It’s nearly here – The Masters! It’s the most anticipated, the most hyped, the most written about and the most watched event in world golf. Despite Australians lack of success at the event, golfing fans in this country regularly set the alarm to watch in the wee hours and many miss a few hours of work on Monday morning due to the finishing time here in Oz.
So with the event upon us, it’s always good to soak in the stats and storylines fed by the PGA Tour;

The 2024 Masters Tournament is the first major championship of the season and second event that offers 750 FedExCup points to the winner. Scottie Scheffler enters the Masters as the No. 1 player in the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the last three years (2022; went on to win). Scheffler has two victories this season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship in consecutive weeks. This is the third consecutive year that Scheffler is entering the Masters with multiple wins on TOUR since January 1, the longest such streak since Tiger Woods did so from 2005-2008 (four straight). Scheffler is the only multiple winner on TOUR this season has finished in the top 10 in seven of his eight starts this season, the most of any player on TOUR. He led the TOUR in that category with 17 last season.

82-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion Tiger Woods is making his second start of the season and first since The Genesis Invitational, where he withdrew during the second round due to illness. Woods made the cut at the 2023 Masters and withdrew during the third round due to injury. He tied Gary Player and Fred Couples for most consecutive starts making the cut at the Masters with 23, and would break the tie with a made cut in 2024. With a win, Woods would break a tie with Sam Snead for most PGA TOUR wins in history and tie Jack Nicklaus for most wins at the Masters (6). This is Woods' seventh start on TOUR since his February 2021 car accident and third at the Masters. He has three WDs in the previous six starts (2022 PGA Championship, 2023 Masters Tournament, 2024 Genesis Invitational), with his best result in that span coming at the 2023 Genesis Invitational (T45).

Three-time FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy would become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam with a win, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. McIlroy has seven top-10s at the Masters, most recently finishing solo-second in 2022.

Since last winning a major at the 2014 PGA Championship, McIlroy has 20 top-10s in majors, the most of any player in that span. In the same timeframe, he has won 15 times on the PGA TOUR, including the 2019 PLAYERS Championship, and earned three FedExCup titles (most all-time). This is his 35th start in a major since the start of 2015.

There are 89 players in the field, including 20 players making their tournament debut. Among the 20 first-timers in the field, 16 are PGA TOUR members and four are amateurs. Two of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are making their first start at the Masters Tournament: No. 4 Wyndham Clark and No. 9 Ludvig Åberg. Clark, who earned his first major title at the 2023 U.S. Open, has won three times on TOUR in the last 12 months, most recently winning the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He is making his ninth career start in a major (3 PGA Championship, 3 U.S. Open, 2 Open Championship). Åberg, who turned professional in June of 2023 and joined the PGA TOUR as the No. 1 player in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, is making his first career start in a major. In 19 starts on TOUR since turning professional, Åberg has recorded a win (2023 RSM Classic) and six additional top-10s, including a runner-up to Clark at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has finished in the top 25 in each of his last six starts.

Players to win the Masters in tournament debut:

• Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979
• Gene Sarazen, 1935 (second tournament)
• Horton Smith, 1934 (inaugural tournament)

At No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Xander Schauffele is the highest-ranked player that has not won a major. Schauffele has six top-10s on TOUR this season, the second-most of any player (7, Scottie Scheffler). He has 19 top- 25s in majors since joining the PGA TOUR at the start of the 2016-17 season, the most of any player in that span.

Akshay Bhatia defeated Denny McCarthy in a playoff to win last week's Valero Texas Open, earning the final spot in the Masters. The last player to win a major after winning on TOUR the week prior was Rory McIlroy in 2014 (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship) and the last to do so at the Masters was Phil Mickelson in 2006 (BellSouth Classic).

McCarthy is also making his tournament debut. The last player to lose in a playoff on TOUR and win the following week was Patrick Cantlay, who lost in a playoff at the 2022 RBC Heritage and then won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Xander Schauffele. The last player to lose in a playoff on TOUR and win a major the following week was Jordan Spieth in 2015 (lost in a playoff at the Texas Children's Houston Open and won the Masters the following week).

2021 Masters Tournament winner Hideki Matsuyama has finished T12 or better in each of his last four starts, including a win at The Genesis Invitational. Matsuyama is one of only two players, along with World No. 1 and FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler that has finished in the top 20 in each of the last four years at the Masters.

2023 Open Championship winner Brian Harman is making his sixth start at the Masters (best result: T12/2021) and first as a major champion. The last player to win consecutive majors was Jordan Spieth, who won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2015. The last reigning Open Championship winner to win the Masters was Tiger Woods in 2001.

Stephan Jaeger won the Texas Children's Houston Open in his most recent start, earning his first PGA TOUR title in his 135th start. In the first 128 starts, Jaeger's best finish was solo-fifth at the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic; in his last seven, he has recorded three finishes of T3 or better (T3/Farmers Insurance Open, T3/Mexico Open at Vidanta, Won/Texas Children's Houston Open). He is making his fifth career start in a major and first at the Masters.

TOUR rookie Nick Dunlap is making his third career start in a major (MC/2022 U.S. Open, MC/2023 U.S. Open) and first at the Masters. Dunlap won The American Express in January, becoming the first amateur to win on TOUR since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Prior to winning The American Express and subsequently turning professional, was eligible for the Masters after winning the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

• Longest active streak of top-10s in majors: 3, Rory McIlroy (streak began at 2023 PGA Championship)
• Longest active streak of made cuts in majors: 17, Jon Rahm (streak began at 2019 U.S. Open)
• Longest active streak of starts in majors: 89, Adam Scott (streak began at 2001 Open Championship)

2023 Leaderboard

Strength of field statistics

Tournament records