augusta National?
The only change to Augusta National ahead of this year’s Masters is at the par-5 13th hole, which has been lengthened by 35 yards and now measures 545 yards. The tee box was moved back in hopes that the hole - which has historically been the easiest on the course - will play more difficult.
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What is Amen Corner?
The stretch known as Amen Corner consists of the second half of the par-4 11th hole, the entire par-3 12th hole and the tee shot at the par-5 No. 13. It was given its name by Sports Illustrated writer Herbert Warren Wind in 1958 and eventually became the shorthand for the portion of the course where green jackets often are won or lost as the players navigate tricky breezes and Rae’s Creek, which comes into play on all three holes.
“Everyone called it ‘the Corner,’ like I’ll see you at ‘the corner,’ ” Wind told the New York Times in 1993. “So I was trying to think of something like the hot corner in baseball or the coffin corner in football.”
The “amen” portion came from “Shoutin’ in That Amen Corner,” a jazz song Wind liked from the 1930s.
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Is Tiger Woods playing in the Masters?
Woods, the five-time Masters champion, will play in this year’s Masters. He finished 47th at last year’s tournament, his first event since suffering severe injuries in a February 2021 car crash.
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Are LIV golfers playing in the Masters?
In December, Augusta National announced that any golfer from the breakaway LIV Golf tour who qualified for the Masters would be allowed to play. Six LIV golfers - Watson, Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Garcia, Reed and Schwartzel - are former Masters champions and have received lifetime invitations, while others (Smith, DeChambeau and Koepka) earned spots in the field because they recently won major championships. In all, there are 18 LIV golfers in this year’s Masters field.
The PGA Tour, which has no control over the Masters field, has banned LIV golfers from its events, but they continue to be allowed into the four major championships as long as they qualify.
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What does the Masters winner receive?
Along with a lifetime invitation to play in the Masters, the winner receives the green jacket, which he keeps for one year before returning it to be stored at Augusta National for his use when on club grounds; $2.7 million in prize money; a replica of the Masters champions trophy that permanently resides at Augusta National; and a gold medal.
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Who are the favorites to win the Masters?
As of Tuesday morning at DraftKings Sportsbook, Scheffler and McIlroy were the co-favorites to win the Masters at +700 odds (bet $100 to win $700). Rahm was right behind them at +900, followed by Cantlay and Spieth (+1600 each) and Finau and Thomas (+2000 each).
Dustin Johnson and Smith have the best odds among the LIV golfers at +2200 each. DraftKings has assigned +8000 odds to Woods.
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What are the Masters tee times?
Thursday’s tee times were announced Tuesday. All groups tee off from hole No. 1. An “a” indicates amateur.
5 a.m.: Mike Weir, Kevin Na
5:12 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings, Matthew McClean (a)
5:24 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch
5:36 a.m.: Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren
5:48 a.m.: Adrian Meronk, Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen
6 a.m.: Larry Mize, Min Woo Lee, Harrison Crowe (a)
6:12 a.m.: Sergio Garcia, Kazuki Higa, Keith Mitchell
6:24 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala
6:36 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Mackenzie Hughes, Thomas Pieters
6:48 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Seamus Power, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (a)
7:06 a.m.: Abraham Ancer, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley
7:18 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
7:30 a.m.: Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama
7:42 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young
7:54 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im
8:06 a.m.: Jose Maria Olazabal, Cameron Champ
8:18 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Taylor Moore, Aldrich Potgieter (a)
8:30 a.m.: J.T. Poston, Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau
8:42 a.m.: Bernhard Langer, Mito Pereira, Ben Carr (a)
8:54 a.m.: Danny Willett, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka
9:12 a.m.: Sepp Straka, Harold Varner III, K.H. Lee
9:24 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim
9:36 a.m.: Billy Horschel, Harris English, Ryan Fox
9:48 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Gordon Sargent (a)
10 a.m.: Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton
10:12 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Corey Conners, Justin Rose
10:24 a.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris
10:36 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Bennett (a)
10:48 a.m.: Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns
11 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau