Masters Field Expands with 10 New World Ranking Qualifiers

Lucas Glover just squeaked into the Masters, grabbing the last qualifying spot at No. 50 in the world rankings. He’s one of 10 new players who’ll get to drive down Magnolia Lane this April.

The tournament’s field is growing. There are eight more players qualified now compared to this time last year.

Augusta National has two main cutoff dates for world rankings – the end of December and one week before the tournament. Make the top 50 at either point, and you’re in.

Right now, 85 players have earned their spots for the 2024 Masters. That’s up from 77 at this point last year, which suggests the PGA Tour’s fall events aren’t drawing the same star power they used to.

The Masters is famous for keeping its field small – it’s what makes it special. They like to keep it under 100 players, something they’ve managed since 1966.

This year’s tournament had 89 players.

Glover’s path to qualification wasn’t easy. He’d dropped out of the top 50 recently, but the ranking system’s two-year rolling average helped him hang on.

Tom Kim leads the new qualifiers at No. 21 in the world. Other notable additions include Jason Day, Justin Rose, and the up-and-coming Min Woo Lee.

It’s pretty interesting that McCarthy and Lee made it in through rankings for the second straight year, even though neither has won on the PGA Tour yet.

The fall season was full of surprises this year. All eight tournament winners weren’t previously qualified for the Masters – a big change from last year.

Five first-timers will be heading to Augusta thanks to those fall wins: Matt McCarty, Kevin Yu, Nico Echavarria, Rafael Campos, and Maverick McNealy.

The tour’s schedule looks different now. They’ve switched to a calendar-year format for 2024, with major events (including the Olympics) packed in. Most top players took the last three months off.

There’s still time to get in. Winners of PGA Tour events between now and April will qualify, plus whoever’s in the top 50 by March 31. That’s 14 more chances.

Augusta National might also hand out special invites. Last year, they gave three, including one to LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann after his strong showing in Australia.

Here’s a bit of family drama: Nicolai Hojgaard just missed qualifying, despite playing in the 2023 Ryder Cup. But his twin brother Rasmus? He’s in for his first Masters.