All eyes are on Augusta National this week as the first men's Major Championship of the season takes place. Here are things to know ahead of the 2026 Masters Tournament.
McIlroy defends
It was 17 years ago that Rory McIlroy made his Masters debut in 2009 as a 19-year-old. 12 months ago, at long last, the Northern Irishman fulfilled a childhood dream by winning the Green Jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. In doing so, he joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the sixth player to win all four men's Majors.
Edging out Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose in a play-off at the end of a dramatic final round, he ended a near 11-year wait for his fifth Major Championship title after the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 and 2014 US PGA Championships and 2014 Open Championship.
It was part of a truly memorable 2025 that also saw him win the Race to Dubai title and help Europe to an away Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage. Already this season, he has finished tied third and tied second on both sides of the Atlantic and the 36-year-old will hope to challenge at the scene of his greatest individual triumph in his quest to become the European Number One for a record-equalling eighth time.
Major season begins
With 14 events completed and 28 still to come, we are already a third of the way through the 2026 Race to Dubai schedule. This week, the United States becomes the tenth country to host an event as the first of four men's Majors between now and mid-July takes place.
Next month Scottie Scheffler - a two-time Masters winner - will defend his US PGA Championship title at Aronimink before J.J. Spaun makes his first defence of a Major honour at Shinnecock Hills in the U.S. Open in June. A month later, World Number One Scheffler will again be the man to dethrone when he returns with the Claret Jug to Royal Birkdale for The Open Championship.
Since the 2021 Masters when Hideki Matsuyama won his first and only Major to date, just four of the subsequent 19 Majors have been won by a player not hailing from the US, with three of those European Ryder Cup stars in McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick.
At all four Majors, there are 10,000 Race to Dubai ranking points to be played for, with 1,665 going to the winner assuming they are a DP World Tour member.
A noteworthy anniversary
One of the great perks of winning the Masters is a lifetime exemption to compete in the tournament every year.
For Danny Willett, it is ten years since his memorable triumph at Augusta National saw him become a Major champion.
Trailing by five shots on the back nine, defending champion Jordan Spieth suffered a dramatic collapse – twice hitting into Rae’s Creek to make a quadruple-bogey seven on the par three 12th.
Seizing on the opportunity presented to him, Willett claimed a three-shot victory to become the first English winner since Sir Nick Faldo won the third of his three titles in 1996. An eight-time DP World Tour winner, this week sees the 38-year-old – who reached a career-high ninth in the world a decade ago – make his 12th Masters start.
Masters first-timers
This year, 22 players - six of whom are amateurs - are set to experience the thrill of making their way down Magnolia Lane for the first time. Nine of those looking forward to creating long-lasting memories are DP World Tour members.
Marco Penge, a three-time winner last season, is making his debut as are Kristoffer Reitan and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who like the Englishman secured dual member status on the PGA TOUR for 2026 via their performances on the Race to Dubai last year.
Casey Jarvis won twice over back-to-back weeks during the International Swing and is now a member of the world's top 50. Joining them are England's Harry Hall, Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin, American duo Chris Gotterup and Ryan Gerard along with Sami Välimäki, Finland's second-ever representative after Mikko Ilonen. The late Fuzzy Zoeller was the most recent player to win on debut in 1979. Will someone end that 47-year wait this time around?
Inside the field
The Masters has the smallest field of the four men's Majors, with 91 players set to tee it up at this year's edition.
Players from 23 countries are set to go in pursuit of the Green Jacket, with 16 of those represented by DP World Tour members.
In total, there are 36 DP World Tour members or affiliate members in the field. There are 33 Major champions in action, with Patrick Reed, champion at Augusta National in 2018, among those as he looks to build on his lead on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
