The season’s first major is upon us and with it comes perhaps the most exclusive field in men’s professional golf.
Of the four majors, the Masters field is the smallest (at just 95 this year), which means players you might expect to qualify don’t always get to make the fabled drive down Magnolia Lane.
Keep reading below for 10 surprising players who will miss this year’s Masters.
Rickie Fowler
After a one-year return in 2024, thanks to his 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic victory, Fowler again finds himself on the outside looking in at the Masters field. He’s fallen to 110th in the Official World Golf Ranking, his worst position since 2022.
Gary Woodland
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Woodland has been an inspirational story the past two seasons on the PGA Tour in his fight back from brain surgery. His exemption for winning the 2019 U.S. Open ran out after last season and at 94th in the world, he was a ways off from making the top-50 cutoff. However, Woodland did make a spirited run at the Texas Children’s Open two weeks ago, finishing T2.
Luke Clanton
Clanton was one of the hottest players in the world last summer despite not even being a professional. As he closes his junior season at Florida State, he’s already secured his PGA Tour card starting in June if he so chooses, but interestingly, the World’s No. 1 amateur is not one of the five who will stay in the Crow’s Nest next week.
Louis Oosthuizen
The 2010 Champion Golfer of the Year owns one of the most incredible shots in Masters history, when he made an albatross on the 2nd hole during the final round in 2012 on his way to a runner-up finish. But he didn’t play last year and withdrew his two prior starts. The only major the LIV golfer is currently qualified for is the Open, where he has an exemption until he turns 60.
Vijay Singh
The 62-year-old Fijian has been a Masters staple since his debut in 1994, playing in 31 straight editions. But that streak comes to an end for the 2000 champion as he informed the competition committee on Monday he couldn’t give it a go due to injury.
Marc Leishman
Leishman is the fourth-best player on LIV Golf this season and is in line to qualify for the Open Championship thanks to his win at LIV Miami. But the Masters has no such LIV exemption. After playing in every major from the 2015 U.S. Open to the 2022 Open Championship, the Aussie hasn’t played one since.
Ben Griffin
Griffin was the first man out of the Masters field after a spirited run on Sunday at the Houston Open left him at 51st after last week’s OWGR cutoff. The difference between him and No. 50 Michael Kim was just fractions of a point and came down to a missed 5-footer by Griffin on his 71st hole.
Kevin Kisner
NBC’s new lead analyst is still playing a competitive schedule on the PGA Tour, having made five starts this year, but he also hasn’t played a major since 2023.
Matt Kuchar
Kuchar’s remarkable streak of playing in every edition of the FedEx Cup playoffs ended last year, but the 46-year-old with four top-10s at Augusta hasn’t been down Magnolia Lane since 2021 and only played in the U.S. Open last season.
Tiger Woods
Unfortunately, Tiger Woods’ April Fools’ Day Joke about his miraculous recovery from an Achilles rupture was just that, a joke. He’ll miss the Masters for the first time since 2021.
