9 Big Names Who Will Miss The 2026 Masters
Here's a look at some of the notable players who won't be teeing it up at Augusta National this year
The race to qualify for The Masters is over and the 91-man field is complete for the year's first Major.
But which big names and notable players won't be driving down Magnolia Lane this year?
Let's take a look at the players missing the 2026 Masters:
Tiger Woods
Woods looked set to play his first Major since the 2024 Open after recently appearing in Jupiter Links' TGL final match, until he clipped a trailer and flipped his Range Rover onto its side just over a week ago, leading to a DUI charge and arrest.
He has announced he is stepping away from golf to work on his recovery, with plans to head outside of the US for treatment due to privacy concerns. He has also confirmed he will not be captaining the Ryder Cup team.
Woods last played at Augusta in the 2024 Masters, where he made the cut for a record-breaking 24th consecutive year.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson finally became a Major champion at the age of 33 in 2004, when he beat Ernie Els by one to win the Green Jacket.
Lefty has gone on to win six Major titles, including three Masters Tournaments, and has cemented himself as one of the all-time greats.
The 55-year-old has an incredible Masters record with 16 top-10s, too, including a T2nd in 2023 where he became the oldest runner-up in the tournament's history.
However, Mickelson announced recently that he had withdrawn from The Masters in 2026 and would be taking an 'extended break' from the game due to a family health matter, so we won't see him at Augusta this year.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler has playing very solid golf in 2026 and is able to boast a best finish of T9th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. However, two missed cuts in his past couple of starts ended the Californian's chances of a late win being enough.
He also ranks 65th in the world - but that was shy of the top 50 needed to qualify for Augusta last week.
The six-time PGA Tour winner and former World No.4 has played in 11 Masters Tournaments but only one of the last five years. He has a best finish of 2nd in 2018, when he ended just one stroke shy of Patrick Reed.
Joaquin Niemann
Seven-time LIV Golf winner Niemann has received special invitations into The Masters in both 2024 and 2025, but he has once again failed to qualify for the year's first Major.
Niemann has played in 19 of the last 20 Majors so he's certainly one of the surprising names not on the list this time around.
The Chilean is a past winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, which was co-founded by The Masters, and played at Augusta as the World No.1 amateur in 2018, so he has a special relationship with the club.
He's competed in the last five Masters with six appearances in total, and a best finish of T16th in 2023.
Tony Finau
Tony Finau is another big name PGA Tour player who hasn't managed to qualify for Augusta, with this week being the first Major he has missed since the 2017 US Open.
He currently ranks outside of the world's top 100, having not managed a top-10 since the Genesis Invitational in February 2025.
The six-time PGA Tour winner has played in the last eight Masters Tournaments and he has a very good record with just one missed cut, three top-10s and a best finish of T5th in 2019 when he played in the final group with Tiger Woods.
Billy Horschel
The Masters was the only Major Horschel played last year but he has not qualified for it this time around.
The Floridian, with eight PGA Tour wins and three DP World Tour triumphs, has not had a top-10 since last year's Valspar Championship.
He has played in The Masters ten times and has a fairly underwhelming record, with his best result of T17th coming in 2016.
Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris has been plagued by back injuries in recent years, and has had to take plenty off time off due to two surgeries. His bad luck appears to have continued after he surprisingly withdrew from the Cognizant Classic last month with a left-ankle injury.
The talented American has only made three starts this year and has fallen out of the world's top 300.
He will feel like he should be a Major champion by now, having finished second three times including at the 2021 Masters in his debut, where he ended just one stroke shy of Hideki Matsuyama's 10-under-par total.
Tom Kim
Tom Kim has played in each of the last three Masters Tournaments, but a surprising drop-off in form sees him set to miss this year's, which would be the first Major he hasn't played in since the 2022 Masters.
The three-time PGA Tour winner ranks 131st in the world and is another big name who hasn't had a top-10 in a long time, with his most recent finish on the first page of the leaderboard coming at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last February.
Sahith Theegala
The former World No.11 has climbed from outside of the world's top-120 this year back up to 73rd, courtesy of four top-ten finishes and nine of ten made cuts in 2026.
However, he didn't manage a single top-ten in 2025 due to injuries and struggles for form, which means he will sit out his first Masters since 2023. He made his debut at Augusta in 2023 and had a great week to finish ninth.
LIV Golfers missing The 2026 Masters
As ever, LIV Golfers have found it difficult to qualify for The Masters.
There are 11 players from the Saudi-backed circuit in the field; Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Tom McKibbin, Phil Mickelson, Carlos Ortiz, Jon Rahm, Charl Schwartzel, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson.
The league secured Official World Golf Ranking points to start its 2026 season so its players will find qualifying for Majors a little easier going forward, but there are some notables missing as ever.
Niemann is the standout, while Thomas Detry is another player not qualified despite starting his season very strong to sit fifth in the standings, while it's the same story for his fellow Belgian Thomas Pieters in sixth.
Another new signing, Elvis Smylie, has also got off to a great start and is third in the standings, but he hasn't been able to qualify for Augusta either.
Anthony Kim shocked the golfing world to win his first title in 16 years last month in Adelaide, and there were hopes he may get a special invitation, but that did not arrive.
Spanish prospect David Puig is another notable who hasn't made it in. He has played in four Majors over the last three years via his impressive form on the Asian Tour and in qualifying events, but The Masters remains the only Major he is yet to play in.
Further LIV players not in the field include Sebastian Munoz, Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, Thomas Pieters, Peter Uihlein and Josele Ballester.
Other notables missing The 2026 Masters
(OWGR)
- Ryan Fox (51st)
- Pierceson Coody (54th)
- Ryo Hisatsune (55th)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (58th)
- Jayden Schaper (63rd)
- Matt Wallace (66th)
- Jordan Smith (68th)
- Patrick Rodgers (72nd)
- Taylor Pendrith (74th)
- Max McGreevy (75th)
- Bud Cauley (76th)
- JT Poston (79th)
- Rico Hoey (80th)
- John Parry (82nd)
- Garrick Higgo (85th)
- Austin Smotherman (86th)
- Ricky Castillo (87th)
- David Lipsky (88th)
- Matti Schmid (89th)
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout (90th)
- Daniel Hillier (91st)
- Daniel Brown (92nd)
- Andrew Putnam (93rd)
- Denny McCarthy (95th)
- Lucas Glover (96th)
- Adrien Saddier (97th)
- Chris Kirk (98th)
- Stephan Jaeger (99th)
- Thriston Lawrence (100th)
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