The first major golf tournament of the season, the US Masters, begins on Thursday. For those frequently confounded by golf’s allure, the Masters is unique in that it’s played on the same course every year, the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, and is by invitation only. Those eligible to play include the top 50 golfers in the official world rankings and winners of recent prestigious amateur tournaments.
Held over four days every April, the Masters is a 72-hole tournament with the smallest field of any major championship. Its size means groups are limited to three players for the first 36 holes, after which players must make “the cut”. Golfers with the lowest 44 scores, plus ties, as well as any player within 10 strokes of the lead, advance to the final two rounds.
Masters champions are awarded the club’s iconic green member’s jacket, automatically invited to play in the other three majors – the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship – for the next five years, and invited to the Masters for the rest of their lives.
Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are all expected to take part, though no Irish player has ever won the tournament. Tiger Woods (above) is the bookies’ favourite, despite having not won a tournament since 2009.
