Masters 2024: New Stories, Same Augusta Magic
Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta National as a defending champion, finally free from the questions that haunted him for nearly 15 years.
“What are we going to talk about next year?” McIlroy asked with a coy smile after slipping on the green jacket last April.
That burden now shifts to others who’ve come tantalizingly close – Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, and Brooks Koepka. Each knows the agony of almost touching greatness at golf’s most revered tournament.
To understand how badly they all want it, just recall McIlroy dropping to his knees on the 18th green after sinking that 3-foot birdie putt to beat Rose in a playoff. His chest heaved with emotion, his exhale nearly as strong as the wind that day. Joy and relief, intertwined.
Augusta National both enthralls and torments. That’s what makes it special.
“Augusta checks off that mental box because of history, knowing the holes coming and knowing what guys have done,” says Schauffele, who’s felt the sting personally.
The two-time major champion has twice come close here – finishing runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2019, and watching his perfect 8-iron find water left of the 16th in 2021 when challenging Hideki Matsuyama.
The Masters won’t include five-time champion Tiger Woods for the second straight year. Following his March 27 car crash and subsequent arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, Woods has taken an indefinite leave for treatment. A Florida judge granted his motion to leave the country to get the help he needs.
The Elusive Green Jacket
The Masters seems like it should be the easiest major to win. It has the smallest field – fewer than 100 players for 60 years running – including six amateurs and several aging champions. Nearly a quarter of the field is playing for the first time, and no rookie has won since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
But the history is rich. The appeal of a lifetime invitation is strong.
“Golf is such a mental sport, it really ticks that box in terms of being hard to win,” Schauffele explains. “You have a one-shot lead going into 18 at Augusta, those trees have gotten a lot bigger and that window has gotten a lot smaller.”
Some newcomers add intrigue this year. Three first-timers – Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin and Jacob Bridgeman – rank among the world’s top 20. Gotterup is the only PGA Tour player with two wins before the Masters. Casey Jarvis of South Africa, another rookie, won back-to-back European tour events. DeChambeau is the only other two-time winner this year, both on LIV Golf.
Gotterup took a scouting trip in early March but already felt familiar with the course.
“That’s the one course where not having played I know every hole there,” he said. “Everyone watches the Masters and knows Augusta National.”
A New Chapter Begins
Golf fans have waited 263 days since Scottie Scheffler won the British Open at Royal Portrush last summer, and the anticipation is palpable as the first tee shot approaches on Thursday, April 9.
McIlroy, now the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam, aims to join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back Masters winners.
His form has been inconsistent – he’s played six events with only two chances at winning, including a withdrawal at Bay Hill with back spasms. But this is a different Masters for him, one without suffocating expectations.
“It’s all going to be about enjoying my week,” McIlroy said. “The thing is, I know I get to go back to the Masters Tournament for the rest of my life. And that’s quite a freeing feeling.”
McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top two players, each took three weeks off before the Masters. Adam Scott in 2013 was the last player to win after such a long competitive break.
Scheffler’s break wasn’t planned – he withdrew from the Houston Open for the birth of his second child. He remains the betting favorite at every tournament he plays, having won 23 times worldwide over the last four years while holding the world No. 1 ranking for nearly three straight years. Only Woods has demonstrated such sustained dominance.
His form has dipped slightly with two straight finishes outside the top 20 after 18 consecutive top-10s. But Scheffler has won the Masters twice in four years, both times walking up the 18th with at least a four-shot lead.
LIV Golf’s Contenders
The hottest player in golf might be one rarely seen on mainstream broadcasts – DeChambeau, who played in the final group with McIlroy last year and just won back-to-back LIV Golf events in playoffs, one in Singapore and another in South Africa.
DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, represent the strongest hopes for the Saudi-funded league, which has 11 players in the field. Rahm contended in just one major last year (the PGA Championship) before fading late.
Rahm also carries the weight of his ongoing conflict with the European tour, refusing to pay fines for playing LIV Golf events – potentially jeopardizing his Ryder Cup eligibility next year. For now, though, his focus remains singular.
“I hope I win,” Rahm said at his most recent LIV event in South Africa. “I’m going to try my best and hope I can get a second green jacket. That’s the goal.”
