The 2024 Masters subject could possibly be the smallest one in additional than 30 years. 

Is it an indication the match ought to tweak its qualification? 

The Masters has had the smallest subject of all 4 males’s majors all through a lot of the trendy period. There have been fewer than 100 gamers at each Masters courting again to 1967. The sphere dimension has repeatedly dipped barely under 90 gamers together with final 12 months when there have been 88. 

Nonetheless, this 12 months’s could be properly in need of these typical numbers. 

The match has way more stringent qualification standards than the opposite three majors. There are usually round 156 gamers within the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship. 

However for the Masters, exclusivity has all the time been a precedence. There are 20 methods to qualify however six of them are just for amateurs and another paths require nice efficiency in majors. 

It’s arduous to get in and, because of the state {of professional} golf, it could be getting tougher. 

Why the Masters subject could possibly be getting smaller

So far, there are solely 77 gamers anticipated to play on this April’s Masters. 

Except that quantity grows to 86 or extra, it will likely be the smallest subject since 1992 when solely 83 competed. If it doesn’t attain 80, it will likely be the primary time that has occurred since 1985 when there have been 77. 

There have been 11 gamers added as soon as the ball dropped in Occasions Sq. final weekend. These 11 resided throughout the prime 50 of the Official World Golf Rating who hadn’t beforehand certified. The sphere additionally lately added 4 PGA Tour winners from the autumn. 

Another participant is assured to be included because the Latin America Newbie champion will obtain an exemption. 

Past that, nothing is definite. 

There are solely two extra methods for gamers to verify they’re driving down Magnolia Lane to compete within the Masters this April: win one of many 14 remaining PGA Tour occasions or get into the highest 50 of the OWGR by April 7, the week earlier than the match. 

The betting odds would say most of these tour occasions will probably be received by gamers who’re already exempt. And whereas there’s fluidity to the OWGR, it’s attainable just a few extra gamers get in by way of that route. 

So why is it so small this 12 months? The principle reply is LIV Golf. 

There aren’t any world rating factors in LIV occasions, so some gamers who would usually be in place to qualify for the Masters are usually not getting on this time. Joaquin Niemann (No. 65), Dean Burmester (No. 72) and Abraham Ancer (No. 132) are amongst those that have dropped out of the sector. Talor Gooch received $36 million on LIV final 12 months and isn’t within the Masters subject due to his world rating.

Final 12 months, 18 LIV gamers competed within the Masters. There’ll probably solely be 10 this time due to the gamers who’ve dropped within the OWGR. 

The ten who stay are both previous Masters champions (which comes with a lifetime exemption) or those that have received one other main in recent times. 

Three of these 10 may fall out in future years. As an example, Bryson DeChambeau’s five-year exemption for profitable the 2020 U.S. Open will finally expire. He must put up a top-four end in one other main to get again into the Masters subject—however DeChambeau’s standing in these majors (minus the U.S. Open the place he has a 10-year exemption) may be in query in a few years.  

Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka are the opposite two LIV gamers who are usually not Masters champions however nonetheless have a spot within the subject. The opposite seven (Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzel) have all received the Masters. 

There’s additionally the potential of different prime gamers leaving for LIV and falling out of their exemption. 

Chances are you’ll be asking why the sector numbers aren’t being evened out by PGA Tour gamers getting into the highest 50. Nicely, that might nonetheless occur. Nonetheless, the issue for now could be the gamers who’re already certified for the Masters have taken up different potential exemptions past the highest 50. 

One instance of that’s how prime main finishers get a spot within the Masters. There have been 22 gamers who completed in these qualifying spots final 12 months. All are exempt by way of one other route in order that they didn’t even want these main finishes to qualify. Eight of these gamers are from LIV. 

Virtually all the gamers who’re already within the Masters are exempt in a number of methods. 

Lengthy story quick: So long as LIV exists in its present kind (which continues to be up within the air), the Masters subject will most likely be smaller than we’ve come to anticipate. 

How the Masters can broaden its subject

For those who assume the Masters ought to add gamers (extra on that within the subsequent part), what’s one of the simplest ways to do it? 

There’s ample precedent for the Masters tweaking its qualification standards. Simply final 12 months, the match introduced a everlasting exemption for the NCAA champion (Fred Biondi, the 2023 winner, turned skilled and forfeited his exemption). Standards have modified dozens of instances over the occasion’s historical past. 

Calls have been made for LIV gamers to have their very own path to the Masters. DeChambeau mentioned the highest 12 gamers in LIV’s factors standings ought to get into the majors and a LIV official mentioned there have been discussions about getting their gamers into majors. 

Masters chairman Fred Ridley and R&A chief govt Martin Slumbers (who oversees the Open Championship) slammed the door on these rumors. Nonetheless, Ridley made it clear they’d proceed to evaluate the sector. 

“We regulate to what we really feel is in the very best curiosity of a match representing the very best gamers on the planet,” Ridley mentioned throughout a press convention for the Asia Pacific Newbie Championship. “We’ll all the time have a look at that.”

There are a few choices for the Masters so as to add gamers whereas nonetheless honoring the OWGR, which they’ve made clear is essential to them. 

The obvious is to increase the OWGR standards to incorporate the highest 60. If that was in place this 12 months, Chris Kirk, Matt Kuchar, Alex Noren, Robert MacIntyre, Brendon Todd, Adam Svensson, Lee Hodges and Byeong Hun An would get spots—eight high quality gamers who may add to the match. 

One thing else that could possibly be attention-grabbing is that if the Masters allowed the highest 50 FedEx Cup finishers to achieve entry. At present, the match offers exemptions solely to Tour Championship qualifiers, who’re the highest 30 FedEx Cup finishers. 

The highest 50 mark now could be essential as a result of it gives a direct line into the tour’s designated occasions. The Masters may play off of that structural change. 

This tweak would have added eight gamers for this 12 months’s Masters: Kirk, Svensson, An, Todd, Andrew Putnam, Seamus Energy, Tom Hoge and Patrick Rodgers. It’s sufficient to replenish with out going overboard. 

One other believable thought is exempting extra prime main finishers, maybe pushing it to the highest seven finishers within the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship. The Masters invitations again its prime 12 finishers from the earlier 12 months however even that could possibly be prolonged. 

There’s additionally the opportunity of providing one or two extra particular exemptions annually. The Masters gave one to novice Gordon Sargent final 12 months and so they have given related exemptions previously. 

Some mixture of those tweaks may simply get the sector again to round 90 to 95 gamers which continues to be an unique group. 

Why does any of this matter? 

There are two colleges of thought relating to the Masters subject. 

Some simply need the “better of the very best” there and that can all the time be the case. Having the sector quantity dip into the low 80s isn’t a priority as a result of any added gamers can be unlikely to win anyway. 

That’s truthful however we’d argue the match is best when extra high quality gamers are added into the combo. They won’t win and even contend however they may add to the competitors. 

There’s actually no hurt in bumping the numbers up barely to account for LIV’s impression. Loads of this might change relying on the potential PGA Tour partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund—and the place LIV falls within the skilled golf ecosystem—however it feels probably that the Masters should make significant tweaks sooner or later, it doesn’t matter what occurs. 

What number of gamers even have a shot to win the Masters? The sphere already features a handful of amateurs and previous champions who are sometimes ceremonial. It feels acceptable so as to add just a few gamers who’re clearly nonetheless aggressive. 

The opposite majors don’t have to contemplate this. They’ve a set variety of spots and maintain including gamers till they attain that quantity. 

It’s a part of what makes the Masters particular—simply getting there’s a enormous accomplishment. 

However it’s also a steadiness to maintain the match as aggressive as attainable whereas sustaining its historic exclusivity. 

If it had been as much as us, the gate to Magnolia Lane would open just a bit wider.