89th Masters, traditional facts & figures

 The Masters : April 10 -13 2025.

The Masters is the first of the four men's Majors this year and runs from Thursday, April 10 to Sunday, April 13.

There are three official practice days in the lead up, from Monday to Wednesday. The Par 3 Contest, the traditional curtain-raiser on the eve of the tournament, begins at midday local time on Wednesday.

As ever with the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, a private club in Augusta, Georgia is the host venue. It’s the only one of the four men’s Major Championships that is played every year on the same course.

The tee times and groupings for rounds one and two will be announced on Tuesday, April 8.

*  Field : The Masters has the smallest field of the four men's Majors, with 96 players set to tee it up at this year's edition.

The winner of this week's Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR, if not already exempt, will earn a last-minute invite to join the field.

The best players in the world will pursue the Green Jacket - to find out in full who will be playing at Augusta National, click here.

Players must be in the top 50 places, counting ties, to make the 36-hole cut. 

* Playoff :  Unlike the other three Majors, the Masters features a sudden-death play-off if there is a tie after 72 holes.

The first play-off hole is the 18th and should that not determine a winner, players move to the tenth. Both holes run parallel to each other. This sequence is repeated until a champion is decided.

The last play-off was in 2017, when Sergio Garcia overcame Justin Rose.

* Defending :  World Number One Scottie Scheffler claimed his second Green Jacket - two years on from his first in 2022 - with a four-shot victory 12 months ago as the American won his second Major Championship.

* Storylines:  Scheffler is aiming to win the Masters for the third time in four years. He finished runner-up in his last start at the Texas Children's Houston Open, his third top ten since a delayed start to his season after undergoing surgery on a hand injury sustained while preparing Christmas dinner.

* World Number Two Rory McIlroy, who has already won twice on the PGA TOUR so far this year, will become the sixth player to win all four men's Majors if he wins, emulating Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

* World Tour members Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Rasmus Højgaard, Thriston Lawrence and Aaron Rai will all make their Masters debuts.

* There are 18 past champions teeing it up, but five-time winner Tiger Woods is not among those playing after undergoing surgery last month on a ruptured Achilles tendon injury.

* European great Bernhard Langer, champion in 1985 and 1993, will make his 41st and final appearance as a participant.

* Par3 :  First played in 1960 and won that year by Sam Snead, the Par 3 Contest has become a Wednesday tradition at the Masters.

Tournament participants and non-competing past champions are invited to participate in the Contest.

The nine-hole course is par-27, 1,090 yards.

In the history of the Contest, there have been 112 holes-in-one made, including a record nine in 2016.

Only Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh have gone on to win the Masters after winning the Par 3 Contest, with no player having ever won both at the same Masters.

* Amen Corner is the name for a three-hole stretch of the course beginning with the par four 11th hole, and including the par three 12th and par five 13th.

The holes are named White Dogwood (No. 11), Golden Bell (No. 12) and Azalea (No. 13).

The phrase, Amen Corner, was first used by Herbert Warren Wind in the 1958 edition of Sports Illustrated.

* Champions Dinner :  Better known as the "Champions Dinner", the Masters Club Dinner began in 1952 when defending champion Ben Hogan organized a dinner for all previous winners.

At that time, Hogan proposed the formation of a Masters Club, limited to only Masters Champions.

Each year, the defending champion selects the menu and acts as host for the Tuesday night dinner.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

TEE TIMES Valero Texas Open...Conners leads 3 Canadians

 PGA Tour : Valero Texas Open Tee Times

This year's version of the Valero Texas Open down in San Antonio gets underway Thursday morning, Akshay Bhatia defends his title, two time winner Corey Conners leads three Canadians into this last week before the Masters.

Course : TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.

Times EDT

8.42  Ben Silverman, Bud Cauley, Chad Ramey

9.15  Adam Svensson, Chris Gotterup, Brandt Snedeker

2.25  Corey Conners, Max Homa, Gary Woodland

WEATHER

Thursday/ Friday very hot, 88*f and 91*f with the breeze NW 9-14 mph, 40% chance of showers Friday.

Saturday 76*f, 44% chance of showers, wind S 15mph

Sunday 65*f, 1% chance of rain, wind S14mph

more to follow...

Bryan Angus

Two time champion, Corey Conners at the Valero Texas Open...TEE TIMES

 PGA Tour : Valero Texas Open  Tee Times

It's the week before the Masters so all the real big boys are off getting all family and travel arrangements ready to move into a sponsor provided house in Augusta.

Note*** ( Georgians who have homes surrounding Augusta, take their holidays during the tournament and rent out their homes for a small fortune to pay for that holiday.)

Canadian Corey Conners has won this, his only two wins, twice..

In 2019 he needed a win to play Augusta, he Monday qualified, he made 3 birdies in the final 5 holes after a topsy turvy round, -20 to beat veteran Charlie Hoffman by two shots..

His wife Malory, now mother of two children, was caught on camera, awestruck, which made world wide news.

He won again in 2023, shooting a final round 68, -15 273 to beat Sam Burns by a shot !

He will play the Masters with Canadian pals Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith. Corey torched the Florida Swing 3rd at Bay Hill, T6 at Players, as I have penned, Taylor is showing some recent form, while Nick has not contended heading into this week.

Stringbean lefty Akshay Bhatia, a supreme shotmaker is the defending champion..

Ludvig Aberg is the top ranked player at #6.

There are 156 storylines, but just for example Matthieu Pavon the Frenchman had only won once after being a grinder on the DP World Tour for 7 years, he qualified as a top 10, for the PGA Tour. He came over to America an unknown, played well at the Sony, then shocked the golfing world, hitting the $20m jackpot at Torrey Pines, then finishing T3 at Pebble the next week.

He is qualified for everything for at least 2 years, and that includes Augusta again this year.

Bryan Angus

DP World Tour on Masters break...Travels to China

As the Asian Swing takes a two-week break with the eyes of the golfing world turning to the Masters Tournament, we take a look at all that has happened on the Swing so far and what is still to come.

Keita Nakajima has finished runner-up in back-to-back events in Singapore and India

The two events so far on the Asian Swing have already taken us over 2,500 miles, encompassing two unique cultures, one in a City State of just over six million and the other in the world's most populous nation, home to over one billion people.

The two victors both claimed maiden wins that were emotional in different ways: Richard Mansell's victory at the Porsche Singapore Classic ended his long wait for a trophy after several consistent seasons, while Eugenio Chacarra's triumph at the Hero Indian Open earned his DP World Tour status and a place to play.

We next head to China for a double-header, where more lives and careers could be altered with victories or performances that earn one of the prizes on offer via the Asian Swing Rankings.

Here is everything you need to know about the Asian swing before the DP World Tour heads west into Europe in May.

What's still to come?

After a two-week break for the Masters Tournament, we head to Shanghai where Enhance Anting Golf Club will play host to the Volvo China Open.

Adrian Otaegui will be looking to defend his title, while Haotong Li and Wenyi Ding will entertain the home crowds as Nakajima defends his Swing lead.

We then head to Hainan Island for the inaugural Hainan Classic, where the Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Resort Haikou is our venue.

At the end of that week, a Swing champion will be crowned and three players could have played their way into the US PGA Championship.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Henderson T29 at Ford Championship... Final results

LPGA : Ford Championship 

Leaderboard

It took a Sunday playoff between Lilia Vu and Hyo Joo Kim both on -22 to decide the winner of this year's Ford Championship with the South Korean Kim winning with a birdie on the first hole.

Brooke Henderson opened with a season best 65, but a Friday 75 scuttled her chances of winning, she did post 68 67 over the weekend to finish T27 -13 worth $18,215

Savannah Grewal T38 68 69 72 68 -11  worth $11,595

This week in Las Vegas its the T-Mobile Match Play by MGM Rewards.. where Nelly Korda is the defending champion and Brooke Henderson is entered

Bryan Angus 

Min Woo Lee holds off a Sunday birdie fest to win Texas Children's Houston Open...

 PGA Tour : Texas Children's Houston Open Leaderboard

In Houston Texas the cavalry came charging just like a western movie led by Scottie Scheffler 63, Gary Woodland 62, Sami Valimaki 62, Wyndham Clark 64, Taylor Pendrith 65, on and on came the charge.

Getty Images

* Then the drama. Min Woo Lee started with a 4 shot lead, and despite playing well, the pack were closing. At the par 5 16th, he drove it straight into the water, while Scheffler was putting for eagle ahead, ended up making birdie. 

* Lee took a provisional 3 off the tee and made bogey 6 with 2 to play. He was -20, Scheffler -19 and Woodland in the clubhouse -19.

*Scheffler's tremendous charge ended at 16, he missed birdie chances at 17 and 18 to finish 63 -19

* Now Lee needed to par in for the win. Solid par4 at 17. Drive a little left into first cut at 18 and the approach over the flag and green to 54 feet.

* a game winning putt to 8'' for the tap in win, his first on the PGA Tour and well deserved on his play all week. 

Canadians

Taylor Pendrith T5 65 65 70 65 -15

Mac Hughes 10th  69 66 66 66 -13

Adam Hadwin T39  69 66 67 71 -7

Adam Svensson T67  67 78 73 71 -1

Notables

Rory T5 70 66 65 64 -15

Michael Kim T32 -8 to make the Masters.

Bryan Angus

Discarded LIV player Eugenio Chacarra wins Hero Indian Open... final results/ prize money

 DP World Tour : Hero Indian Open Results

On a tough DLF course in New Delhi, tricky at best of times, very difficult in the  heat and wind that nearly burned out some of the greens, Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra has a place to play for the next 2 years on the DP World Tour after his 3 shot win today at the Hero Indian Open in just his 9th start.

His 70 70 73 71 -4 was the best of the bunch, with defending champion Keita Nakajima putting on a great defense of his title, but relegated to be runner up 74 66 74 72 -2. Veteran Dutchman Joost Luiten was 3rd 69 73 74 71 -1

They are the only 3 to break par !

Chacarra is an interesting story of a young star amateur at Oklahoma State who rose to #2 in the world, just as LIV came along.

Spurning the conventional path to the pro game, he accepted the easy LIV money, and won in his 5th start in Bangkok, but that would be his highlight. (He did also win on the Asian Tour)

In 3 years, playing in obscurity, he amassed  $16,000,000 along with his signing bonus. He was discarded after a very mediocre 2023-24 when his contract was not renewed for 2025.

In a recent interview with Flushing It he thanked the LIV for what they offered him, security for life at 24, " I don't know if this will work out for the best, but I know my heart tells me, to wake up and grind and get better, to say I can be a PGA Tour player one day"

Disillusioned after LIV was not awarded OWGR points or entry to the majors, he says he now sees what it's like to be a PGA Tour player, to get into the majors.

(FYI, in that interview he goes as far as comparing himself in ability with world #6 Ludvig Aberg.....)

Today he took a big step towards that, with his win, and 2 year exemption on the DP World Tour.

Chacarra, who was playing on a tournament invitation this week, said: "Obviously I'd like to start by thanking Hero for giving me a chance to compete.

"I'm very grateful for that opportunity. You guys probably changed my life from today so thanks for that.

“It was a tough day, we knew it was going to be a long day with a lot of pressure and obviously not having the start I really wanted to.

“I think I did a great job all week of staying patient. And I know God was helping me today. I got a couple of good bounces (including) that chip on 14. I got some luck that you need to win but very proud.

“I know when I play my best I’m one of the best players in the world, I’ve already proved that a million times.

Canada's Aaron Cockerill finished T29 70 74 78 75 +9. worth $29,232 cdn.

Bryan Angus