Masters 2023 starts tomorrow
This year's list has 7 amateur faces and 18 LIV Golf League members sponsored by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The rest are from the US PGA Tour and DP World Tour Europe - two arenas that are dominating the world of professional golf. Last year, the prize fund of the prize was $ 15 million, of which $ 2.7 million went to Scottie Scheffler with a -10 win. This year, the Organizing Committee has not announced the bonus budget.
Woods arrived at Augusta National on April 2 to test the course, and planned the strategy on the renewed par5 13th hole and increased length to make it difficult for the players.
Last year, after more than 14 months of convalescing due to a near-fatal traffic accident in February 2021, "Super Tiger" chose Masters as the rematch event. He finished 47th with +13 points.
In 1995, Woods made his Masters debut as an amateur and returned to T41. Up to now, "Super Tiger" has attended 24 times and won five championships, most recently in 2019. Six months after that victory, Woods held the Zozo Championship to join the legendary Sam Snead to hold a record of 82 PGA Tour titles.
The Masters is the first of the annual major quartet, followed by the PGA Championship in May, the US Open in June and The Open in July.
Of the prestigious group, the Masters is the least competitive, stemming from its "guest-only" positioning in its opening year 1934. The remaining three events are all 156 players.
Currently, the Organizing Committee only selects the former and current champions or the top 12 of the previous period, who have held or are holding the cup of the same championship within five years or the top 4 in the previous period. The guest category also includes the top golfer on the PGA Tour from the previous Masters to the next and the top 50 professional golf tables in the world.
This set of criteria recognizes 18 LIV Golf League players who are rivals of the PGA Tour. And so, Augusta National technically had to accept, even though they were supposed to be allies of the PGA Tour. With that question, LIV Golf League pushed Augusta National into the category of involved parties when suing back and forth with the PGA Tour with a common allegation of "unfair competition" in US courts.
As for the amateur category, Augusta National chooses the cup holder or the top 2 amateur championships in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America and two national tournaments in the US.
The presence of amateurs at the annual Masters also honors this level, because Bobby Jones, the original champion is also an amateur. He and Clifford Roberts founded the tournament and also determined to build Augusta National and then open it in 1933. This place in the city of Augusta in the state of Georgia, used to be a treasure hunt.
