The 84th annual Masters tournament will be held on the weekend of April 6-9th this year, as the first of four major PGA events of the 2023 season. At one of the most prestigious golf courses in the country, the Masters will return and continue the tradition. At Augusta National, the tournament is played over 4 days, consisting of 72 total holes of varying lengths.
During the tournament, 90-100 participants look to finish on top, and take home the famous green jacket given to the winner every year. To qualify for the event, players will need to place top 50 in this season’s world rankings, win a PGA tour event, or win a variety of championships or opens. This year’s favorites are Scottie Sheffler, along with last year’s runner up Rory Mcllroy, and John Rahm, who is currently ranked Number 2 in the world, per ESPN.
The world Number 1, Scottie Sheffler, looks to repeat his success from last year after winning the Masters Championship. Sheffler looks to be just the 4th person in Masters history to win back to back jackets, following Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Nick Faldo. In his recent 2022-23 PGA events this year, Sheffler has many impressive finishes, placing first in the WM Phoenix Open, 4th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and recently winning the Players Championship, where he took home 4.5 million dollars.
John Rahm is right up behind him, with some impressive finishes. Placing 1st in the Genesis Invitational, The American Express championships, and the Sentry Tournament of Champions, he looks to begin the Majors season with a win.
After a slower season only tying for 2nd in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and winning the CJ cup in South Carolina, Rory Mcllroy looks to turn things around for the Majors season.
This year’s Masters event will contain a variety of changes to the course. Augusta National has decided to alter their 13th hole, an iconic par 5. At last year’s event, the hole was originally 510 yards, which is already a challenge for most. This year, the tee box was bumped back 35 extra yards, extending the hole to 545 yards.
Per The Masters, all tickets have been allocated for the event. Tickets are being resold on sites like Ticketmaster, or StubHub for significantly higher prices. On Ticketmaster, tickets are being sold from Monday, April 1, to the final round on Sunday, April 9th. For the opening round of the event, the prices are $2,522 for a single day ticket. 4-day tickets are being resold for around $8,000. As the drive to watch these professional golfers continues to rise, ticket prices have completely skyrocketed.
The 2022 Masters event hauled in a pocket of 15 million dollars, awarding 2.7 million to the winner, Scottie Sheffler. The estimated pay is just around 15 million again, awarding the same amount to the winner.
Following the Masters, competitors will have their shot at a major three more times this season, at the US PGA, the US Open, and The Open. No man has ever won all four Majors in one season, and the race to do so continues in 2023.