The year's first men's Major is fast approaching and the Masters field is once again stacked with Major winners and the PGA Tour's best as well as LIV Golfers like defending champion Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
There are various different ways to qualify for The Masters, and PGA Tour players still have a chance to make the field with a win - but there are a number of big names who'll be missing this year's Augusta showpiece including past Major winners, a former Masters champion and some LIV star players, including 2023 champion Talor Gooch.
Fans will miss seeing Bernhard Langer this year, who is out injured in what was supposed to be his Masters swansong, while another past winner Danny Willett is also racing to be fit after shoulder surgery at the end of last year. He recently told AP news that it will be "very, very close" as to whether he'll be okay to play.
Other past champions Sandy Lyle and Larry Mize are also not playing after teeing it up in their final Masters last year.
Big Names Missing The Masters
Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen's Alfred Dunhill Championship and Mauritius Open (pictured) wins at the end of 2023 weren't enough to get him into the field
LIV Golf's Louis Oosthuizen famously made an albatross on the par 5 2nd at Augusta in 2012, where he went on to lose in a playoff to Bubba Watson.
The South African won back-to-back DP World Tour titles at the end of 2023 but it wasn't enough to move him inside the world's top 50 - or receive a special invite like Joaquin Niemann - meaning he's missing his first Masters since 2008.
Bernhard Langer
The two-time champion misses what was supposed to be his final Masters due to injury
The 1985 and 1993 Green Jacket winner will be on property this year for the Champions Dinner but he will miss his first Masters since 2011 and only his second since 1983.
The German recently tore an achilles tendon while playing pickleball so won't be fit for what was going to be his final Masters. Let's hope he tees it up one last time next year.
Talor Gooch
Gooch won LIV's $18m individual title last year but is currently outside the top 500 in the Official World Golf Ranking
LIV Golf's 2023 individual champion Gooch won three times in Australia, Singapore and Spain last year but due to the 54-hole league's lack of world ranking points, he hasn't been able to qualify for the field.
He recently made headlines after controversially saying that a McIlroy grand slam win could require an 'asterisk' due to the number of LIV players missing.
Gooch has played in the last two Masters tournaments, finishing an impressive T14 on his debut in 2022 and T34 last year.
Kevin Kisner
Kisner misses his first Major since 2015, with his career potentially looking set to move into broadcasting
Kisner is from Aiken, South Carolina, growing up a mere 30 minute drive from Augusta National.
The four-time PGA Tour winner, who could be in line for NBC Sports' head golf announcer role, misses The Masters for the first time since 2015, and it's also the first Major he's missing after a run of 32 consecutive starts. His best finish at Augusta was a T21 in 2019.
Francesco Molinari
Molinari's exemption into the other three Majors for five years is over after his 2018 Open win
Francesco Molinari led The Masters on the 12th tee of the final round in 2019 - and his career has never really been the same since.
The Italian, who won the 2018 Open, made two double bogeys in his last seven holes as playing partner Tiger Woods went on to win his 15th Major title.
Due to his Open Championship win at Carnoustie, Molinari was in every Major for the 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 seasons. That five-year Major exemption has now run out and he's sitting out of his first Masters since 2016.
He's without a win in five years and currently 245th in the world.
Abraham Ancer
Recent LIV Golf Hong Kong champion Ancer misses his first Masters in five years
The Mexican recently won his first LIV Golf League title in Hong Kong, where he hit a stunning shot in the playoff to defeat Cameron Smith and Paul Casey with a birdie.
Ancer sits 5th in the LIV Golf League standings but he's down at 190th in world, meaning he's missing his first Masters since 2019 and faces a Major-less year for the first time since 2017.
Billy Horschel
Horschel struggled with his game in 2023
Horschel misses his first Major since 2018 and his first Masters since 2017 after dropping down to 91st in the world following a win-less 2023.
He managed a best PGA Tour result of T4 last year but was open about the struggles with his game, even breaking down in tears during one tournament.
Robert MacIntyre
MacIntyre misses his second consecutive Masters despite earning his 2024 PGA Tour card last year
The Ryder Cup star is currently set to miss his second consecutive Masters after dropping out of the world's top 50.
The Scot impressively made the cut in all ten of his first Major starts, and even recorded a top-12 in his 2019 Masters debut to earn a spot in the following year's field.
He's playing on the PGA Tour this year after graduating from the DP World Tour, so has plenty of opportunity to earn his way back for the 2024 Masters.
Angel Cabrera
It was thought that Cabrera might be making his Masters return this year following 30 months in prison, but his US visa was temporarily suspended and has forced him out of the field.
The Argentine won at Augusta in 2009, when he triumphed in a playoff over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell. He was also runner-up in 2013, losing to Adam Scott in extra holes.
Other notable LIV golfers not in the Masters field:
There are 13 LIV Golfers in The Masters field but some of its star names are missing as well as these notable others:
- Paul Casey
- Ian Poulter
- Lee Westwood
- Mito Pereira
- Harold Varner III
- Charles Howell III
- Dean Burmester
- Carlos Ortiz
- Jason Kokrak
- Peter Uihlein
- Matthew Wolff
- Henrik Stenson
- David Puig
- Marc Leishman
- Thomas Pieters
- Andy Ogletree
- Anthony Kim
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