The Masters has allowed LIV Golf rebels to contest this year’s showpiece event, but they have been delivered one slap-down ahead of the opening round.
Of the 88 players set to take the tee at Augusta National from Thursday night (AEST), 18 of those have jumped ship to sign with the controversial Saudi-backed tour, and been blacklisted by the PGA Tour in the process.
Making this week’s opening major of 2023 even more awkward is the fact nine of the last 19 Masters have been won by players now aligned with LIV.
The 2023 Masters Tournament will be live on Nine from April 7-10 and on 9Now from April 6.
Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010), Charl Schwartzel (2011), Bubba Watson (2012, 2014), Sergio Garcia (2017), Patrick Reed (2018), and Dustin Johnson (2020) have all donned the famous green jacket, while fellow rebels Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Louis Oosthuizen have all won majors previously, but never at Augusta.
Still, despite the host of superstars available on that list, the Masters have opted not to pair any of them with non-LIV current top-50 ranked players for the opening round of the tournament.
On top of that, the “featured groups” for round one – which viewers can opt to follow exclusively on special broadcast channels – do not feature any LIV Golf athletes.
The message from Augusta is clear – we’ll allow you to play, but don’t expect to get any air time if we can help it.
WHEN IS THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT
Masters legends Tom Watson, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus will hit their ceremonial tee shots at 9.40pm on Thursday (AEST).
The first group of players will tee off at Augusta National at 10pm and the tournament will go for four days.
Weather permitting, the champion will be crowned on Monday morning, normally some time between 9am and 10am (AEST).
HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT
The 2023 Masters tournament will be broadcast live in Australia on 9Gem and streamed live on 9Now.
Gem will broadcast the par-3 competition from 5am on Thursday (AEST).
The 2023 Masters Tournament will be live on Nine from April 7-10 and on 9Now from April 6.
All four rounds of the Masters will then be broadcast on Gem from 5am Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and from 4am on Monday.
9Now will have three separate live streams following the action on various parts of the course from start of play each day.
One stream will follow the two featured groups, another will follow the action from famous Amen Corner, and the third will exclusively broadcast holes 15 and 16.
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WHAT IS THE PRIZEMONEY FOR THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT
The 2023 Masters prizemoney pool totals $22.2 million (AUD).
The winner pockets 18 per cent of that, or about $4 million, on top of taking home a trophy and the iconic green jacket.
Second place pockets 10.8 per cent, and the share decreases gradually down to 50th which pockets 0.25 per cent of the pool.
The field will begin with 88 players, and after two rounds will be cut to 50 players plus ties.
All players who miss the cut will be paid about $14,800.
HISTORY OF THE MASTERS AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL
The event began at Augusta National in 1934, although originally it was named the Augusta National Invitational.
By 1940 it had been coined the Masters and became one of the premier golf tournaments around the world.
These days it’s fair to argue it is the most prestigious event on the professional circuit.
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LEADING CONTENDERS TO WIN THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT
Bookmakers have two clear favourites at the top of the market for this year’s tournament – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Scheffler has been the hottest golfer in the world over the last 18 months, and is the defending Masters champion having held off a McIlroy charge at Augusta last year.
Veteran Irish champion McIlroy has four majors to his name, but none since 2014, and has never donned the green jacket.
He was runner-up in last year’s Masters, and was favourite to win the British Open before being overrun by Aussie Cameron Smith, who lifted the claret jug before defecting to LIV.
Scheffler and McIlory are the top two ranked golfers on the OWGR, ahead of Spanish star Jon Rahm who bookmakers rate the next best chance to take the title this year.
The 2023 Masters Tournament will be live on Nine from April 7-10 and on 9Now from April 6.
Smith is arguably the biggest threat from the 18-strong LIV contingent, having won last year’s Players Championship and British Open and been in contention at Augusta before dropping away in the final round.
He is still ranked No.6 in the world despite defecting to the rebel tour, where he can’t accumulate any ranking points.
AUSSIES IN ACTION AT THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT
Five Australians will contest this year’s Masters.
Joining LIV rebel Smith will be 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, and amateur Harrison Crowe.
Smith is rated by bookmakers as the fifth best chance to win the title – behind only Scheffler, McIlroy, Rahm, and Jordan Spieth.
Day – who won the 2015 PGA Championship – has been in purple form this year without winning a tournament.
The 35-year-old hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2018 but this season has finished six events inside the top-10, and has only missed two cuts from 13 tournaments.
Lee, 24, is a rising star of Aussie golf and looms as a smoky to be in contention on Monday.
He shocked the Players Championship in March when he shot a round-three 66 and finished the tournament tied sixth, with eight-under-par.
Scott, 42, has one top-25 finish from six events this year.
PAST WINNERS OF THE MASTERS
There have been 55 different players don the famous green jacket in the tournament’s history.
Jack Nicklaus sits alone at the top of the perch, his six wins unmatched to date (he won in 1963, ’65, ’66, ’72, ’75, and ’86).
Tiger Woods has won it five times – the first in 1997 and the latest a stunning comeback victory in 2019 – and he is the only current player within reach of the Nicklaus record.
Arnold Palmer won it four times in the space of eight years, his last in 1964.
Phil Mickelson, who has won the Masters three times and has been Woods’ greatest rival throughout his incredible career, is back in the field in 2023 after missing last year’s event for the first time since 1994.
Woods is the youngest player to ever win the jacket, being 21 years, three months, and 14 days old when he lifted the trophy in 1997.
The oldest winner was Nicklaus in 1986 at 46 years, two months, and 23 days.
2022 Scottie Scheffler
2021 Hideki Matsuyama
2020 Dustin Johnson
2019 Tiger Woods
2018 Patrick Reed
2017 Sergio Garcia
2016 Danny Willett
2015 Jordan Spieth
2014 Bubba Watson
2013 Adam Scott
2012 Bubba Watson
ROUND 1 TEE TIMES
*All times in AEST. Australian players in bold
Thursday, 10pm: Kevin Na, Mike Weir
10.12pm: Matthew McClean, Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings
10.24pm: Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Sandy Lyle
10.36pm: Fred Couples, Russell Henley, Alex Noren
10.48pm Kevin Kisner, Adrian Meronk, Louis Oosthuizen
11pm: Harrison Crowe, Min Woo Lee, Larry Mize
11.12pm: Sergio Garcia, Kazuki Higa, Keith Mitchell
11.24pm: Patrick Reed, Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala
11.36pm: Mackenzie Hughes, Shane Lowry, Thomas Pieters
11.48pm: Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Seamus Power, Bubba Watson
Friday, 12.06am: Abraham Ancer, Keegan Bradley, Chris Kirk
12.18am: Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Tiger Woods
12.30am: Patrick Cantlay, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Scott
12.42am: Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young
12.54am: Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith
1.06am: Cameron Champ, Jose Maria Olazabal
1.18am: Taylor Moore, Aldrich Potgieter, Charl Schwartzel
1.30am: Bryson DeChambeau, Francesco Molinari, JT Poston
1.42am: Ben Carr, Bernhard Langer, Mito Pereira
1.54am: Brooks Koepka, Danny Willett, Gary Woodland
2.12am: Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Sepp Straka, Harold Varner III
2.24am: Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim, Phil Mickelson
2.36am: Harris English, Ryan Fox, Billy Horschel
2.48am: Jason Day, Zach Johnson, Gordon Sargent
3am: Brian Harman, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann
3.12am: Corey Conners, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
3.24am: Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris
3.36am: Sam Bennett, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler
3.48am: Sam Burns, Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy
4am: Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth
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Masters champions of this century: Winners at Augusta National 2000-present, from Tiger Woods to Adam Scott and Scottie Scheffler
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