Meet The 21 Golfers Trying To Break This 46-Year-Old Masters Curse

Less than a fortnight before The Masters begins, the final field has all but been confirmed and 96 players will tee it up in the first Major of the year in a bid to add their name to the history books.

The majority of players involved have plenty of experience around Augusta National, including defending champion Scottie Scheffler and two-time winner Bernhard Langer, who will make his final Masters appearance at the age of 67.

Elsewhere, many who have yet to win despite multiple appearances will also compete, including Rory McIlroy, who is bound to hope that this is the year he finally claims his maiden Masters title at the 17^th attempt.

While there is no shortage of players with plenty of experience of the hallowed Augusta National fairways, for others, the 2025 tournament will mark their first taste of one of the most special occasions in the golf calendar.

When they make their debut, each will be hoping to break a curse which has gone on for almost 50 years, with Fuzzy Zoeller the most recent first-time Masters champion back in 1979.

In total, there are 21 players making their debuts at The Masters in 2025, including Jose Luis Ballester. When he hoisted the Havemeyer Trophy after winning the 2024 US Amateur, he didn’t just have the honor of becoming the first Spaniard to win the title, it also booked his maiden appearance at the Major.

The victory also ensured Ballester, who attends Arizona State University and won the 2023 European Amateur, will take his place at the US Open and The Open as long as he retains his amateur status.

The player Ballester beat in the US Amateur is also in the field. Despite missing out on the prestigious title, a considerable consolation for the runner-up Noah Kent achieved was an invite to The Masters.

The University of Iowa student was only just inside the top-200 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings before that event, but, because of his performance in it, he has a chance to elevate his fledgling career on one of the biggest stages of all.

Three other amateurs are also making their Masters debuts in 2025 – Evan Beck, Justin Hastings and Hiroshi Tai.

American Beck is in the field courtesy of a remarkable 9&8 victory over Bobby Massa in September’s US Mid-Amateur. The former Wake Forest student has had to wait for his chance – he will be almost 35 when he tees it up at Augusta National.

Cayman Islander Hastings confirmed his spot when he won the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship. The San Diego State University student beat Peru's Patrick Sparks by a shot to book his place.

Georgia Tech's Tai won the biggest college golf tournament last year – the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. The Singaporean is one of the first to benefit from the NCAA exemption category, which was only introduced in 2023.

Several debutants are in the field thanks to winning a PGA Tour event in the 12 months leading up to The Masters.

The first was Taylor Pendrith. The Canadian won May 2024’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which gave him a platform for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He eventually made it to the Tour Championship – another way of reaching The Masters had he not already bagged a title. He also finished inside the top-50 at the end of the year, which would have also confirmed his place had he not already done so.

Three weeks after Pendrith’s win, American Davis Riley won the Charles Schwab Challenge by two over Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin to book his place. After he appears in The Masters, it will mean he has played in all four Majors at some point in his career.

Another American making his Masters debut will be Davis Thompson, thanks to his win in last July’s John Deere Classic. By then, he had already shown he can be a player for the biggest occasions, having finished T9th at the US Open the previous month. Thompson also finished in the top-50 of the world rankings at the end of the year, which would have confirmed his place regardless.

Like Pendrith, Aaron Rai also takes his place at The Masters thanks to winning a PGA Tour event, qualifying for the Tour Championship and finishing in the world’s top-50 at the end of the year. However, it was the Englishman’s maiden PGA Tour win in August’s Wyndham Championship that rubber-stamped his inclusion.

Two months later, Chinese Taipei star Kevin Yu beat Beau Hossler in a playoff to win the Sanderson Farms Championship and ensure his first appearance at the Augusta National Major, too.

Matt McCarty must have wondered if his year could have become much better after finishing top of the Korn Ferry Tour points list to earn his PGA Tour card. A week after Yu confirmed his place, it did.

The American won the Black Desert Championship in the very next PGA Tour event, which guaranteed his place at The Masters. That win also helped him finish in the world’s top-50 at the end of the year, which would also have been enough for his spot had he not already claimed it.

A few weeks later, Colombian Nico Echavarria won the Zozo Championship to do the same. He did it in style, too, beating six-time Masters winner Tiger Woods’ scoring record to lift the trophy for the first time.

Another player benefitting from a PGA Tour victory is Puerto Rican Rafael Campos, who won November’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship to cap an unforgettable week, with the victory coming days after the birth of his first child.

A week later, it was Maverick McNealy’s turn to claim a win on the Tour. His maiden victory in the RSM Classic handed him a Masters debut, and it also catapulted him into the top-50 of the world rankings – a status he still held at the end of the year.

By the time he tees it up at The Masters for the first time, Belgian Thomas Detry will have known his place was secure for almost a year. That’s because he squeezed into the field having finished T4th at the 2024 PGA Championship last May, with places open to the first four players plus ties.

Another who earned his spot via a strong placing in another Major is South African Thriston Lawerence after finishing fourth at The Open. Lawrence was in contention at the weekend in Scotland but was powerless to stop Xander Schauffele triumphing in the end.

For two other debutants, world ranking at the end of the year proved all-important. Helped by runner-up finishes at the 3M Open, Wyndham Championship and Zozo Championship, Max Greyserman finished the year 34th to qualify.

Rasmus Hojgaard, who not only earned a PGA Tour card after finishing in the top-10 of the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, but also received an invite to The Masters after finishing the year 37^th in the world rankings.

Among the last-gasp invites included Brian Campbell, Joe Highsmith and Laurie Canter. Campbell triumphed in a nervy end to the 2025 Mexico Open in late February to clinch a spot at Augusta while Highsmith earned his own maiden PGA Tour victory a week later at the Cognizant Classic.

The final debutant to be guaranteed his tee time at Augusta was former LIV golfer, Laurie Canter. The Englishman left the PIF-backed circuit in February 2023 and grafted on the DP World Tour - winning twice in the space of a year - to earn a place in the world's top-50. After remaining there at the culmination of the Houston Open, Canter was able to ready himself for a first look around Augusta National.

Masters debutants 2025

• Jose Luis Ballester
• Evan Beck
• Brian Campbell
• Rafael Campos
• Laurie Canter
• Thomas Detry
• Nico Echavarria
• Max Greyserman
• Justin Hastings
• Joe Highsmith
• Rasmus Hojgaard
• Noah Kent
• Thriston Lawrence
• Matt McCarty
• Maverick McNealy
• Taylor Pendrith
• Aaron Rai
• Davis Riley
• Hiroshi Tai
• Davis Thompson
• Kevin Yu