Masters Battle’ Masters opens on the 11th
The Masters Tournament, the first major tournament of the men's golf season, begins on the 11th (Korean time) at Augusta National Golf Club (par 72, 7,555 yards) in Augusta, Georgia, USA.
The Masters, which was founded in 1934 and is now in its 88th year, has the shortest history among the four majors, but is a prestigious tournament recognized by most players as the 'best major'.
Among the four major majors, it is the only one where the tournament is held every year on the same course, and the total prize money is confirmed during the tournament period. It was $15 million in 2022 and $18 million last year.
The number of players participating is the smallest among the four major majors, with 89 players competing for the championship this year.
'Defending champion' Jon Lam (Spain) was praised as 'Rambo' who saved the PGA Tour from a crisis when he almost lost the 'green jacket' given to the Masters winner to LIV Golf when he won last year. At that time, LIV's Brooks Koepka (USA) was leading by two strokes until the third round and attempted to become the first LIV player to win a major championship, but Ram succeeded in turning the tables in the fourth round.
However, Lam left the PGA Tour at the end of last year and moved to LIV, and will defend his title as a member of LIV this year.
He has not won two consecutive tournaments since Tiger Woods (USA) in 2002. Woods withdrew from the third round of the Masters last year due to pain in the sole of his foot. It was the first time Woods had withdrawn from a Masters tournament.
Woods is preparing to participate in the tournament by visiting Augusta National Golf Club to warm up. The most recent case in which Woods, who withdrew due to cold symptoms during the second round of the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational in February of this year, completed the fourth round of an official tournament was the Genesis Invitational in February of last year.
Although he played all four rounds of the Hero World Challenge last December, it was not a regular PGA Tour tournament.
If Woods succeeds in advancing to the third round this year, he will set a record of 24 consecutive Masters cuts. Woods has never missed the cut in the Masters he has competed in from 1997 to last year.
The record for the most consecutive cuts in the Masters is 23, held by Woods, Gary Player (South Africa), and Fred Couples (USA).
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) has only won the Masters among the four major majors, so if he reaches the top of this tournament, he will achieve a 'career grand slam'. McIlroy's best performance in the Masters is runner-up in 2022. The most recent career Grand Slam winner in men's golf was Woods in 2000.
According to William Hill, a foreign betting company, Scotty Scheffler (USA), ranked No. 1 in men's golf in the world, had the highest odds of winning at 1/4. Schaeffler is the winner of this competition in 2022.
Following Schaeffler, it was predicted that McIlroy (1 in 10), Rahm (1 in 12), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), and Xander Schoffley (USA, 1 in 16) would have a high chance of winning in that order.
The Korean players are in that order: Kim Si-woo (1/60), Lim Seong-jae (1/80), Kim Joo-hyung (1/100), and An Byeong-hoon (1/150). In the overall rankings, Kim Si-woo is 31st, Lim Seong-jae is 35th, Kim Joo-hyung is 38th, and An Byeong-hun is 45th.
Woods ranked 43rd overall with winning odds of 1 in 125. ESPN, an American sports media outlet, pointed out Scheffler as a strong candidate for the championship and predicted that Woods would be 'good just by making the cut.'
This tournament is the first major of the year, and is also a venue for a 'pride showdown' where PGA Tour and LIV players compete in one tournament for the first time this year.
Based on the affiliation at the time of victory, the only LIV golfer to win a major tournament so far is Koepka at last year's PGA Championship. Of the 89 players participating this year, 12 are from LIV. Last year's winner Rahm, Koepka and Phil Mickelson (USA), who tied for second place last year, are all members of LIV.
Four Korean players will participate: Lim Seong-jae, Kim Joo-hyung, Kim Si-woo, and An Byeong-hoon. Among Korean players, Lee Min-woo (Australia) was named on the list of participating players.
The highest score in Masters history by a Korean player is Seongjae Lim's tie for second place in 2020. Yang Yong-eun won the PGA Championship in 2009 in all major tournaments.
Last year, Lim Seong-jae and Kim Joo-hyung tied for 16th place, the highest ranking among Korean players.
The course was set at 7,555 yards, 10 yards longer than last year. The 2nd hole (par 5) was lengthened from 575 yards last year to 585 yards this year, making it the longest course in Masters history. The most famous hole at Augusta National Golf Club is ‘Amen Corner’, which refers to holes 11 to 13.
In last year's tournament, the 11th hole (par 4) was counted as the 3rd most difficult among 18 holes with an average score of 4.130 strokes, and the 12th hole (par 3) was the 12th most difficult with 3.058 strokes, which was closer to easy. The 13th hole (par 5) increased the distance from 510 yards in 2022 to 545 yards last year, but was still found to be the fourth easiest hole with an average of 4.726 strokes.
The fast green speed, also known as 'glass bead green', did not gain much notoriety last year due to rain during the competition. This year, rain is forecast for the first day of the competition, but it is expected to be relatively clear starting from the second round.
The 'Par 3 Contest', held the day before the opening, is an event contest in which participating players and their families participate in a festive atmosphere.
However, the player who won the par 3 contest has never won the main tournament. Last year's par 3 contest winner, Tom Hoagy (USA), missed the cut in this contest
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