AUGUSTA, GA—On Thursday, April 6, The Masters. The event was first held in 1934. It is the only golf major held at the same location every year. Unlike other majors prone to calendar changes, the masters is always held the first weekend of April each year, with 2020 being an exception when Dustin Johnson set the record winning score of -20 in a November Masters. Tradition and ceremony encapsulate this event.
A par three contest has been held every year since 1960 the day before the competition starts. Children and family members of the golfers are allowed a caddy for them and sometimes take shots on their behalf. The winner of the masters picks the menu for the champions dinner held two days before the start of the competition. A green jacket is awarded to the winner every year.
The final round of this year’s Masters will take place on Easter Sunday. An interesting statistic is that Texan Jordan Speith has won events on the last two Easter holidays. In 2021, he won the Valero Texas Open and in 2022 he secured victory in the RBC heritage. The 29 year-old won the green jacket in 2015 at the age of 21 defeating six-time major champion Phil Mickelson by four strokes.
World number one player and current Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler is in a good vein of form. He achieved victory in the biggest event of the PGA tour so far in 2023 The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. He will aim to become the first back-to-back Champion at Augusta in over two decades. The feat was last achieved by Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2001.
Rory McElroy shot 64 on Masters Sunday in 2022 to finish second after an indifferent start to the tournament. The four-time major winner has yet to win the green jacket and will look to end a major drought that dates back to the 2014 PGA Championship. McElroy achieved victory at the 2022 Fedex Cup after going into the event six shots behind world number 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Californian Will Zalatoris, 26, has achieved just one victory to date on the PGA tour. However, he has a stellar record in major championships. He finished runner up in all three majors held on US soil. He was defeated in the 2021 tournament by Japan golfer Hideki Matsuyama by the narrowest of margins.
