Next Years 90th Anniversary Masters Field Could Be Heading For Lowest In Near 40-Years

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The annual Masters already has the smallest field of the four majors and could be heading for its lowest number of player invitations in nearly 40-years at next April’s 90th anniversary hosting.

Sixty-six players are already exempt while 11 more on December 31st will receive an mail, postmarked ‘Augusta, GA’ in being inside the top-50 of the World Rankings.

That would bring the total to 77 invitations and a lowest field since 1985 when also 77 teed-up, and we saw Germany’s Bernard Langer, dressed all in red, be fitted for the first of two Augusta green jacets on the Georgia golfing gem.

The 11 to be inside the top 50 in the world ranking are Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, McCarthy, Will Zalatoris, Justin Rose, Harris English, Cole, JT Poston, Adrian Meronk, Adam Hadwin and Dane Nicolai Højgaard, who will secure the last 2023 invitation currently ranked World No. 50,

Four others – Luke List, Erik van Rooyen, Camilo Villegas and Ludvig Aberg – earned invitations by winning PGA Tour events in the this year’s later half of the season.

One additional Augusta qualifier will be the winner of the Latin American Amateur Championship in January.

Also, not teeing-up next year will be Scotland’s Sandy Lyle, winner of 1988 Masters.  Lyle made his Masters debut in 1980 and announced this year, after missing a ninth Augusta halfway cut in succession, he would no longer be competing thus ending a 42-year competitive appearance at the year’s first major.

Of course, there will be 14 PGA Tour events between January and the the first week in April otherwise not exempt, to qualify for the Masters.

Those at Augusta National may also offer ‘special’ invitations to players to tee-up in the Masters.

Looking back from the maiden Masters in 1934 there has been three occasions where there was more than 100 starters – 1957 (101), 1962 (109) and 1968 (103).

The lowest number of players arriving for a Masters was 1938 and 1942 when only 42 competed for the famed members green jacket, and 1942 due to World War 11.

Even after the war ended, the fields were still low ranging from 40 in 1946 to 58 in 1949.  The 1950s saw numbers increase – 72 in 1952, 78 in both 1954 and ’55 while 1956 boasted a Masters field of 84.

Since the 109 who teed-up in the 1962 Masters, the highest competing inside the ropes was 99 in 2011.

Whereas, over the past six years, 2018 to 2023, the average Masters field has been 89 players.

 



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