Who is Missing From This Year's Masters

EVERYBODY loves The Masters. Played at Augusta National, which is one of the most stunningly beautiful golf courses on the planet, it is the first men's major of the year, and it always produces moments of high drama.

The powers-that-be at The Masters do things their own way. It is effectively an invitation event, usually restricted to around 90 players. And that means that it boasts the weakest field of any of the sport’s four majors.

Effectively, to be assured of place in the field you need to be in the top 50 in the world rankings, a past champion or winner of one of a number of global amateur events. It means that, in theory at least, it is the easiest of golf’s four majors to win. 

Let’s not beat about the bush here - the likes of Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, James Piot, Austin Greaser, Laird Shepherd, Aaron Jarvis and Keita Nakajima have absolutely no chance of winning.

Spare a thought for Richard Bland. Had the Englishman beaten Dustin Johnson at the Dell Technologies World Match Play it would have been enough to get him into the top 50 in the world rankings and earn an invitation to Augusta. He failed to do so and, sadly, his world ranking of 57 wasn’t quite good enough.

Not that Bland is the only notable absentee this week.

Nobody better illustrates what a cruel mistress golf can be than Rickie Fowler. In 2014 he finished no worse than tied fifth in any of that year’s majors. As recently as 2018 he was second at Augusta behind Patrick Reed. But his game has fallen off a cliff. He is now ranked 122nd in the world and his best finish in 2022 was a tie for 42nd at the Honda Classic.

Jason Day is a former world number one. As recently as January he finished in a tie for third at the Farmers Insurance Open - had he won, he would have made it to Augusta. Day won the 2015 US PGA Championship, just weeks after falling one shot short of making a playoff at The Open at St Andrews. He is a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, but it all counts for nothing as he languishes outside the top 100 in the rankings. The Australian was tied for second in the 2011 Masters won by Charl Schwartzel and was third in 2013. 

European Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson is another who misses out. He won The Open in a thrilling showdown with Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon in 2016, which gave him a five-year exemption into The Masters. That has now expired. The Swede is enduring a miserable slump in form and, incredibly, is now ranked 232nd in the world. He tied for fifth at Augusta just four years ago. Stenson has lost his game before, and who is to say that he will not find it again?

Ian Poulter has played at Augusta 16 times, with three top-10 finishes. He loves the tournament, the course and the occasion. However, his form has been on the wane for some time. He tried everything he knew to fight his way back into the top 50 and produced some decent early-season form on the DP World Tour, but it wasn’t quite good enough and his ranking of 67th means he misses out. The Englishman may well have played in his final Masters, although he will have other ideas. 

Like Jason Day, Martin Kaymer is another former world number one who won’t be heading down Magnolia Drive this year. The German won the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2014 U.S. Open. Kaymer has won 11 times on the European Tour and was 2014 Players Champion on the PGA Tour. He played in every Masters from 2008 to 2019 but has not enjoyed a good record. His best finish was a tie for 16th in 2017. Kaymer is 156th in the world rankings and hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since the BMW International Open of last June. 

And then there is Phil Mickelson. The absence of the three-time Masters champion is particularly sad, given that he has chosen not to compete. Remember, only last year he won the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Following his explosive comments on the PGA Tour and Saudi-involvement in golf, Mickelson announced that he was taking a break from the game but most people expected him to compete at Augusta. Sadly, rumours persist that he was encouraged not attend.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)