The 2023 Masters Event begins this Thursday, September 6, with Texas players, including current Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler, providing stiff competition.
Scheffler will be playing as the Masters’ defending champion and the world’s top-ranked player, with two wins and four top-five finishes on the tour this year. The Dallas-raised, Highland Park High (Go Scots!) and University of Texas (Hook ’em, Horns!) graduate will have a target on his back, though, as 87 other professional golfers enter the weekend looking to hoist the Masters Trophy and don the Green Jacket.
Scheffler became the 10th Texan to win the Masters last year, joining the recent winners Jordan Spieth (2015) and Patrick Reed (2018) in rarified air among other legends of the game, including Ben Crenshaw, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, and Byron Nelson.
Those four players each won multiple Masters titles, something Scheffler, Spieth, and Reed aspire to accomplish in their careers.
Several more players in this year’s tournament have Texas ties, including 2021 Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris, Bryson DeChambeau, and Sahith Theegala. Below, we’ll highlight a few storylines related to the Lone Star State.
Texas golf enthusiasts will certainly be engaged in this year’s Masters but, unfortunately, cannot place a legal sports bet in Texas on golf. As a major sporting event, expect some Texans to try, albeit unsuccessfully.
Scheffler attempts back-to-back post titles; Spieth & Reed try to find second gain
Scheffler is one of the favorites to win the 2023 Masters Tournament and become the first back-to-back winning since Tiger Woods in 2002. After winning the Masters, Scheffler finished 2022 ranked second in the Official World Golf Rankings behind Rory McIlroy but has now risen to first place after a strong start to 2023.
Since March, Scheffler has competed in five competitions:
– He won two at The WMPhoenix Open and the Players Championship;
– Tied for fourth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational;
– Finished twelfth in the Genesis Open.
Spieth is also a favored contender this weekend. Ranked sixteenth worldwide, he has two top-five finishes in the last month: the Arnold Palmer Invitational (T4) and Valspar Championship (T3).
Of course, Spieth has also won three major championships in his career. Along with the 2015 Masters, he also won the 2015 US Open and 2017 Open Championship. If he is in the mix Saturday afternoon, he knows what it takes to close out the tournament.
Reed is a longer shot at winning his second Green Jacket, now ranked 70th worldwide. He has only played a handful of competitions this year on the LIV Tour and DP World Tour.
Can Zalatoris, DeChambeau & others come up with a run on the 2023 Professionals
Two years earlier, Plano’s Will Zalatoris finished just one stroke shy of Hideki Matsuyama for the lowest score in the 2021 Masters. He has since added two more runner-ups to his impressive tournament resume in the 2022 US Open and PGA Championship.
Heading into the weekend, Zalatoris is a top-ten contender to come out on top alongside fellow Texans Scheffler and Spieth. He finished fourth in the Genesis Open at Marina in March, a course known for predicting success at Augusta National Golf Club.
Dallas resident and 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, who now plays on the LIV Tour, has not cracked the top 20 in the Masters in six appearances. His best finish was in 2016 when he tied for 21st place as an amateur.
TCU graduate (Riff Ram Bah Zoo!) Tom Hoge is a top-25 player in the world rankings, recently finishing third in the Players Championship. Last year was his first time in the Masters, where he took 39th place. He also finished tied for ninth in the 2022 PGA Championship.
Former Texas A&M player (Gig ’em, Aggies!), now in Harrisburg, Cameron Champ, has missed the cut in most of his recent competitions. However, he has three career wins and is still eligible for this year’s event due to finishing tied for 10th in last year’s Masters.
A few Texas first-timers on the environmentally friendly
Three more Texans will be playing in The Masters for their first time:
– Sahith Theegala
– Taylor Moore
– Sam Bennett (a)
Theegala moved to Houston recently and has since climbed to 29th in the world rankings. This year, he’s finished fourth in the Farmers Open at Torrey Pines and sixth at Marina.
Moore secured his spot at Augusta by winning the Valspar Championship two weeks ago, his first on the tour.
Bennett, the lone Texas amateur in the tournament, is from Madisonville and in his fifth year at Texas A&M. This will be his second major tournament, following a 49th-place finish at the 2022 US Open. He earned the berth after winning the 2022 US Amateur Championship.
Can LIV Tour players participate in typically the Masters?
For a moment, certainly, but that may change given that the LIV expedition is fighting to have their players recognized by the official World Golf Rankings system. Their inclusion is approaching acceptance by OWGR, and if not recognized, LIV players will see their OWGR rankings continue to lower, affecting their opportunities to be invited to major events.
Reed, who resigned from the PGA fights Tour last summer to move to the newly-formed LIV Golf Tour, will be among 17 players representing the tour at Augusta National in 2023.
LIV Golf’s inaugural season was in 2022, created as a rival to the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour responded by banning all players who left for the LIV Golf Tour.
These conditions left the possibility for previously-eligible Masters players to find themselves barred from competing this year. However, Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament Chairman Fred Ridley invited them at the end of March, saying via The Palm Beach Post:
“We will invite those eligible under the current conditions to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament. Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus must be on honoring the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of players this coming April.”
Other LIV Tour notables include former Masters winners:
– Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010)
– Charl Schwartzel (2011)
– Bubba Watson (2012, 2014)
– Sergio Garcia (2017)
– Dustin Johnson (2020)
LIV Tour opponents with PGA major titles include Brooks Koepka (four), Louis Oosthuizen (one), Cameron Smith (one), and DeChambeau (one). Mickelson has six lifetime major championships, and Johnson has five.
2023 Professionals Tournament facts
The Masters Tournament runs from Thursday, April 6th, to Sunday, April 9th, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
Extensive TV and streaming coverage will be available on ESPN and CBS throughout the weekend, with bonus coverage on ESPN Plus and Masters.com. Bonus coverage includes featured groups and holes, including the famed Amen Corner (Holes 11-13).
Total schedule (all times inside CDT)
Thursday, April 6th (Round 1)
6:40 a.m. – 7 a.m.: Bonus coverage on ESPN Plus
2 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Main TV broadcast on ESPN
Friday, April 7 (Round 2)
7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.: Bonus coverage on ESPN Plus
2 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Main TV broadcast on ESPN
Saturday, April 8 (Round 3)
10 a.m. – 10 p.m.: On the Range on Masters.com
9:15 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Bonus coverage on ESPN Plus
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Main TV broadcast on CB
Sunday, April 9 (Round 4)
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: On the Range on Masters.com
9:15 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Bonus coverage on ESPN Plus
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Main TV broadcast on CBS
6 p.m.: Green Jacket Ceremony on Masters.com
Mark Kerby is known as a proponent of risk-free, legal betting and is pleased to be able to contribute to its growth. He has a background in poker, sports, and psychology, all of which he incorporates into his writing for PlayTexas.
