Which LIV Golfers Are Qualified For The Masters?
The 13 players who have already guaranteed their spots at the first Major of the year
After months of speculation as to whether LIV Golf players would be eligible for the first Major of 2023, The Masters, eventually they were given the nod to appear, with 18 making it to Augusta National.
As the 2024 edition approaches, there may not be the same uncertainty over whether players from the circuit can participate, but there is the question of which ones will tee it up in April.
As things stand, there will be significantly fewer LIV Golf players at the 2024 Masters than a year earlier, thanks largely to the circuit’s inability to offer Official World Golf Ranking points to its players.
Ahead of the 2023 tournament, seven players qualified thanks to their standings in the top 50 of the world rankings either at the end of 2022 or the week before the event. However, by the time the curtain came down on 2023, none of those had retained their positions.
There are still many other ways to qualify for the Major, though, and 13 LIV Golf players are currently in the field, thanks to one or more of those. Here is how they have secured their places.
Bryson DeChambeau
The Crushers GC captain already knew he'd qualified before his heroics of 2023. That’s because he won the 2020 US Open, which immediately granted him eligibility to The Masters for the next five years.
Still, his performance at the PGA Championship a month later would have seen him at the tournament even without his Major triumph. The top four and ties at the Oak Hill Major secured spots at The Masters, and DeChambeau finished above the line with a T4.
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Sergio Garcia
When the Spaniard claimed the Green Jacket in the 2017 Masters, it earned him one of the game’s great privileges - a place at the tournament for life.
With his participation guaranteed, the Fireballs GC captain will be hoping to improve on his outing in 2023, when he missed the cut following disappointing rounds of 74 and 77.
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton is a relatively recent addition to the LIV Golf roster, but his Masters invite was already secure by the time he made his move to join Jon Rahm's Legion XIII team thanks to his appearance at the 2023 Tour Championship and world ranking inside the top 50.
He'll be hopeful of surpassing his best finish at the Major - a T18 at the 2021 event.
Dustin Johnson
Not too long ago, there were numerous ways the former World No.1 could guarantee a place at The Masters in most years, including his 2016 US Open win and world ranking.
That’s all changed since his LIV Golf switch, but, like Garcia, his Masters title trumps everything else. Johnson claimed the Green Jacket in 2020, making it the last time he needed to worry about how to reach Augusta National.
Brooks Koepka
The Smash GC captain almost secured the same honour as Garcia and Johnson in 2023, but by his own admission, he “choked away” his chance of winning The Masters with a disappointing final round to eventually settle for T2.
While Koepka’s long-term participation in the Major remains in doubt, he was already guaranteed his place in 2024 thanks to his second PGA Championship triumph five years ago.
Even without that, his performance last year would have secured his spot as he finished in the top 12, while his third PGA Championship title a month later means he’s now safe until after the 2028 tournament. To cap it off, he was also in the world’s top 50 in the final week of 2023, which would have earned him a spot too.
Adrian Meronk
Meronk signed for LIV Golf at the same time as Hatton, and the Pole will join the Englishman at the tournament thanks to his world ranking at the end of 2023 - he finished the year two places inside the cut-off at World No.48.
The 2024 tournament will mark just Meronk's second appearance at Augusta National. He will be hopeful of a better display than in 2023, too, when he missed the cut.
Phil Mickelson
When Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship title to become the oldest player to win a Major, it guaranteed his participation in all four Majors for at least the next five years.
By that point, though, any concerns over qualifying for The Masters had long been addressed. Lefty claimed his first of three Masters titles in 2004 to guarantee his place for life. In any case, his T2 in 2023 would have seen him qualify, as it came well within the top 12 needed for a spot.
Joaquin Niemann
The 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba winner seemed to have all but run out of options to qualify for the tournament, with his world ranking far beneath the top 50 he'd need to attain by the week before it begins.
However, he booked his place thanks to receiving a special invite, meaning he will now make his fifth appearance at the Major.
Jon Rahm
The LIV Golf newcomer was already guaranteed his place at the 2024 Masters thanks to his US Open title at Torrey Pines three years ago, but victory at Augusta National last year rubber-stamped his participation for life.
There were several other ways Rahm would have qualified regardless, namely his T2 at the 2023 Open, appearance at August’s Tour Championship and world ranking of third at the end of last year.
Patrick Reed
The 33-year-old is another LIV Golf player who knows he’ll never need to qualify for The Masters again. The American earned his lifetime exemption thanks to his 2018 triumph when he edged out Rickie Fowler by a shot.
In any case, Reed would have appeared in 2024 thanks to his performance last year, where he finished inside of the top 12 with a T4.
Charl Schwartzel
It’s been some time since the South African claimed his one Major title, but as a result of his 2011 win in at Augusta National, Schwartzel is the sixth LIV Golf player who needn’t lose sleep over how to reach the tournament.
The 39-year-old can instead turn his attention to how to repeat the feat or at least finish in the top 10 of the tournament, which he last achieved in 2022.
Cameron Smith
The Australian’s win at the 150th Open ensured his involvement at The Masters until after the 2027 tournament, but by that time, he had already bagged his spot at the 2024 event after winning The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass four months earlier.
Smith's performance at last year’s US Open, where he finished fourth, would also have secured him a place. Lastly, despite being with LIV Golf for well over a year by the end of 2023, he remained well inside the top 50 of the world rankings, which would have offered another avenue to the tournament had he needed it.
Bubba Watson
The Range Goats GC captain has had the luxury of knowing he can always play in The Masters for 12 years after his win at the 2012 tournament. He claimed his second Green Jacket two years later, which helped retain his participation in the other three Majors for longer.
Nowadays, The Masters is the American’s only guarantee of a Major appearance. He will be hoping to make his opportunity count in 2024 after missing the cut last year.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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