One of the sporting worlds biggest and most prestigious events gets underway this Thursday.
The 2024 Masters tournament which marks the first of the year’s four major golf tournaments will see Golf’s top players descend on the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.
Last year’s winner Jon Rahm will be joined by Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffer, Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods for 88th edition of the competition.
Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Masters.
From when it will take place, players involved and the prize pot for this year’s edition.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm won last year’s Master beating American Brooks Koepka to claim the coveted green jacket
This year’s Masters, the 88th edition of the tournament will once again take place in the Augusta National Golf Club
When is the 2024 Masters?
This year’s competition will take place on Thursday, April 11 and will run until Sunday, April 14.
If you are looking for some action before Thursday, there is three days practice before the opening round on April 11, including the Par 3 contest on Wednesday April 10.
This contest features members from some of golf’s top competitors.
Where is the 2024 Masters
The Masters is the only one of golf’s four majors where the venue doesn’t change.
The tournament is played at the same venue each year and this year marks the 88th edition of the Masters.
The competition is held at Augusta National Golf Club which is located in the north east of Georgia, close to the border of South Carolina.
The golf club is one of the most exclusive and prestigious golf clubs in the world and the only way to play the course is by invitation only.
This year’s Masters will run from Thursday, April 11 through till Sunday, April 14
How do players qualify for the Masters?
As previously mentioned in order to play at the Augusta Golf course you need a invitiation and technically speaking for the Masters it is no different.
Unlike the other three Majors, there is no ‘open’ qualification process, however there are 20 ways a golfer can received an invitation.
The simplest and most common way to ensure your invitation letter gets posted is to be in the top 50 of the world rankings on January 1.
All previous Masters champions are also invited back each year and those who finished within the top 12 the previous year are also welcomed back.
Another alternative way of booking your place at Augusta is any players who won a major or a fully-sanctioned PGA tour the previous year also receives an invite.
Similarly any player who achieved a top-four finish in any of last year’s previous Majors are also invited, whilst winners of any of the other three Majors the previous year, receive an invitation to the event for the next five years.
The rest of the field is made up of the winners of the amateur game’s most distinguished events and the Masters also reserves the right to invite wildcard players.
Will LIV players be playing?
LIV golfers will feature in this year’s Masters, however there will be far less of them compared to last year.
The reasoning for this is because the tournaments which feature on the breakout circuit don’t offer world ranking points which is how the majority of players qualify for the Masters.
2023 Masters winner and LIV golfer Jon Rahm is one of 13 players from the breakout circuit who will feature at this year’s Masters
Which LIV players will be at the Masters?
There will be 13 LIV golfers at this year’s event. Last year’s Masters winner Jon Rahm will be accompanied by fellow LIV golfers and previous Masters winners Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson as well as 2023 runner-up Brooks Keopka.
Here is the full list of LIV players at this year’s Masters:
- Bryson DeChambeau (Won the 2020 US Open)
- Cam Smith (Won the 2023 Open Championship)
- Brooks Koepka (Won the PGA Championship in 2019)
- Jon Rahm (Previous Masters winner)
- Patrick Reed (Previous Masters winner)
- Phil Mickelson (Previous Masters winner)
- Sergio Garcia (Previous Masters winner)
- Charl Schwartzel (Previous Masters winner)
- Dustin Johnson (Previous Masters winner)
- Bubba Watson (Previous Masters winner)
- Tyrrell Hatton (Ranked in world’s top 50 earlier this year)
- Adrian Meronk (Ranked in world’s top 50 earlier this year)
- Joaquin Niemann (Received a special invitation)
2019 PGA Tour champion Brooks Koepka is also another LIV golfer who will play at Augusta this week
Recent LIV recruit Tyler Hatton will also play at Augusta after earning an invitation for ranking in the Top 50 on January 1 before his move to LIV
What are the tee times?
The tee times for this year’s event have yet to be announced. However times for round one and two will likely be announced on either the Tuesday or Wednesday before the tournament.
Thursday, April 11
First group are likely to tee off around 8am EST local time in Augusta Georgia (5am PST / 7am CST / 1pm BST), with the final group expected to begin their opening round from 2pm EST local time ( 11am PST / 1pm CST / 7pm BST).
Meaning the last finishers of the day will probably finish their last hole around 7pm EST / 6pm CST / 4pm PST / Midnight BST.
How much is the 2024 Masters prize money?
This year’s total prize purse is expected to be $18,000,00 (£14.2million), the same as last year.
The winner of this year’s event event is expected to walk away with $3,240,000 (£2.5m) in prize money, a replica of the official trophy (that never leaves the club), a gold medal and most coveted of all, the infamous green Masters jacket.
There are also trophies up for grabs for finishing second, being the leading amateur golfer, recording the lowest score of the day, hitting a hole in one, an eagle or a double eagle.
Prize pot for top five:
- 1st: $3,240,000 (£2.5m)
- 2nd: $1,944,00 (£1.5m)
- 3rd: $1,224,000 (£969,478)
- 4th: $864,000 (£684,337)
- 5th: $720,000 (£570,310)
How to follow the 2024 Masters on TV
Mail Sport will be running a live blog, covering all the action from each day at the 2024 Masters.
We will be providing you with the latest leader standings, best shots of the day plus much more.
All of this year’s Masters action will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf, with live coverage also being shown on Sky Sports Main event as well.
For Sky customers on the go, you can also live stream the tournament via the Sky Go app on a number of devices including your phones.
For non sky customers, the tournament will also be available to be streamed on NOW.
NOW can be streamed through a computer or apps found on most smart TVs, you can also access the NOW stream through TNT Sports.
Free-to-air coverage is also shown on the Masters official website, where viewers can watch all of the action just a short few minutes after it has happened.
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