The Masters: All you need to know

The 88th Masters gets underway on April 11, with up to 100 of the world’s best golfers set to tee off at Augusta National to see who will emerge triumphant and pull on that famous Green Jacket.

Here is everything you need to know about golf’s most exclusive championship.

What is the Masters?

The Masters is the first of four major championships in professional golf over the calendar year. Since its inauguration in 1934, the Masters has brought us some of golf’s greatest moments and has celebrated the sport’s biggest heroes, such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and many more.

The championship takes place over a four-day period, where the best golfers in the world play four rounds of an 18-hole course, totalling 72 holes. Between 90 and 100 of the world’s best golfers are invited to play in the Masters each year, making it the only invitational event of the four majors, and therefore the most prestigious.

The winner is awarded the iconic club member’s Green Jacket, along with a lifetime invitation to the championship and a place in Masters history. Since 1963, legendary golfers (usually past champions) have hit an honorary tee shot on the morning of the first round to commence play.

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Where and when is the 2024 Masters being played?

The Masters takes place every year at Augusta National Golf Club in the state of Georgia, USA. It is the only major tournament to take place at the same course every year.

The golf club was founded by amateur golfer Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts in 1933 and the Masters was born the following year.

The course is famous for being one of the most beautiful in golf, with its emerald-green fairways, snow white bunkers and green-side azaleas in full bloom.

This season’s tournament begins on Thursday 11 April and will run until Sunday 14 April.

Who are the previous winners of the Masters?

Last year saw Spaniard Jon Rahm land the Green Jacket. Rahm shot a three-under-par 69 in the final round to finish -12, four strokes ahead of runners-up Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Rahm birdied the 14th hole to get to 12-under for the tournament. He parred his last four holes, including an up-and-down from short of the green on the 18th, to win his second major championship and first career Masters

In 2021, Hideki Matsuyama made history as the first Japanese professional golfer to win a men’s major golf championship and earn that iconic Green Jacket. Matsuyama beat American Will Zalatoris by one stroke to finish 10 under par on 278.

Dustin Johnson currently holds the record for the best score at the Masters, after he finished 20 under par in 2020 to win the championship. Jack Nicklaus has the greatest number of wins with six between 1963-1986, while Tiger Woods is in a close second with five in between 1997-2019. South African Gary Player broke the mould in 1961, becoming the first non-American winner of the Masters.

What are the odds for the 2024 Masters?

Scottie Scheffler heads the market once again at 8/1, but this year he is joined by Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy. The current world number one and two are still knocking around on the PGA Tour but neither have won yet in 2024, with McIlroys only victory so far coming at the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour

The Masters is the only major championship Rory McIlroy has yet to win. The Northern Irishman came closest in 2022, when finishing in second place behind Scheffler, and is sure to be going all out to break his duck at Augusta.

Given his consistency and attacking play, world number three Jon Rahm can never be dismissed at major championships. The Spaniard lines up here as the 9/1 third-favourite, but he offers very little serious golfing form in recent months, having joined LIV Golf back in December 2023.

2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth can usually be depended upon to shoot low scores around Augusta and is 18/1 to add to his collection of three major championships.

Viktor Hovland has been one of the standout names on the Tour over the past year and the young Norwegian will be desperate to land his first Major sooner rather than later. At 14/1 he sits fourth in the market and will certainly be one to watch.

Some of the PGA Tour’s winners from 2024 can be found at a bigger price, with Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp and Nick Taylor all 100/1.

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