This year’s Masters Tournament will take place at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia from Thursday, April 6 to Sunday, April 9. For fans of golf, this year’s first Major Tournament is shaping up to be one of, if not the most interesting, Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour events in a while.
This will be the first PGA Tour-hosted event in which the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf members can compete amongst the PGA Tour cardholders. There will be a total of 18 participants representing LIV Golf, headlined by big name players such as Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and former Masters champions Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson. While all five of these players are proven winners, the lack of rigor and solo-play on the LIV Golf Tour should pose a struggle for them to overcome if they want to find themselves in the winner’s circle come Sunday. Tensions run high between some PGA players and those that left to play for LIV Golf. There could be some hostility this weekend, especially if an LIV member ends up in the winner’s circle.
Golf legend Tiger Woods will also be competing this year. Woods competed in the Masters last year — his first time playing competitive golf in nearly 2 years. While Woods made it to the weekend, making his 23rd consecutive cut, the cold and vertical play at Augusta National Golf Club took a toll on his leg and back which were surgically repaired after a car crash in April of last year. He finished with an underwhelming 13 over par at 47th overall. Since then, he has played in a few tournaments sparingly, as his health holds him back from competing as much as he would like.
His most recent competition was in February at the Genesis Invitational. He looked more like the old Woods than he had in a while, posting far drives and fast club speeds, posting a tie for 45th finish while shooting one under par overall. His surgically repaired leg and back will continue to be a struggle for him at Augusta this year, and the nearly two months without competitive play should show in the sharpness — or lack thereof — in his game. Expectations for him to finish in a top position aren’t high, but should he make the cut, we may even see a top 25 finish if he keeps his body healthy. Winning here is not new for Woods, however. With five wins at Augusta, you can never count the big cat out.
Returning champion Scottie Scheffler is another favorite this year. Scheffler burst onto the scene in the middle of the 2021-22 season, winning the Waste Management (WM) Phoenix Open. Since then, he has won five other events on the PGA Tour. In under a year, he went from no wins on the PGA to shining in the spotlight, becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world and winning the Masters.
Little has changed for Scheffler since he last teed off at Augusta. He is again ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world and is a favorite to win it again — something only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo have done. This year, he is already at two wins. He defended his WM Phoenix Open title with an incredible par save on hole 16. He also won THE PLAYERS Championship in early March.
Winning the coveted green jacket last year, Scheffler will host the Champions Dinner, choosing a southern barbeque theme, with everything from firecracker shrimp to skillet cookies. The stage is set for Scheffler to take another run at the title, but he has a lot of tough competition ahead of him.
So, who can give Scheffler a run for his money? The usual favorites — Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Max Homa — are all top-ranked golfers in the world. All of them have the necessary skill to come out on top after 72 holes at one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world.
Will Scheffler win back to back, or will he pass on the green jacket to a new champion? Whatever happens, expect an exciting and action-packed weekend of golf.
Evan Marks is a Sports Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at ecmarks@uci.edu.