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Visitors guide, guide: tiger world.

Who knew an opportunity for wildlife adventure would be right here in Rowan County? In the quaint town of Rockwell, N.C. , is Tiger World - an endangered species preserve which makes for an incredible day for family exploration and animal education. To make sure you are prepared for an exciting day at Tiger World, we've broken down all the details for you in this guide.

Attractions at Tiger World

At Tiger World, the fun never ends and there is excitement around absolutely every corner. During your next visit, you can look forward to animals from five different continents, private and group tours, safari-themed mini golf, and so much more!

Animal Exhibits

• African Animals : African Lion, Barbary Lion, East-African Crowned Crane, African Serval, African Leopard, Black Leopord, Olive Baboon, Ring-tailed Lemur, African Spurred Tortoise, Mandrill, Timbavati White Lion, Liger
• Asian Animals : Bengal Tiger, White Bengal Tiger, Golden Tabby Bengal Tiger, Siberian Tiger, Indochinese Tiger, Indian Blue Peacock, White-handed Gibbon, Japanese Snow Macaque, Javan Macaque, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Syrian Brown Bear, Moluccan Cockatoo, Ti-Liger
• Australian Animals : New Guinea Singing Dog, Red Kangaroo, Red-necked Wallaby, Wallaroo, Kookaburra, Emu, Australian Black Swan
• North/South American Animals : Amazon Parrot, Columbian Red-tailed Boa, Bobcat, Yellow Anaconda, Green Anaconda, Red-footed Tortoise, Blue and Gold Macaw, Linneaus Two-toed Sloth, Corn Snake, Galapagos Tortoise, Green Iguana, Arctic Wolf, Timber Wolf, Mute Swan, Black Jaguar

Tours, Encounters & Mini-Golf

• Educational Guided Tour : On this personal tour, you and your family will be guided through the conservation center with a licensed animal handler while they teach you fun facts about the animals along the way.
• Carnivore Feeding Safari Tour : Follow a Tiger World Carnivore Specialist around the preserve as they feed the big cats! 
• Educational Animal Encounter : During this intimate experience, you'll get an up-close and personal encounter with select animals at Tiger World. Currently, you can spend some time with their Linneaus Two-Toed Sloth, "Nacho!"
• WILD Adventure Golf:  At this exciting mini-golf course, Tiger World will take you around the world to experience different animal species while playing a game with friends and family.

Tiger World Hours & Information

Hours: Open every day, year-round, 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. (closed Wednesdays, Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day)

Admission:  $15 Adult, $12 Children (2-17), $12 Seniors over 62, $8 Homeschool groups with valid I.D., Children under the age of 2 free, $8 Group Rate - 10+ visitors, $8 Public Service with valid I.D. (Military, Police, EMT, Firefighters, etc.)

Special Tours & Annual Passes: $20 Thursday Evening Carnivore Feed Safari Tour, $40 1-Person Annual Pass, $120 Family of 4 Annual Pass, $100 Educational Animal Encounter (when available)

Mini Golf (zoo admission required):  $5 WILD Adventure Golf (9 Holes), $8 2 Rounds (18 Holes)

Parking:  Free, onsite parking

Annual Events at Tiger World

Every year, Tiger World opens their gates to families and friends for events offering tons of seasonal fun! From their classic events like Boo at the Zoo during Halloween to their Wild Egg Hunt at Easter, plan your next trip to Rowan County so you can take part in the adventure at Tiger World.

January - Recycle a Christmas Tree, and get in FREE! February -  Valentine’s Day (Couples buy 1, get one FREE!) March - Wild Easter Egg Hunt April - Celebrate Earth Week (Bring a tree, get in FREE!) May - Mother’s Day (Mom FREE admission) June - Father’s Day (Dad FREE admission) July - Independence Day Celebration August - Back to School (Kids ½ admission 1 st -15 th ) September - Heroes Week (Heroes in FREE) October - Boo At The Zoo November - Pumpkin Pals December - Christmas with the Claws

Keep an eye on our event calendar for exact dates released for Tiger World's annual events!

Tiger World

Tiger World is a nonprofit animal conservation and educational center dedicated to rescue, rehabilitation and preservation of exotic animals. We are open to the public for educational guided tours and walkabout self-guided tours. Tiger World is a different kind of zoo. Our educational tours personally guide visitors throughout the preserve learning about each animal providing an individual hands-on experience. You will see the animals in a natural setting and have the opportunity to observe them running, playing, swimming, eating, sleeping, and interacting with their handlers. Our goal is provide the best environment in captivity for the animals, while also providing a stimulating learning environment for visitors.

• Parking: Motorcoach rv
• Group friendly
• Tours: Guided

4400 Cook Road Rockwell, NC 28138

(704) 279-6363 tigerworld.us [email protected]

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Rowan county convention & visitors bureau.

Ends: 6/15/2024

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Tiger World

A wildlife conservation and education center, welcome to tiger world.

Welcome to the blog site for Tiger World, a nonprofit educational and animal conservation center based in Rockwell, North Carolina.

Carolina Parent: Spend a Day at Tiger World

Tiger world: an educational attraction, tiger world serves as wildlife sanctuary.

Open to the public, Tiger World is a different kind of zoo; the team focuses on the preservation, rescue, and rehabilitation of exotic animals by providing the best environment for them in captivity. Visitors can witness the majesty of these amazing creatures on educational guided tours as well as self-guided walkabout tours throughout the center. Tiger World is a wonderful place to bring your friends and family to surround yourself with beautiful animals and learn more about the exotic creatures in an intimate setting. 

By taking an educational tour, visitors can learn more about the animals at the center from personal guides who provide guests with a personal hands-on experience. While at Tiger World, visitors can immerse themselves in the world of Big Cats. Guests can have an up-close and personal experience with the felines in a natural setting while observing them eating, sleeping, running, playing, swimming, and engaging with their handlers. More than just big cats, Tiger World is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of all endangered and threatened species, housing animals from Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. These include the Liger, Ring-tailed Lemur, White Bengal Tiger, Siberian Tiger, Linneus Two-toed Sloth, Red-necked Wallaby, and numerous bird species as well, like the Australian Black Swan, Moluccan Cockatoo, Blue and Gold Macaw, and Indian Blue Peacock, among many others. 

Tiger World is also home to Michael, a white lion, aka Panthera leo krugeri. The stuff of legends, White Lions have been a staple of folklore and myth for centuries until the first documented viewing in 1975. They are only found in one area – the Timbavati region of Kruger National Park in South Africa – and are not, in fact, albinos but rather have leucism, a recessive genetic condition that makes the fur and mane turn white but does not affect the eyes or paw pads. You can see Michael in person by planning a trip to Tiger World. The center is accessible for all visitors and was recently listed in ACCESS North Carolina, a travel and vacation guide for people with disabilities. 

Additionally, Tiger World is one of only a handful of accredited zoos operating with no tax support in the entire nation. The licensed center is a USDA Approved Facility as well as a registered nonprofit organization, depending on membership dues, donations, and admissions fees for providing funding and care for the animals. The support from visitors is critical to the future of Tiger World, and they welcome all monetary, material, food, and service donations to help in the preservation, conservation, and education efforts of the center. 

Learn more about the importance and value of conservation and animal preservation and rescue by visiting the Tiger World blog page for the latest updates from the center!

Visit TigerWorld.us to plan your trip today!

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Best players in Masters field? LIV golfers, Tiger Woods, favorites and more

Who is in the 2024 masters field looking at the best golfers playing at augusta national this week, including odds-on favorites, liv players and tiger woods..

From Tiger Woods to LIV golfers, the 2024 Masters field is loaded with stars as expected. 

Who are the best golfers in the 89-player Masters field?

It’s easy to say Scottie Scheffler , the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer and 2022 Masters champion, who has won twice this season. He’s enjoying a historic stretch, with 87 top 10 finishes in 119 PGA Tour starts since joining the PGA Tour in 2018.  He has won $54,058,464 on Tour in less than four seasons, with eight victories.

Then there’s Jon Rahm , the defending Masters champion who joined LIV Golf in December. He’s still No. 3 in the world, right behind Rory McIlroy, who just needs a Masters championship to complete a career grand slam. 

The past four winners at Augusta National were first-time Masters winners. Xander Schauffele, at No. 5 in the world, is seeking his first major after winning seven PGA Tour events. 

Let’s take a look at the best golfers in the 2024 Masters field, plus world rankings and Masters odds. 

Best golfers in Masters field 2024 

The best golfers in the Masters field don’t always have the best odds. 

Here are 10 of the best golfers to watch at the Masters, regardless of whether or not they’re the best bets. 

Ludvig Aberg

The rookie out of Texas Tech will make his major tournament debut. Can he really win on his first try? Absolutely. Aberg was unflappable while helping Europe win the Ryder Cup last summer. He’s already won on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and is ranked No. 9 in the world.  

Wyndham Clark 

The 2023 U.S. Open champion is hitting his stride at age 30. He was runner-up to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at both Bay Hill and the Players Championship this season. He’s No. 10 on the PGA Tour in driving distance (309.2), so don’t expect Augusta National’s par 5s to intimidate him. 

Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau hasn’t been great at the Masters, but the 2020 U.S. Open champion is bound to make a splash in the majors again soon. He won twice on the LIV circuit last season, which included a 58 at Greenbrier. He finished in the top 10 in three straight tournaments before last week. 

Brooks Koepka

He led most of the way in the 2023 Masters before succumbing to eventual champion Jon Rahm. All golfers put more emphasis on the majors than regular events, and Koepka is the epitome of that. He won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2017 and 2018, then repeated at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019, before claiming another PGA Championship title in 2023.

Shane Lowry

He ranks third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach (0.928), seventh in strokes gained tee to green (1.323) and has four top-25 finishes at the Masters. He finished third at Bay Hill this year and tied for fourth at the Honda Classic. Lowry might not be an attractive choice, but expect him to be in the mix. 

Rory McIlroy

The No. 2 golfer in the world hasn’t contended as much as he’d like this season. But the four-time major winner leads the PGA Tour in total driving (55) and is fourth in driving distance (312.2). He placed third at last week’s Valero Texas Open, posting a Sunday 66 to finish 11 under. 

Joaquin Niemann

He’s won twice on the LIV circuit this season. That helped him get a special invite to play in the Masters, where he finished tied for 16th last year. He won the Australian Open this season, finished fifth at the Australian PGA Championship and tied for fourth at the DP World Tour event in Dubai. 

Rahm is the defending Masters champion and looking for his third major title in addition to his 2021 U.S. Open championship. His jump to LIV in December was the biggest story in golf last year. He has four top 10 finishes in four LIV events played. Perhaps even bigger: Rahm has five top 10s in his last six Masters starts.

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele has seven PGA Tour wins but no majors yet. He has four top 5 finishes this season, including a runner-up spot behind Scheffler at the Players Championship. He ranks No. 2 in strokes gained (1.934) on the PGA Tour behind only Scheffler. 

Scottie Scheffler

Here’s your favorite. The 2022 Masters champion won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship in back-to-back weeks before a runner-up finish at the Houston Open this season. He is first or second on Tour this season in greens in regulation (No. 1, 76.3%), strokes gained (No. 1, 2.81), strokes gained off the tee (No. 2, 0.90) and strokes gained approach to green (No. 1, 1.34). 

LIV golfers in Masters field

Here’s a quick look at the 13 LIV golfers in the 2024 Masters field and how they received their tournament exemptions.

Player | exemption

∎ Bryson DeChambeau | 2020 U.S. Open win

∎ Sergio Garcia | 2017 Masters champion

∎ Tyrrell Hatton | 2023 Tour Championship qualifier, top 50 in Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR)

∎ Dustin Johnson | 2020 Masters champion

More: Concessions are ridiculously cheap at the Masters. But beer will cost a little more this year

∎ Brooks Koepka | 2019, 2023 PGA Championship wins

∎ Adrian Meronk | top 50 in OWGR in 2023

∎ Phil Mickelson | 2004, 2006, 2010 Masters champion

∎ Joaquin Niemann | Special invitation

∎ Jon Rahm | 2023 Masters champion

∎ Patrick Reed | 2018 Masters champion 

∎ Charl Schwartzel | 2011 Masters champion

More: 2024 Masters: Scheffler, McIlroy, Rahm lead power rankings based on odds

∎ Cameron Smith | 2022 Open Championship win

∎ Bubba Watson | 2012, 2014 Masters champion

Is Tiger Woods playing the Masters? 

Yes, Tiger Woods is in the 2024 Masters field. He’ll tee off with Jason Day and Max Homa at 1:24 p.m. ET on Thursday. 

Woods, who owns five Masters championships, still deals with physical ailments that have led to numerous surgeries late in his career. His surgically fused right ankle forced him to withdraw in the third round of the 2023 Masters. 

Woods has won the Masters five times. His 2019 win at Augusta National, following a comeback to golf through personal and physical challenges, will always be one of golf’s best stories. 

World Golf Ranking entering Masters 2024

Here’s a look at the top 50 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking entering the 2024 Masters. 

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Rory McIlroy

3. Jon Rahm

4. Wyndham Clark

5. Xander Schauffele

6. Viktor Hovland

7. Patrick Cantlay

8. Brian Harman

9. Ludvig Åberg

10. Matt Fitzpatrick

11. Max Homa

12. Hideki Matsuyama

13. Tommy Fleetwood

More: Masters 2024 tee times for Thursday's opening round: When does Tiger Woods tee off?

14. Cameron Young

15. Sahith Theegala

16. Keegan Bradley

17. Russell Henley

18. Jordan Spieth

19. Tyrrell Hatton

20. Collin Morikawa

21. Jason Day

22. Sam Burns

23. Tom Kim

24. Nick Taylor

25. Matthieu Pavon

26. Tony Finau

27. Chris Kirk

28. Justin Thomas

29. Sepp Straka

30. Denny McCarthy

31. Will Zalatoris

32. Min Woo Lee

33. Brooks Koepka

34. Akshay Bhatia

35. Lucas Glover

36. Shane Lowry

37. Rickie Fowler

38. Nicolai Højgaard

39. Emiliano Grillo

40. Eric Cole

41. Sungjae Im

42. Stephan Jaeger

43. Kurt Kitayama

44. Byeong Hun An

45. Harris English

46. Adam Hadwin

47. J.T. Poston

48. Si Woo Kim

49. Corey Conners

50. Austin Eckroat

Masters odds 2024

All odds are from BetMGM .

∎ Scottie Scheffler (+400) 

∎ Rory McIlroy (+1000) 

∎ Jon Rahm (+1200) 

∎ Xander Schauffele (+1400) 

∎ Brooks Koepka (+2000) 

More: How many pars were made in 2023 Masters? What you need to know for your Masters prop bets

∎ Hideki Matsuyama (+2000) 

∎ Jordan Spieth (+2200) 

∎ Joaquin Niemann (+2800) 

∎ Ludvig Aberg (+2800) 

∎ Wyndham Clark (+2800) 

∎ Bryson DeChambeau (+3300) 

∎ Matt Fitzpatrick (+3300) 

∎ Patrick Cantlay (+3300) 

More: Jordan Spieth's Masters debut came 10 years ago, and it hasn't been boring at Augusta for him since

∎ Viktor Hovland (+3300) 

∎ Will Zalatoris (+3300) 

∎ Cameron Smith (+4000) 

∎ Dustin Johnson (+4000) 

∎ Justin Thomas (+4000) 

∎ Tony Finau (+4000) 

∎ Cameron Young (+4500) 

∎ Sahith Theegala (+4500) 

∎ Shane Lowry (+4500) 

∎ Tommy Fleetwood (+4500) 

∎ Collin Morikawa (+5000) 

∎ Max Homa (+5500) 

∎ Sam Burns (+5500) 

∎ Jason Day (+6000) 

∎ Russell Henley (+6000) 

∎ Brian Harman (+6600) 

∎ Min Woo Lee (+6600) 

∎ Patrick Reed (+6600) 

∎ Tyrell Hatton (+6600) 

∎ Corey Conners (+6600) 

∎ Si Woo Kim (+8000) 

∎ Adam Scott (+9000) 

∎ Sergio Garcia (+9000) 

∎ Denny McCarthy (+10000) 

∎ Sungjae Im (+10000) 

∎ Akshay Bhatia (+10000) 

∎ Byeong Hun An (+12500) 

∎ Harris English (+12500) 

∎ Justin Rose (+12500) 

∎ Rickie Fowler (+12500) 

∎ Tom Kim (+12500) 

∎ Chris Kirk (+15000) 

∎ Stephan Jaeger (+15000) 

∎ Tiger Woods (+15000) 

∎ Adrian Meronk (+17500) 

∎ Keegan Bradley (+17500) 

∎ Kurt Kitayama (+17500) 

∎ Adam Hadwin (+17500) 

∎ Erik van Rooyen (+20000) 

∎ Nick Taylor (+20000) 

More: Vijay Singh says it's time for change at one of the Masters' most iconic holes

∎ Nicolai Hojgaard (+20000) 

∎ Phil Mickelson (+20000) 

∎ Sepp Straka (+20000) 

∎ Taylor Moore (+20000) 

∎ Thorbjorn Olesen (+20000) 

∎ J.T. Poston (+22500) 

∎ Matthieu Pavon (+22500) 

∎ Adam Schenk (+22500) 

More: No duplicates: Masters sees longest streak ever without repeat champion

∎ Austin Eckroat (+22500) 

∎ Bubba Watson (+22500) 

∎ Cameron Davis (+22500) 

∎ Emiliano Grillo (+22500) 

∎ Eric Cole (+22500) 

∎ Gary Woodland (+22500) 

∎ Jake Knapp (+22500) 

∎ Lucas Glover (+22500) 

∎ Nick Dunlap (+22500) 

∎ Luke List (+22500) 

∎ Charl Schwartzel (+40000) 

∎ Lee Hodges (+40000) 

∎ Peter Malnati (+40000) 

∎ Ryo Hisatsune (+40000) 

∎ Danny Willett (+50000) 

∎ Grayson Murray (+50000) 

∎ Camilo Villegas (+75000) 

∎ Christo Lamprecht (+75000) 

∎ Zach Johnson (+80000) 

∎ Jasper Stubbs (+100000) 

∎ Neal Shipley (+100000) 

∎ Santiago De La Fuente (+100000) 

∎ Stewart Hagestad (+100000) 

∎ Fred Couples (+150000) 

∎ Mike Weir (+150000) 

∎ Vijay Singh (+150000) 

∎ Jose Maria Olazabal (+300000)

Tiger World

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Prop Farm: Tiger Woods represents ‘biggest liability in a golf tournament ever’ for one oddsmaker

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Welcome to Masters week! More money is wagered on this event versus any other in the world of golf, and with a big week comes big liability. In fact, if 82-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods wins a sixth green jacket it will be the biggest hit in golf history for BetMGM Sportsbook bettors.

More on those crazy numbers later, which come exclusively from public bettors wishing on what would be tantamount to a near-miracle. It’s time to see where the sharp minds are throwing their hard-earned cash.

Here in the Prop Farm, we speak with bookmakers across the country and in Las Vegas about the handle each and every week and where bettors are gravitating toward in placing their wagers. We will once again touch on that this week but for the Masters, we thought it would be appropriate to also check in with some of the bettors, those folks that do their work on the public side of the betting window rather than the private side.

"Matsuyama to win," said Dave Tindall, a widely respected bettor and golf writer for Betfair in the U.K. "If anyone can oust Scottie Scheffler, it is likely to be a very in-form, past Masters winner. Step forward 2021 champ, Hideki Matsuyama,” explained Tindall.

"I'm also playing Russell Henley each-way," Tindall continued, noting another one of his many plays for the first major championship of the season. "He was fourth here last year and has three top-fours in his last seven PGA TOUR starts. The Georgia native can thrive once more."

Personally, I have a play on Matsuyama to win his second Masters as well. Tindall noted the Japanese star's current form. He's finished first, 12th, sixth, and seventh in his last four starts. Over the last 36 rounds, Matsuyama is second in this field only to Scheffler for Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and is No. 1 for SG: Around the Green.

ESPN producer “Stanford” Steve Coughlin is on board, too. "I like Hideki to win."

Scheffler's odds to capture his second green jacket are historically low. Not since the heyday of Tiger Woods, have we seen such a low number on the favorite. Another highly regarded golf tipster from the U.K., Ben Coley, who writes for The Sporting Life, feels Scheffler’s especially low price is creating value for the defending champion. "Jon Rahm can defy history and become the first man in more than 20 years to defend his Masters title," said Coley.

"We have to remember that the sample size for this one tournament remains small," Coley went on to describe. "There are many past winners who have been at huge prices to defend. The very best players have often threatened, including Jordan Spieth, and many greats of the game have either done it or come close. Rahm is on his way to becoming one of those."

Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods are the only players ever to successfully win back-to-back Masters tournaments.

Coley also got involved in one of the specialty markets, making a play on who we feel will be the low-amateur at this year's Masters. "For a prop bet, I'm trying Christo Lamprecht for Top Amateur. He's at a bigger price than was fellow World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 Gordon Sargent a year ago and the competition looks to be weaker and is smaller in number," the Englishman described.

"Lamprecht has played Augusta National before – a big advantage – and he led The Open Championship for a while last summer. He won the Silver Medal there and can add the Silver Cup to his collection."

Canadian Corey Conners is getting some love from a couple of people I spoke with this week. "He's been close. It wouldn't be a shock if he won," said SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt, who also anchors ESPN's early-round coverage at Augusta. "I like him for a top-20 finish as a bet," noted Van Pelt.

SportsGrid host Cam Stewart is taking a different approach with Conners. "Top Canadian. He's a top-20 machine and if he can just putt okay, I expect him to be in the hunt," said Stewart who as a fellow Canadian, will be rooting on his countryman.

Conners has finished top-10 in The Masters in three of his last four trips and comes off of a 25th-place finish last week at the Valero Texas Open.

I mentioned checking in with the bookmakers too, as we always do in the Prop Farm, and guess who is making the biggest impact at the window?

“The book doesn’t want Tiger Woods to win but it would be great to see him pull it off, of course,” said Tristan Davis, Senior Manager at the Mandalay Bay Race and Sportsbook. “Currently we are +12500 and he's our worst liability by a country mile. In fact, this will be our biggest liability in a golf tournament ever,” Davis continued.

“The punters are really getting behind him. It’s all recreational money. Everyone is happy enough to have their $20-$50-$100 on him just so they can be a part of cheering him on. He is only 5% of the handle with us but at the big price, he is clearly the biggest liability,” Davis summarized.

Golfbet Roundtable: Picks for the Masters, How to bet on Tiger Woods

At the same time, more respected money at Mandalay Bay is playing against Woods having too much success this week, Davis went on to point out. “Despite the support for Tiger we have a 2-1 ticket count – some sharp play - on Phil Mickelson to beat him this week in a full tournament head-to-head matchup at -135.”

Speaking of head-to-head matchups, Fox Sports Betting Analyst, Chris Fallica (known as “The Bear”) is going all-in on Will Zalatoris. “He hasn’t played well in his previous two events leading up to the Masters but his two trips here have resulted in a runner-up and a sixth-place finish,” said Fallica. “A year removed from back surgery, he is finally healthy and if his putter runs well like it did at Bay Hill, the Genesis Invitational, and Farmers Insurance Open, he will be a big factor here.”

I am on Zalatoris personally for an outright win as well as a top-20 finish. Fallica has him to win it outright too, in addition to two separate matchup plays - over Patrick Cantlay and over Viktor Hovland.

Fallica went on a bit to analyze his handicap of the two Zalatoris matchups. “Hovland’s price seems off to me, especially knowing he only has one top-20 finish in his last five starts and his play around the green has been poor recently. Cantlay is a guy people seem to think will break through at a major but the evidence suggests otherwise given his erratic 2024 season.”

VSIN host and golf betting specialist Wes Reynolds is not betting on Scheffler, Rahm, or Woods but did play one of the shorter shots to slip on the green jacket this week. “I like Xander Schauffele to win it this week,” said Reynolds, who like Coley, also took a dive into the prop market for Top Amateur. “Christo Lamprecht at plus money is a prop play for me to be the low amateur this week.”

Every year, heading into the Masters, we are reminded that a first-timer, a Masters rookie, has not won this event since 1979. Professional sports bettor, Rufus Peabody believes it might be time for that trend to change. “I think the lack of major experience narrative is overblown. Young guys play well at Augusta,” said the Yale graduate.

Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris come to mind as debutants who have finished runner-up on their first try at the Masters. “I took Ludvig Åberg to win it outright,” said Peabody. While Åberg is yet to compete in a major championship, he was an integral piece in Team Europe’s recent Ryder Cup triumph in Italy. He was runner-up earlier this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and won last fall at The RSM Classic, his first PGA TOUR victory. Åberg and defending U.S. Open champion, Wyndham Clark, are two high-profile players who will both be making their Masters debut this week. Clark and Åberg are ranked fourth and ninth respectively in the OWGR.

Personally, I am with Tindall and Stanford Steve on Matsuyama to get green jacket No. 2 this week. I am with Fallica on Zalatoris and also with Reynolds on Schauffele. Rounding out my card, I also played Spieth, Joaquin Niemann, Tony Finau, and Shane Lowry for both an outright win and separately, a top-20 finish.

Like Davis said earlier, the golf fan in us would love to witness the improbable and see Woods tie Nicklaus for green jacket No. 6, but the sportsbooks and more experienced bettors, are banking on a different result at the 88th Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

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The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

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2024 Masters predictions, favorites: Ranking the entire field from 1-89 at Augusta National

Where does tiger woods land are jon rahm and jordan spieth higher than expected breaking down the entire field at augusta national golf club.

The 88th Masters is here, and it is now time to rank all 89 golfers in the field as Augusta National opens its doors to the world. 

There are a number of factors that go into these rankings. Past history matters, but so does current form. First-timers get discounted given that a first-timer has not won at Augusta National since Fuzzy Zoeller did it in 1979. Older veterans get discounted because older veterans rarely win majors, but they also get credited because many (like Phil Mickelson) have a tremendous relationship with this golf course.

The perfect Venn diagram is great play at Augusta National over the last few years combined with top-notch current form. There are not a lot of golfers who fit those two groups, and all of those who do are ranked inside our top 10.

Let's take a look at this year's list. You can also get an entire slew of 2024 Masters picks and expert predictions from our CBS Sports experts to help you further evaluate the field. Don't forget to check out a full slate of Masters tee times for Round 1 at Augusta National.

Watch all four rounds of the 2024 Masters starting Thursday with  Masters Live  as we follow the best golfers in the world through Augusta National with  Featured Groups , check in at the famed  Amen Corner  and see leaders round the turn on  holes 15 & 16 . Watch live on  CBSSports.com , the  CBS Sports app  and  Paramount+ .

2024 Masters field, ranked

1. Scottie Scheffler (Won in 2022):  Something a bit lost in all the histrionics around Scheffler and his tee-to-green play (currently off the charts) is how solid he's been at major championships. Since he started regularly playing majors as a pro at the 2020 PGA Championship, here's who has had the most top 10s. 

• Rory McIlroy (10)
• Scottie Scheffler (9)
• Jon Rahm (8)
• Collin Morikawa (7)
• Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele (6)

Ball-striking wins the day at majors because of the way those golf courses are set up, and Scheffler is one of the great ball-strikers in the last 20 years. But he's also perhaps the most disciplined golfer in the world, which leads to a ton of success at majors. Plus, he's only lost to one golfer in his last three events. A deserving 4-1 favorite and a borderline "[Insert player] or the field?" candidate.

2. Jon Rahm (Won in 2023): It always seemed obvious that he was going to win at Augusta National, but plenty of golfers have seemed like obvious winners at Augusta National and not gone on to win. Now, Rahm can play freely at a place where he has five top nine finishes in his last six starts and nothing worse than a T27 over the course of his career. He almost certainly has Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal's two green jackets circled as numbers he would love to match or even surpass.

Rahm is not playing quite as well overall as he was going into the 2023 Masters, but remember, he was also terrible at a couple of tournaments just before winning Augusta a year ago. The point with him is reserved for a tiny group and is similar to the point about Koepka at this point in his career: His major record is immaculate, and he's always among the top three or four threats to win no matter how he's played in the events leading into a major week. Rahm seven top 10s in 12 majors since 2021 with two victories and three top-five finishes among those.

3. Xander Schauffele (T2 in 2019):  Schauffele has four top 10s in his last five starts and should theoretically be somebody who I have tremendous confidence in to win this event, especially because he's probably been the second-best player in the world so far in 2024. However, he's eroded my confidence with too many late fades at majors. If the question is, "Will Xander Schauffele eventually win a major championship?" I would say it's difficult to be that good for that long and have that many close calls without winning. If the question is, "Am I going to miss it when it happens?" Also probably yes.

4. Brooks Koepka (T2 in 2023): It's been feast or famine for Koepka, who has three top seven finishes in his last five starts at the Masters but also two missed cuts. The safest thing here is to presume that, if he's physically and mentally healthy (which he appears to be), he's going to contend for what would be major win No. 6, which would tie him with Mickelson, Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino. I'm not sure it's even worth looking at how he's playing going into the week ashe only has one top 10 so far this year. He's probably the only player this can be said about, or at least the only one where it's actually true.

5. Rory McIlroy (2nd in 2022): He has tried everything: playing extra tournament golf, playing less tournament, golf, extra practice at Augusta, less practice at Augusta. One year, he juggled. Personally, I believe the best thing for McIlroy to do -- if only because he's so inundated with pressure the second he steps foot on the property -- is fly up the morning of the first round and cut his tee time as close as possible. Close enough that there are multiple stories written about whether his flight is going to get there in time. Play the first three holes with his shoes untied. I'm convinced he'd shoot 64 in the first round and win by three.

I'm (kind of) kidding, of course. Rory continues to have two things going for him. The first is that he's awesome at Augusta National. Here are the strokes gained numbers for players in this field over the last 10 years (minimum 12 rounds played).

• Jon Rahm (2.8)
• Jordan Spieth (2.8)
• Scottie Scheffler (2.8)
• Rory McIlroy (2.5) 

The second is that he's moving in the right direction with fewer mistakes and better iron play at the Texas Open than he had in the weeks preceding that.

If -- and this is always a big "if" when it comes to Rory -- he can control some of the emotional and mental stuff early in the tournament and just play golf, he's going to be in contention multiple times over the next several years, not only to win the Masters but also other majors as well. If he does what he did last year and tells himself he's already 10 down to Koepka on the way to his second round, then he probably has no chance. 

6. Hideki Matsuyama (Win in 2021):  Players with at least 20 rounds played since the beginning of January 2015, ranked by strokes gained at Augusta National:

• Jordan Spieth (2.7)
• Dustin Johnson (2.5)
• Rory McIlroy (2.5)
• Hideki Matsuyama (2.4)

Matsuyama has been incredible so far this year and not missed the cut at the Masters (or finished outside the top 32) since 2014. He should be among the six or seven favorites going in.

7. Wyndham Clark (n/a):  It's hard to believe, but this will be Clark's first Masters. While the numbers say that Schauffele has been better, Clark both has more actual wins (Pebble Beach) and more real chances to win other event (Arnold Palmer and Players Championship). Between him and the next man on this list, this is one of the better chances since 1979 for a first-time Masters golfer to win the tournament.

8. Ludvig Aberg (n/a):  It's been over a decade since somebody won a major in their first attempt (Keegan Bradley in 2011). Aberg and his monstrous driving ability probably represents the best chance to end that streak that we have seen since Bradley beat Jason Dufner in that playoff at Atlanta Athletic Club. Sometimes -- maybe a lot of the time -- at this golf course, no experience at all can usurp some of what the other older guys on this list have gone through.

9. Jordan Spieth (Won in 2015):  Since the statistic was introduced in 2004, here are best strokes gained numbers at Augusta National (minimum 20 rounds):

• Jon Rahm (2.9)
• Tiger Woods (2.4)
• Phil Mickelson (2.3)

That is some insane company. Spieth now has  six  top-four finishes at Augusta after his T4 to Rahm a year ago. Six! No matter how he's playing or what the form is like going in, he is very much like Phil Mickelson at that golf course. Not to be undervalued. Not to be counted out. Also, when he's even remotely competent , he plays well here.

10. Will Zalatoris (2nd in 2021): He might be the new Koepka. His major finishes are staggering. In nine such starts as a professional, he has three second-place finishes and three more top 10s! The other three were a withdrawal, a missed cut and a T28. And while he has been good at non-majors, he hasn't been nearly as good as he's been in majors. This chart from Data Golf shows that clearly. It's difficult to find two bigger over-performers at majors compared to their regular play than Zalatoris and Koepka.

11. Viktor Hovland (T7 in 2023):  Hovland has never missed the cut at Augusta National and has been an extraordinary ball-striker in that time. Among the top 150 in the world currently, he ranks No. 9 in ball-striking at the Masters over the last three years (1.5 strokes gained). However, he's struggling going into the tournament. He does not even have a top 15 so far in 2024.

12. Cameron Young (T7 in 2023):  He's not a great putter, but also ... Hideki Matsuyama won a Masters. He quietly had a top 10 here last year, and his iron play has been humming so far in 2024. I'm intrigued by him as a sleeper to win this event.

13. Collin Morikawa (5th in 2022):  Morikawa has played in four Masters, and though I never really envisioned him as a tremendous Augusta National player, it makes sense that he is because of his terrific iron play. In those four Masters, he has two top 10s and stands as one of just seven golfers to play all 16 rounds and have a strokes gained number over 2.0 (elite). Others include Rahm, Scheffler, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Shane Lowry. If he wasn't struggling so much (no top 10s) outside of this course, he would be in the top five.

14. Justin Thomas (4th in 2020):  On paper, the fit is so good. J.T.'s short game is magic, and you could argue that he's the best iron player in the world.  His weakness -- arguably accuracy off the tee -- is not a massive issue here. However, he has struggled at times to play his way into contention at Augusta National. A (possibly dumb) theory: He tries to hit  too many  shots instead of just playing stock shots on what's in front of him. He'll opt for that rolling draw on No. 13 and make a mess of what should be an auto-birdie hole for him. That's emblematic of how he's played this course at times. Regardless, there are almost no lingering concerns from a year ago when he was truly terrible at the major championships. J.T. is all the way back from the swing that got him off kilter a bit in 2023 and should be ready to rock for major No. 1. The two things that do give me a bit of pause are a putter that went ice cold at the Valspar Championship and a split from multi-year caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay.

15. Joaquin Niemann (T16 in 2023):  Niemann is playing the best golf of his life, and he's gotten better every single year he's played the Masters. It would be unusual, though, for somebody to go from no top 10s in 19 major tries to winning a green jacket.

16. Patrick Cantlay (T9 in 2019):  One of the biggest mysteries in the professional game right now is why Cantlay is not better at majors. An example: He's been worse statistically than -- checks notes -- Sebastian Munoz, Steve Stricker and Corey Conners at Augusta National over the last 10 years.

17. Matt Fitzpatrick (T7 in 2016): Among the current top players, Fitzpatrick ranks among the top 15 over the last three years in tee-to-green play at Augusta National. I didn't used to think he had the power to thrive at Augusta National, but he has clearly solved that over the last few years, and now I think he can legitimately become the No. 1 player in the world. 

18. Bryson DeChambeau (T21 in 2016): A friend in the media recently randomly texted to inform me that he thinks Bryson is going to win the Masters. (He needed me to know.) I could not disagree more. There's too much nuance. He's missed two straight cuts. His best finish came as an amateur in 2016. He's never been in the top 20. And yet, the skillset is still good enough that I can't rank him any lower.

19. Dustin Johnson (Won in 2020):  In the years leading into his win in 2020, he finished in the top 10 four consecutive times before beating Cam Smith and Sungjae Im in that November Masters. Since then? Missed cut, T12 and T48. It doesn't seem like D.J.'s focus on the majors is what it used to be, hough he does have the talent to win seemingly from out of nowhere.

20. Shane Lowry (T3 in 2022):  Here are the golfers with the most top 25s in the last four Masters:

• T1. Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry (4)
• T4. Jon Rahm and eight others (3) 

21. Tony Finau (T5 in 2019): Here's a weird one: Finau has only gained .02 strokes per round off the tee at Augusta National over the last three years. That's a similar number to guys like Stewart Cink, Sebastian Munoz, Tyrrell Hatton and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

22. Russell Henley (T4 in 2023):  Here's a stunner: Henley has better numbers at Augusta National over the last 10 years than Tony Finau, Cameron Smith, J.T., Schauffele, Hovland and Patrick Reed.

Who am I... • Top 20 player in OWGR • Top 15 player in Data Golf • Top 5 last year at Augusta • Top 15 in 3 of last 4 Masters starts • Top 5 at Bay Hill • Top 30 in SG Putting • Top 5 in 3-Putt avoidance • Top 15 in FedEx Cup last year 100-1 currently for next week 👀 — Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) April 5, 2024

23. Tommy Fleetwood (T14 in 2022): For whatever reason, this has been Fleetwood's worst major. That's relative, of course, but he doesn't have a top 10 here, and he has top fives at the other three (including multiple top fives at the U.S. Open and Open Championship). His iron play at Augusta National of late has been below his normally terrific baseline. That's the stat to watch for him this year.

24. Si Woo Kim (T12 in 2021):  Among the top players right now, Kim has been fourth-best at Augusta National in terms of iron play over the last three years. That's wild! He does the thing you need to do best at Augusta National nearly better than everyone. Only Scheffler, Marc Leishman and Corey Conners have been better in that span.

25. Sahith Theegala (9th in 2023):  If Zalatoris is the new Koepka, Theegala might be the new Spieth: good but wild off the tee, terrific iron player and at times elite short game. He's also an electric factory. Impossible to take your eyes off, and if he plays like he did at the end of last year's Masters -- 67 on Sunday -- you won't need to.

Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Greg DuCharme and Patrick McDonald preview the 2024 Masters Tournament. Follow & listen to The First Cut on  Apple Podcasts  and  Spotify .

26. Cameron Smith (T2 in 2020):  Forget about the Official World Golf Rankings, Smith is dropping on a much more important list, the Data Golf top 100. After rising all the way to No. 3, he's now closer to No. 50 and not playing at the same level he was when he won The Open in 2022. There is a chance that that Open at St. Andrews was part of the 18-month run that many of the best players have in which they do most of their prolific winning. That doesn't mean he  can't  win Augusta, only that it seems as if he's no longer in that 18-month stretch where he won seven times worldwide from January 2022 to August 2023, which means winning another major -- already a difficult feat -- will that much tougher. 

27. Brian Harman (T12 in 2021):  Hovland changed my mind the most of anyone in 2023 in terms of what he could be as a player. Harman, though, was probably second. I'm not positive what he does necessarily translates to Augusta National -- he's missed three of five cuts there -- but I'm far more intrigued following his Open Championship victory than I was a year ago at this time.

28. Max Homa (T43 in 2023): Homa has been good with his iron play at Augusta National but terrible almost everywhere else. I refuse to believe this is a bad spot for him as it rewards precise, elite iron play, which is his greatest strength. Also, if you can win at Riviera (where Homa has four consecutive top 10s, including a victory), you can win at Augusta National. For Homa, it's about finding the balance between not caring enough and caring too much (which is where he sometimes finds himself).

29. Sam Burns (T29 in 2023):  Burns has yet to top 10 at a major, and there's a reason for that. He does most of his damage off the tee and on the greens, and majors are the most demanding when it comes to iron play where he has been more up and down over the course of his career. It's an area where he's had years of greatness, but overall, it has not been consistently good as his driving or his putting. He's played extraordinary golf so far in 2024 but has dropped off slightly in the last few events.

30. Tyrrell Hatton (T18 in 2021):  I am very much in on Hatton being one of the most underrated players in the world (as Homa pointed out to me earlier this year). But the reality is that, since the start of 2020, he has five missed cuts at majors and no top 10s. More suited for one of the Opens.

31. Adam Scott (Won in 2013):  I don't know what's crazier, that he's made 14 cuts in a row at Augusta or that only one of them since his win in 2013 has been a top 10. 

32. Corey Conners (T6 in 2022):  He's the superior version of Eric Cole (see below). He's probably not going to win, but nobody has more top 10s than him at the Masters since the start of 2020 (he's tied with Rahm, Smith and Reed at three top 10s).

33. Jason Day (T2 in 2011):  After he finished T2 and third in two of his first three Masters, he looked like the player who would become the first Australian to win the Masters (Adam Scott got him in that third-place finish by beating Angel Cabrera in a playoff at Augusta). After those two starts, though, it would have seemed wild to suggest that Day would never really contend for another one, but that's mostly how it has played out. He has two other top 10s (2016 and 2019) but in neither was he really a contender to win.

34. Harris English (T21 in 2021):  After struggling through a few years because of injury, English is playing solid golf again. If you want him for a major, though, it's probably going to be the U.S. Open where he has three top-eight finishes in his last four appearances.

35. Min Woo Lee (T14 in 2022):  Boy, don't let Min Woo get hot. His big problem is that he's a bad iron player and especially so from 150-200 yards, which is a tough distance from which to be a bad iron player at Augusta National. 

36. Keegan Bradley (T22 in 2015):  Bradley has been decent at Augusta National but probably not as good as you might expect. He does not have a top 20, which is odd for somebody who is such a great-ball striker, and particularly such a good iron player. In fact, he only has one top 10 at  any  major in the last nine years. 

37. Sungjae Im (T2 in 2020):  This is certainly Im's best major. He has six top 25s in 17 starts in all four majors, and half of those are at Augusta National, including two top 10s (one of which was a T2 to Dustin Johnson in 2020). 

38. Phil Mickelson (Won in 2004, 2006, 2010): Mickelson's results last year make zero sense. He did nothing before the Masters and nothing after the Masters. And in the middle of all of that, he shot 65 on Sunday at Augusta National to finish tied for second at the Masters.

All of that happened as he was attempting to buoy the LIV Golf league he helped start amid a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts and ideas about how pro golf should operate. The conclusion? The marriage of Phil and Augusta National is magic. It's not crazy to think he can contend there again this year given his history. Likely? Not really, but he certainly has more win equity than almost everyone in the field outside of, say, the top 15 or 20 guys.

39. Nick Taylor (T29 in 2020):  He  probably  won't get into contention, but if he manages to somehow, he  definitely  won't shy away from the lead. 

40. Adam Hadwin (T24 in 2018):  Here's a weird one: Over the last 10 years, Adam Hadwin has a better strokes gained average at Augusta than Adam Scott. He's only played 10 rounds compared to Scott's 40, but I would not have expected that.

41. Sergio Garcia (Won in 2017):  Garcia's last 10 years at Augusta National make almost no sense.

• Missed cuts: 5
• Strokes gained: 0.66 per round

42. Akshay Bhatia (n/a):  Bhatia is an awesome story -- skipped college to turn pro and has made his way on the Tour -- and he fits the mold for Augusta National in that he's a lefty who hits the ball quite well. However, expecting him to win in his debut a week after his first full field PGA Tour victory (one in which he got injured) is probably a bit much.

43. Nicolai Hojgaard (n/a):  The Dane should punish Augusta National off the tee. There are only a handful of golfers in the world (McIlroy, Young among them) who rank ahead of Hojgaard in driving distance relative to field since the start of 2023.

44. Justin Rose (2nd in 2017):  It's been feast or famine for Rose recently at ANGC. Starting at the 2015 Masters, he has five top 12s but also two missed cuts at an event where it's actually somewhat difficult to miss the cut. He has only finished between T26 and T50 once (T36 in 2008).

45. Rickie Fowler (2nd in 2018):  This is, surprisingly, Fowler's first April Masters since before the COVID-19 pandemic started. He has been awesome at this golf course with one of the best scoring averages in the history of the tournament, but his play has dropped off a bit since winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic last summer. Still, the only players better than him in the last 10 years at Augusta are all familiar: Zalatoris, Rahm, Spieth, Scheffler, McIlroy, Rose and Johnson. 

46. Patrick Reed (Won in 2018):  Reed has been low-key excellent at Augusta National. Obviously his 2018 victory gets all the run, but since then he has a T10 in 2020, a T8 in 2021 and a T4 in 2023. I don't know that he'll have another victory here, but he should be an absolute force when it comes to fantasy teams.

47. Tom Kim (T16 in 2023):  I was pleasantly surprised by what Kim did at the majors last year. Between his T16, T8 at the U.S. Open and T2 at the Open Championship, it's not what I expected. He doesn't have the modern skillset you think of when you think of major winners, but he does have an impressive amalgamation of magnetic presence, grit and sense of the moment that is difficult to quantify. I'm more convinced than I was this time last year that Kim will be a major champion.

48. Ben An (T33 in 2017):  The late addition to the event with the best chance of winning. An is a ball-striker savant who is having an amazing year with five top 21s so far in 2024. 

49. Tiger Woods (Won in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019):  Woods has accomplished some extraordinary feats in his career, but beating Scehffler, Rahm, Thomas, McIlroy, Spieth, Morikawa, Schauffele and a host of other players -- after having finished one major since the start of 2021 -- would be the most extraordinary thing of all. Still, if there's anyone who can do it …

50. Denny McCarthy (n/a):  McCarthy has played in nine majors (including four PGA Championships) but never a Masters.

51. J.T. Poston (T34 in 2023):  Poston is playing the best golf of his career and has been at a top 25-like level leading into this Masters. He finished T5 at Kapalua, which has some Augusta attributes. He reminds me a bit of Russell Henley in that he is playing like somebody who  could  win but you're a bit dubious that he actually will. A good top 20 bet.

52. Sepp Straka (T30 in 2022):  Players who finished in the top 10 in multiple majors in 2023.

• Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler (3)
• Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Cameron Young, Sepp Straka , Tom Kim, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele (2)

53. Gary Woodland (T14 in 2023):  With just two top 25s and five missed cuts, Woodland has had a surprisingly average history at Augusta National. He's a proven major champion, though, and would be one of the easier stories in the field -- bouncing back from brain surgery last fall -- if he gets into the mix. 

54. Emiliano Grillo (T17 in 2016):  Grillo is coming in off his first top 10 in a major. Of course, that will have been nine months ago when he tees it up at Augusta National.

55. Eric Cole (n/a):  Cole is one of those guys who is perfect to bet as a top-25 finisher because he has no name recognition and is thus probably a bit underrated but not the guy you want to bet at even 100-1 odds (appropriately and humorously, at the time of this writing, he's not even listed at most major books taking bets on the Masters).

56. Cameron Davis (46th in 2022):  I'm a bit confused about what Davis is supposed to be. His skillset suggests that he should be excellent at major championships. Perhaps he develops into that player; he did finish T4 at last year's PGA Championship at Oak Hill. But he has not quite reached the level where I feel comfortable about him being a contender at this major (or any other). 

57. Chris Kirk (T20 in 2014):  Kirk is playing for just the second time since 2016, but he brings perhaps the best version of his game to Augusta National. Will he win? I'm dubious about that, but I do believe he's a good fourth or fifth guy on your fantasy team this week.

58. Lucas Glover (T20 in 2007):  It's a bid odd to me that Glover has not been better here. He flushes everything he sees, and though the putting hasn't been great, one would think it would be good enough to get at least a top 15 or top 10 in one of his previous starts. Glover has two top 10s in any major, and one of them was, of course, a victory.

59. Bubba Watson (Won in 2012, 2014):  The win equity remains higher than most with him because he's done it before (twice), but it's pretty difficult to envision him winning a Masters at age 45, mostly because his one elite skill (driving distance) has taken a huge hit since 2012 and 2014 when he was truly generationally long off the tee, which helped him win two green jackets. The blue line below represents the top five in distance. Watson lived above it for so long, and now he's dropped all the way to basically being barely a top 100 guy.    

60. Matthieu Pavon (n/a):  Is Pavon the best player in the world? He sure looked like it for a bit earlier this year when he won Torrey Pines and was in position to win Pebble Beach before the final round was canceled due to weather. Still, it would be a shock if that carried all the way through to Augusta in April. He's never finished better than T25 at a major.

61. Stephan Jager (n/a):  Having (by far) the best year of his career, and a lot of it is based on how well he's striking the ball. He won't win, but he could absolutely make the cut and make a little noise.

62. Erik van Rooyen (MC in 2022):  Three South Africans have won the Masters, and incredibly none of them are Louis Oosthuizen or Ernie Els. Gary Player, Trevor Immelman and Charl Schwartzel. Van Rooyen would make it four.

63. Jake Knapp (n/a):  The big-hitting Knapp will be playing his first Masters and just his second major after his win in Mexico. If he's in contention, you might want to make sure the sleeves are big enough for his pipes.

64. Nick Dunlap (n/a):  At this point, the only thing that could make his last year any more remarkable is to cap a U.S. Amateur-Walker Cup-PGA Tour victory (as an amateur) run with a green jacket.

65. Austin Eckroat (n/a):  "Who will be low Oklahoma State Cowboy at this Masters?" is a fun game. Eckroat is definitely the underdog here but a sneaky-interesting play nonetheless.

66. Peter Malnati (n/a):  I cannot imagine a more fun and compelling story than a 36-year-old who recently cried after just his second win playing in and winning his first Masters.

67. Ryan Fox (T26 in 2023):  I'm more intrigued by him as a potentially sneaky-low Australian, which he was last year (just edging out Smith), than I am intrigued by him to win the event.

68. Adrian Meronk (MC in 2023):  At 6-foot-6, he will be the toughest LIV Golf player to his peers to carry off the 18th green on their shoulders (if that is still a thing that is being done this year,  as Greg Norman suggested .

69. Taylor Moore (T39 in 2023):  The good news for Moore is that he beat Thomas, DeChambeau and D.J. at his first Masters last year. The bad news is that none of those guys finished in the top 40 on the leaderboard.

70. Luke List (T33 in 2005):  I don't believe there is any non-winner in the field whose best finish at the Masters happened longer ago than 2005.

71. Adam Schenk (n/a):  It would be incredible if a guy named "Schenk" won the most famous golf tournament in the world.

72. Kurt Kitayama (MC in 2023):  Kitayama has a strange major resume. He has just one top 50 in 12 major championship starts … but it was a T4 (!) at last year's PGA.

73. Thorbjorn Olesen (T6 in 2013) : After a nice start to the year, he's done nothing in the last month. It would be stunning if he contended to win this event.

74. Lee Hodges (n/a):  Since the start of 2023, Hodges has had two top 10s. One of them was a win to get into the Masters. 

75. Ryo Hisatsune (n/a):  He does not have a top 10 on the PGA Tour this year.

76. Camilo Villegas (T13 in 2009):  Villegas does not have a top 10 in any major since 2010, but his story would be the sports story of the year if he were even to get into contention here.

77. Charl Schwartzel (Won in 2011):  Schwartzel has had such an interesting (and at times, odd) pro career. He only has four PGA Tour and European Tour wins (that were not co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour), but one of them is the Masters. Then in 2017, he finished in third at Augusta, three shots out of a playoff. But he also doesn't have a top five at any other major. Name me a more bizarre run than that of Schwartzel.

78. Grayson Murray (n/a):  Murray's redemption story is really interesting (though I am still cautious about it), and I am intrigued to see how the broader sports world would receive it if he gets into contention at a big-time event like the Masters.    

79. Danny Willett (Won in 2016):  Willett is proof of what a life-changer the Masters can be. He's currently outside the top 300 in the Data Golf rankings and would be mostly irrelevant as a pro right now if Spieth hadn't hit two shots in the water on No. 12 back in 2016. Willett has only made two cuts at Augusta since that win (although one was a T12 in 2022).

80. Zach Johnson (Won in 2007):  Honestly, I think Z.J. might have a better chance of making the next Ryder Cup team than he does of winning this year's Masters.

81. Stewart Hagestad (T36 in 2017):  Hagestad, the 2023 Mid-Am winner, has played as many rounds at Augusta National as Young, Burns and Min Woo Lee.

82. Christo Lamprecht (n/a):  Data Golf ranks him as basically an average PGA Tour player so it makes sense that he would finish T74 at last year's Open. The question is how high the ceiling is for Lamprecht. The 6-foot-8 Georgia Tech star could supplant George Archer (6-foot-5) as the tallest Masters winner ever. 

83. Mike Weir (Won in 2003):  Weir does not have a top 25 at the Masters since 2008. Since 2021, he's only played the Masters, Canadian Open and Sony Open on the PGA Tour.

84. Fred Couples (Won in 1992):  Couples will try to break his own record for oldest player to make the cut at a Masters, which he set just a year ago when he made it to the last two rounds at age 63 and 187 days. "It's not like, 'Ha, ha, ha, I can screw around and play 36 holes for fun.' I'm going to try and compete," he said. "I can't compete with Viktor Hovland or Jon Rahm or anybody, but I can compete with myself, and that's really why I come. That's what I like to do, is make the cut here at an older age."

85. Neal Shipley (n/a):  The Ohio State graduate student became a legend last summer when he nearly holed out at Cherry Hills to win his semifinal and get into the Masters. Ranked outside the top 25 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, he was never really been a star until that week at Cherry Hills, but he's one of the easier guys in this field to cheer on.

THE SHOT! THE SPIN! THE SHIP! 🛳️ @OhioStateMGOLF 's Neal Shipley has punched his ticket to the #USAmateur championship match! pic.twitter.com/O9rX9VHn5X — USGA (@USGA) August 19, 2023

86. Jose Maria Olazabal (Won in 1994, 1999):  Olazabal has made just one cut in his last eight majors. It was a stunner, too, in 2021 when he beat D.J., McIlroy, Day, Garcia and Adam Scott at the age of 55.

87. Vijay Singh (Won in 2000):  The biggest mystery with Singh this week is whether he'll choose to set up shop and watch DeChambeau try to reach the media center with his driver from the practice area.

88. Santiago de la Fuente (n/a):  De la Fuente joined Alvaro Ortiz (2019) as Mexicans who have won the Latin America Amateur Championship to get a spot in the Masters. De la Fuente's story is wild. He started his career at Arkansas Tech (where the men's athletic teams are called the Wonder Boys!) before landing at Houston where he became an All-American. From Wonder Boys to Magnolia Lane. Golf rocks.

89. Jasper Stubbs (n/a):  Stubbs was an out-of-nowhere winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur toward the end of 2023. He said he knows ANGC well from having played it on "Tiger Woods 2012" (kids!), but  I found this part  to be perhaps the most interesting. Ranked 476th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Stubbs became the third highest ranked player in the history of the championship to wear the crown. Matsuyama was 544th when he won the first of his two titles in 2011, and China's Tianlang Guan was 490th when he won in 2012 as a 14-year-old.

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The Masters finally arrives, and the golf world takes notice

The Masters flag is displayed on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Monday, April 8, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

An Azalea blooms along the sixth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB

THE MASTERS

Site: Augusta, Georgia.

Course: Augusta National GC. Yardage: 7,555. Par: 72.

Prize money: TBA ($18 million in 2023).

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7:30 p.m. (ESPN); Saturday, 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Jon Rahm.

Notes: The Masters is the first time all the major champions over the last five years are competing together since the British Open last July. ... Jon Rahm will try to join Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners. ... Rory McIlroy tries for the 10th time to complete the career Grand Slam. The last to do it was Woods, who added the last leg at the British Open in 2000 on his first try. ... Among the newcomers to the Masters are U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Aberg, the No. 9 player in the world. The last player to win the Masters on his first attempt was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. ... Woods has played only 24 holes in one tournament going into the Masters. ... Scottie Scheffler is the biggest betting favorite at the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2013. ... Clark and Scheffler (twice) are the only winners this year who were among the top 10 in the world when they won.

Next year: April 10-13, 2025.

Online: https://www.masters.com/index.html

Last week: Akshay Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open.

Next week: RBC Heritage and Corales Puntacana Championship.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

Last week: Nelly Korda won the T-Mobile Match Play.

Next week: The Chevron Championship.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

EUROPEAN TOUR

Last tournament: Keita Nakajima won the Hero Indian Open.

Next tournament: ISPS Handa Championship on April 25-28.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

Last week: Dean Burmester won LIV Golf Miami.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Adelaide on April 26-28.

Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last tournament: Retief Goosen won The Galleri Classic.

Next week: Invited Celebrity Classic.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

KORN FERRY TOUR

Last week: Steven Fisk won the Club Car Championship at The Landings.

Next week: Lecom Suncoast Classic.

Points leader: Mason Andersen.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

OTHER TOURS

Sunshine Tour: The Tour Championship, Serengeti Estates, Gauteng, South Africa. Defending champion: Jaco Ahlers. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/

Japan LPGA: KKTcup Vantelin Ladies Open, Kumamoto Kuko CC, Kumamoto, Japan. Defending champion: Akie Iwai. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en

Korea LPGA: Mediheal Hankookilbo Championship, Sky72 Resort, Incheon, South Korea. Defending champion: Joomi Lee. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Tiger Woods Is Optimistic on Eve of Masters, But Reps Have Been Few

The five-time winner at Augusta hasn't been able to play once a month as he had planned, but a fellow Masters champ said Woods looks strong.

• Author: Bob Harig

AUGUSTA, Ga. — His game wasn’t ready a month ago, so Tiger Woods skipped playing in a Florida golf tournament, like he admitted he hoped to do at one point at the beginning of the year.

Things change, and that wasn’t possible, but Woods is here now, at the place where he’s won five times and created numerous memories, several of which he recounted during a news conference on Tuesday at Augusta National.

Following a nine-hole practice round with Justin Thomas and Fred Couples, Woods acknowledged that “I ache. I ache every day.” But he did not discount his abilities, either.

“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” Woods said when asked what he believed he was capable of this week at the Masters. Then, smiling, he said: “Do I need to describe that any more than that, or are we good?”

Everyone knew what he meant.

Tiger Woods played nine holes Tuesday with Justin Thomas and Fred Couples.

Katie Goodale, Katie Goodale / USA TODAY

Woods is almost never going to admit anything less than trying to win, and his good look in practice won’t quell any such hype going into this 26th Masters start, where he has a chance to set a tournament record he shares with Gary Player and Couples and make a cut for the 24th consecutive time.

But he’s played just 24 holes of official golf this year and after withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational during the second round due to the flu, his plans to add a tournament in Florida did not materialize.

“Well, I wasn't ready to play,” Woods said. “My body wasn't ready. My game wasn't ready. And I thought that when I was at Hero (in December), once a month would be a really nice rhythm. Hasn't worked out that way. But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once-a-month hopefully kicks in.”

Asked specifically what kept him from playing, Woods said: “The body's just—the things that just flare up. Again, the training that we have to do at home, it changes from day-to-day basis. Some days I just feel really good, and other days, not so much.”

A few weeks after withdrawing from the Masters during a delay in the third round last year, Woods had surgery on his right ankle, a subtalar fusion, which put him out of competition for the rest of the regular season but brought some stability to the area.

Woods suffered numerous injuries to his leg, ankle and foot in the February 2021 car crash that has kept him from playing more than seven times worldwide in the aftermath.

“Well, the ankle doesn't hurt anymore,” he said. “It's fused. It's not going anywhere. So that's fine. It's other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it. So, yeah, once he put the rods in there, it's good to go.

“But, the back, the knee, other parts of the body have to take the load of it, and just the endurance capability of walking a long time and being on my feet for a long time.”

Since winning the Masters here in 2019 for his 15th major title , Woods has not been a contender, finishing well back during his title defense in 2020, missing the event in 2021 due to the car crash, remarkably making the cut in 2022 but shooting a pair of weekend 78s to finish 47th and then withdrawing last year.

Making the task more difficult is Augusta National itself.

“It's certainly one of the more hillier walks that we have,” Woods said. “You just don't realize it. And where the clubhouse is perched to the bottom of 12 green, we're playing on a hillside, and we're just meandering back and forth across that hillside.

“So it is a long walk. I think I've done just over six and a half miles here. But I think that it's—more than anything, it's the shaping of shots. These are things that I can't simulate in Florida. We're pretty flat. So I try the best I can on certain hillsides back at home to hit shots. But you just got to come out here and do it.

“Then, on top of that, playing on bent (grass) and the movement of these greens, that is something that, because I haven't played a whole lot on Tour, I don't really get a chance to see that very often. I'm home on Bermuda all the time. And so that's another factor into this week.”

None of it seemed to bother Woods in his limited practice this week. He’s been on the course for three days, playing nine holes on Monday and Tuesday and walking the front nine on Sunday while just chipping and putting.

Couples, 64, is making his 39th Masters start. The 1992 champion has played numerous practice rounds with Woods here and liked what he saw.

“I don't stare at his gait much, but he just hits it so good. He hit a tree there, so I actually outdrove him on No. 9, but the sound of the ball—I said, good swing, and he hit it fat and it hit off the front of the ninth green and it trickled down ...

“So I know the deal. The lie is below your feet. It's just hard. He said his back is doing O.K. I think last year it was so bad that a lot of things just wore him down, playing in that rain, moving around slowly, sluggish. The tee times where maybe he couldn't get work done, and we were out here and doing all that.

“But this year he looks strong, and he's excited to play, and I think he looks really, really good.”

In a news conference that lasted 24 minutes, Woods did not get any questions about his role on the PGA Tour Policy Board and his recent visit with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudia Arabia which backs LIV Golf.

Jon Rahm, the defending Masters champion who is now with LIV, did get asked about the state of affairs and said at one point: “I still love the PGA Tour and I still hope for the best and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again.”

Rahm said that he hoped his move to LIV might hasten some sort of agreement but said “unfortunately it’s not up to me.”

Woods was also asked about the U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy, a decision that is well past the usual time it would be announced for the 2025 competition at Bethpage Black.

“We’re still talking about it,” said Woods, who has previously stated it was too soon to discuss due to his role on the policy board. He noted that he would be speaking to Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, whose organization determines the captain.

“It's something that Seth and I are going to sit back and talk about it after this event,” he said. “I said I'm going to be busy for a couple weeks, so let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another jacket, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week.”

Woods is playing the first two rounds with Jason Day and Max Homa and tees off at 1:24 p.m. on Thursday.

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