7 best LIV Golf players NOT in the 2024 Masters

The 2024 Masters gets underway on Thursday, April 11, and several star players from LIV Golf will be teeing it up in pursuit of a green jacket. But several top LIV players are missing from the 2024 field list.

In all, 13 LIV pros have qualified for this year’s Masters. Most of them, however, earned their spots as a result of being Masters champions or recent major winners.

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Those players include Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith.

Due to the fact that LIV Golf events do not award world ranking points, major exemptions are one of the few ways LIV golfers can get invited to the Masters. One other player, Joaquin Niemann, was given a special exemption by Augusta National.

Those are the lucky few, but here are the unfortunate others who are starring on LIV but were still unable to earn an invite to the Masters.

Best LIV players missing from Masters

1. Talor Gooch

Talor Gooch has been the brightest star on the course in LIV Golf’s three-year existence. He won the individual title last year and is ranked 10th early this season. Gooch, who has been outspoken about deserving major starts, has won three LIV events in total, but since they didn’t earn him world ranking points, he’s fallen all the way to 568th in the OWGR. Only the top 50 get into the Masters.

2. Louis Oosthuizen

Louis Oosthuizen is a major champion, having won the 2010 Open at St. Andrews. He also has a great record at Augusta, finishing runner-up in 2012. Despite winning the DP World Tour-sanctioned Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in December, he’s ranking is 117th, and runner-up finishes don’t earn you a lifetime exemption to Augusta National.

3. Abraham Ancer

Before he left for LIV Golf in 2022, Abraham Ancer seemed to have a bright future on the PGA Tour. He captured a win in 2021, but since moving to LIV has fallen precipitously in the world rankings. Ancer qualified for last year’s Masters and finished T39, but he was unable to do so this year.

4. Mito Pereira

Mito Pereira is best known for his near-win at the 2022 PGA Championship where he handed Justin Thomas the victory with a Sunday 75. He finished 8th in the LIV Golf individual standings last season.

5. Harold Varner III

Harold Varner III was a fan favorite on the PGA Tour before he left for LIV Golf. He never won a Tour event, but he did capture a victory at the 2022 PIF Saudi International. Last season, he won the LIV Golf event in Washington D.C. and finished 7th in the individual standings.

6. Dean Burmester

Dean Burmester has four DP World Tour wins in his career. He also won the most recent LIV Golf event in Miami. As a result, he’s ranked third in the 2024 standings, but those standings don’t get you into the Masters.

7. Paul Casey

During his lengthy pro career, 46-year-old Paul Casey won three PGA Tour events and 15 DP World Tour tournaments. He has a great record at Augusta, earning five top-10s in 15 starts, including a T5 at the 2016 Masters, but he won’t be playing this year. Casey is currently 8th in the LIV Golf individual standings.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.