Sure, we’re over 300 days from the next Masters, but the beloved major technically starts in June the preceding year. That’s because the Masters ticket application lottery is officially open for you … and everyone else in the world. The application period for 2027 Masters tickets opened on Monday, June 1 and will run through June 20.

Often called “the toughest ticket in sports,” there are millions of entries for a finite number of spots. And yet, someone has to win. Why not you? Or me? Rory McIlroy will have an opportunity to go back-to-back-to-back. Anything is possible.

 

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The “lottery” is the only authorised way to buy Masters tickets—and unless you’re Harry Styles or Wayne Gretzky, you’re going to need to win this to get through the Augusta National gates. Here’s what you need to know if you’re going to try your hand at the lottery of all lotteries.

When is the 2027 Masters?

The 2027 Masters will run from April 5-11. Practice rounds will be from Monday-Wednesday, April 5-7, with the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday. And then, tournament rounds will be played from Thursday-Sunday, April 8-11.

How much are tickets?

Despite demand, tickets are relatively inexpensive. Monday and Tuesday are $125 apiece, and Wednesday will be $150. Daily tournament tickets are $160 each.

How will you know if you’ve won?

Once the random selection process is done, you’ll receive an email (even if you didn’t get tickets). Daily tournament tickets are handed out first, according to Augusta National. And then those who didn’t win those will have a chance at the practice rounds. The emails will be sent out in late July, along with payment details, if you’re lucky enough to win.

Augusta National

What are Masters Series Badges?

Okay, now we’re getting a bit big for our britches, aren’t we? Masters Series Badges are lifetime access tickets for all four tournament days. They’re the most sought-after of tickets and cover entry over the course of the competition’s four days. There’s a Masters Series Badge waiting list, and you’re not allowed to transfer the Badge down to your family.

OK, so how do I enter to get tickets?

All you have to do is go to this link right here and sign up. You can apply for up to four tickets for any or all days, but you can win only one day.

Also, if you want to expand your Augusta National/Masters reach, you might want to sign up for Drive, Chip & Putt tickets and/or the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Tickets for the Drive, Chip & Putt are $35 each. The first two ANWA rounds, played at Champions Retreat Golf Club, are free. The final Saturday round, played at Augusta National, is $150.

Best of luck out there. Maybe it’s time to get into religion or even hire an Etsy witch. Every bit counts. And to be fair, the odds are 50-50 you get into Augusta National. You either win tickets or you don’t. That sounds like flipping a coin. (There’s a reason I’m a journalist and not a statistician.)

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The four-time PGA Tour winner and current NBC golf analyst ripped the rival network over their telecast from Augusta National last week on Monday. On Wednesday, he said he was sorry on the latest episode of Barstool’s Fore Play podcast.

“It’s been an interesting few days, but it is what it is, and I just have to apologise to the golf team at CBS,” Kisner said on Wednesday. “I crossed the line, probably, too much, by talking about that whole content, and I know, from my short time in the business, how wild production is.”

“It is a very difficult thing to produce a live show and make it all work,” Kisner added. “And everybody does their best, NBC screws up all the time, and we’re just trying to do our best. And I went to far on being critical on them and I just want all the people associated with it to know I apologise.”

You can watch and hear Kisner’s latest comments here:

NBC's Kevin Kisner apologizes to CBS for his Masters criticism: "I crossed the line." pic.twitter.com/jIcfA88IyR

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) April 16, 2026

Kisner was working at the Masters for SiriusXM Radio and he relayed what he saw on Barstool’s Fore Play podcast on Monday.

“They were literally showing s— that I knew happened 10 minutes ago all day long,” Kisner said on Monday.

He said he sent CBS’ Colt Knost a text asking, “Do y’all ever shot a live shot?” And he also compared the tournament coverage of NBC and CBS.

“What are we doing? You have no commercials. Play live shots,” Kisner previously said. “Our production team at NBC prides themselves at showing every shot that they possibly can live . . . And when we don’t, we have to say, ‘a moment ago,’ because we are trying to make the whole movie make sense.”

Kisner wasn’t the only person critical of CBS’ Masters coverage, but he made news given his position. He and his NBC crew will lead the TV coverage of the year’s final two men’s majors, the U.S. Open and Open Championship.

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Two days after breaking his driver and damaging a tee box in a fit of rage during the final round of the Masters, Sergio Garcia issued an apology for his actions.

Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, took to social media on Tuesday to ask for forgiveness.

“I want to apologise for my actions on Sunday at The Masters Tournament,” he wrote. “I respect and value everything that The Masters and Augusta National Golf Club is to Golf. I regret the way I acted and it has no place in our game. It doesn’t reflect the respect and appreciation I have for The Masters, the patrons, tournament officials and golf fans around the world.”

pic.twitter.com/HgWI8WVBXS

— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) April 14, 2026

After making a bogey on the first hole to open the final round, Garcia hit a wayward drive on the par-5 second hole, the ball eventually landing in a fairway bunker. The 46-year-old Spaniard proceeded to slam his driver into the ground on the tee twice, taking chunks of turf out in the process. He then walked toward a cooler on the right of the tee box and swung his driver at it, snapping the shaft near the clubhead.

It didn’t take long for Garcia’s actions to be shared via social media. Two holes later, Geoff Yang, the Masters competition committee chairman, spoke to Garcia, delivering a code of conduct warning according to broadcast commentators and the Associated Press.

Garcia played the rest of the round without his driver, hitting 3-wood off several tees. He went on to shoot a three-over 75 and finished the tournament 52nd out of the 54 players who made the cut, with a score of eight-over-par 296.

Immediately after the round, Garcia spoke with the media but offered short answers to a series of questions. “Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” when asked about the incident, suggestion it was built-up frustration over the course of the year in which he’s had just one top-10 finish in five starts on the LIV Golf circuit and three times has come in outside the top 30.

When a reporter followed-up with a question about what Yang told him on the course, Garcia said: “I’m not going to tell you.” Later asked specifically if he got a warning on the fourth hole, Garcia replied: “Next question, please.”

Garcia’s conduct, and his seeming lack of contrition in the aftermath, continued to be a point of debate after the conclusion of the tournament. Enough so, apparently, for Garcia to feel compelled to offer the Tuesday apology.

Making the question of whether Garcia received a warning more relevant is that the PGA Tour developed a code-of-conduct policy that the Masters had in effect. The PGA Championship will too, and should Garcia receive another a code-of-conduct warning at Aronimink Golf Club, he could be subject to a two-shot penalty. A third violation could mean disqualification.

Garcia has a history of volatile moments on the golf course. At last year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush, he broke his driver after slamming it into the ground on the second hole in the final round. In 2019, he was disqualified from the Saudi International for damaging greens.

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Ryanair is the Spirit Airlines of Europe, so you have to take everything its team says with a grain of salt. But, this seemed a little too harsh a viral dagger not to point out, especially right after a come-from-behind runner-up Augusta National finish for Scottie Scheffler.

In the most out-of-nowhere social media post of the year, Ryanair went after the World No. 1’s hair, a low-blow and a direct hit to any man’s self-esteem and well-being. It seems someone on Ryanair’s team lost a good deal of money betting on the two-time Masters champ to get his third green jacket, and they had to take it out on Scheffler in front of the entire world.

Turkey flight, Scottie? https://t.co/qNYtg4ddtj

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) April 13, 2026

“Poor Scottie. Not bc he didn’t win the masters but bc what an unfortunate hairline for a 29-year-old,” Courtney McKinney posted. To which Ryanair unfortunately added, “Turkey flight, Scottie?”

This, of course, is referring to Istanbul (and Turkey, in general) becoming the “Global Capital of the Hair Transplant,” and this tweet might be more painful than Scheffler finishing one stroke behind Rory McIlroy. The hair transplant discourse—I can’t believe I just wrote that—has been going strong across all sports for some time, from Jaylen Brown calling up LeBron James to try to discuss hairline fixes to Boomer Esiason alleging that Tom Brady had a hair transplant in Turkey.

To be fair, there’s a decent chance that Scheffler doesn’t even know what Ryanair is. We’re betting he’s not booking cheap flights through an ultra-low-cost Irish airline known for its “no-frills policy” and minimal luxuries. It’s the ultimate “I feel bad for you; I don’t think about you at all,” situation.

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Masters Sunday is golf’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately, CBS treated it like a Thursday Night Football Game between the Jags and the Titans, particularly in the day’s biggest moments.

There was, of course, the total debacle that occurred on the final hole, where McIlroy’s second shot came to rest in a tricky lie in the greenside bunker, not that anyone knew that. It took CBS about a minute to locate it, something that simply cannot happen during a tournament of this magnitude. Then there was the complete glossing over of contender Sam Burns’ double bogey on the second hole, as well as the Haotong Li catastrophe that took place on the 13th. These are the types of things golf fans watching from home yearn to see or to at least be given a highlight (or lowlight) of.

Then there was the issue of McIlroy’s final tap in, which some fans labelled as one of the worst camera angles for a final putt ever:

Holywood has its sequel. #themasters pic.twitter.com/L7N9el2aC3

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026

We won’t pretend to act like it’s easy to broadcast a golf tournament, but CBS has been lauded in recent years for how good its coverage has been of the golf. On Sunday at the Masters, it was a D-, at best. How about the fact the network missed SIX shots of Cameron Young’s final round? Cameron Young, who was tied for the lead and in the final group …

Here are the player shot totals for CBS's final round coverage of @TheMasters yesterday. Total was at 391, up from 337 last year pic.twitter.com/BDQ87MkKd8

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) April 13, 2026

Another complaint? Far too many cuts to McIlroy’s childhood golf club, Holywood. Not a soul watching cares, CBS.

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Rory’s mom used a purse today with a newspaper article from last year announcing his career slam printed on it pic.twitter.com/leafNNuhGD

— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) April 13, 2026

Despite a floundering moving day in which McIlroy gave up a historic lead, his mother was ready on Sunday for her son’s second Masters victory. Yup, that’s a custom purse featuring last year’s New York Times gamer on Rory’s career Grand Slam capper. It’s also a perfect gift for your golf-loving mum with Mother’s Day on the horizon.

Despite back-to-back wins, this is the first time Rory’s parents witnessed him don the green jacket at Augusta National. They missed the major last season and almost skipped the Masters again to keep the good luck going.

“They weren’t here last year to celebrate with us, and surprisingly, I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought the reason I won was that they weren’t here. I’m glad we proved that wrong,” McIlroy said. “Mum and Dad, I owe everything to you. You’re the most wonderful parents.”

"How sweet is it that Rosie and Gerry get to see it in person this year." – Jim Nantz pic.twitter.com/5F2I83H2sn

— Golf on CBS (@GolfonCBS) April 12, 2026

Now, Gerry and Rosie will have to return to Georgia next year to see if their son can three-peat at Augusta National. More importantly, Rosie will need a new custom victory bag. We’re betting Rory can throw a few dollars her way.

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His Whoop data.

Update: Rory’s green recovery streak has been broken with a 7% today. Well deserved! https://t.co/P6XPYQ5ueS pic.twitter.com/yblhnpPTD4

— Will Ahmed (@willahmed) April 13, 2026

On Monday, Whoop CEO Will Ahmed released the recovery data from the band worn by McIlroy throughout the 2026 Masters. McIlroy’s numbers for the first four nights were remarkable. His lowest figure for the tournament was a 79% recovery rate between rounds one and two, showing just how well he ate, hydrated and slept throughout the tournament. That is, until Sunday night when McIlroy’s recovery figures plummeted to just 7%. Hmm, what could have possibly happened on Sunday night to facilitate such a drop??

Knowing McIlroy like we do, we imagine some VERY rare bottles had something to do with it, not that we’re shaming him. After all, McIlroy just won back-to-back Masters, becoming just the fourth player to do so all-time alongside Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. A nasty hangover seems like a small price to pay for entry to that exclusive club.

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Well, this auction would certainly jump that par-for-the-course $1k up quite a bit, as an original 2016 Augusta National gnome just went for a gobsmacking $28,827.60. The first bid was $300 and then $330 and then less than a week later, we were in the high $20k range with 48 total bids.

There will be a new record price paid for a first year Masters gnome (2016).@GoldenAgeBid has one closing in its auction tonight and the current bid with buyer's premium is $28,828.

Original price at Augusta for the gnome was $35. pic.twitter.com/eqUQ2zAWh0

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 12, 2026

The original price of a 2016 gnome was actually $39.50, but even still, that’s a $28,788.10 return on investment, more than enough money for a boatload of extra Masters merch. Maybe even a student loan or two paid off.

“This is the first year gnomes were issued, in 2016,” reads Golden Age Auction. “They were never intended to be a collectible—let alone a worldwide phenomenon. Since they were intended to be a garden accessory, not a collectible, a scant few gnomes were produced for the 2016 Masters Tournament merchandise tent.

“And in the years that followed, they still were not a big deal. The Masters Tournament did not even sell a gnome the following year in 2017, but eventually brought them back in 2018 … This 2016 gnome is in mint condition in the original box.”

The gnomes have become almost too big a deal at Augusta National, turning the merch-shop line into the WM Phoenix Open and requiring special gnome rules, such as one gnome per patron, which is a phrase Bobby Jones could never have expected.

In fact, there’s the possibility that this is “The Last Stand of the Masters Gnomes”, at least for a bit. And if that’s true, the resale value of the original gnomes is only going to go up. Somehow, $28,827.60 might’ve been a steal. What we’ve learned from all this is that it might have been a mistake going to journalism school. I should’ve gone into the gnome resale market when I had a chance.

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But after a dramatic breakthrough playoff victory a year ago, McIlroy seems to have figured ANGC out, winning again this Sunday and becoming only the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters.

With his twin titles, McIlroy now finds himself a significant Masters money milestone: he’s now the leader in all-time earnings at Augusta National having claimed $13.04 million in prize money payouts

Of course it helps that Rory’s won $8.7 million in just the last two years. Even so, he now has jumped past both Phil MIckleson and Tiger Woods, the previous Nos. 1 and 2, on the Masters list.

Here’s McIlroy’s career breakdown at Augusta National:

2009: T-20, $71,400

2010: MC, $10,000

2011: T-15, $128,000

2012: T-14, $32,000

2013: T-25, $56,040

2014: T-8, $234,000

2015: 4, $480,000

2016: T-10, $230,000

2017: T-7, $354,750

2018: T-5, $386,375

2019: T-21, $107,956

2020: T-5, $437,000

2021: MC, $10,000

2022: 2, $1,620,000

2023: MC, $10,000

2024: T-22, $175,500

2025: Win, $4,200,000

2026: Win, $4,500,000

Meanwhile, here is the top 10 in all-time earnings. Not only did McIlroy jump Mickelson and Woods, but so did Scottie Scheffler with his second-place finish, worth $2.43 million:

Masters career money leaders

1: Rory McIlroy $13,042,646 (18 starts)

2: Scottie Scheffler, $10,475,325 (7)

3: Phil Mickelson $9,870,317 (32)

4: Tiger Woods $9,642,636 (26)

5: Justin Rose $7,766,765 (21)

6: Jordan Spieth $6,794,328 (13)

7: Patrick Reed $5,888,351 (13)

8: Jon Rahm, $5,557,467 (10)

9: Dustin Johnson $4,788,735 (16)

10: Bubba Watson $4,497,230 (18)

McIlroy’s $4.5 million payday also elevates his all-time PGA Tour earnings to $114,696,641. That leaves him second only to Tiger Woods ($120,999,166), who McIlroy now only trails a little more than $6 million. Given the prize money payouts on the PGA Tour, McIlroy has a good shot of taking over as the all-time money leader on the PGA Tour some time this summer.

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That came up in a weird way this past week following McIlroy’s comments about his preparation for this year’s Masters. The 36-year-old said that in the lead-up to the tournament, he had some quick trips to Augusta National.

“I did a couple of days where I dropped [daughter] Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with Poppy and [wife] Erica,” McIlroy said on Friday after taking a record six-shot lead through 36 holes.

But while you’d expect a comment like that to get environmentalists up and arms over McIlroy’s (private) jetsetting, it led to more people complaining that McIlroy had an unfair advantage because he had such great access to the course leading up to the event. Heck, even Stephen A. Smith brought it up on First Take:

Did Rory McIlroy have an "unfair advantage" in the Masters Tournament? @stephenasmith and @WindhorstESPN weigh in on McIlroy's back-to-back wins pic.twitter.com/A4X0SIE4HI

— First Take (@FirstTake) April 13, 2026

There’s just one problem with that: Everyone who gets an invitation is able to schedule practice rounds well ahead of the tournament.

Kevin Kisner certainly knows that as an eight-time Masters participant. And on the latest episode of Barstool’s Foreplay podcast, the four-time PGA Tour winner and NBC golf analyst called that take “the dumbest argument I’ve ever seen in my life.” Here’s Kisner’s full thoughts on the matter:

“I thought it was the dumbest argument I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Kiz weighs in on the Rory practice round debate and gives a behind-the-scenes look at course access leading up to majors.

Presented by @Chevrolet pic.twitter.com/4lKURW1MtY

— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) April 13, 2026

Kisner acknowledges that as a defending champ, McIlroy might be able to come and go more as he pleases—and having a private jet is always an advantage—but that everyone has plenty of chances to play practice rounds there. And that he himself would play “probably 10 times a year leading up to the Masters.” It helps that he lives in nearby Aiken, but that’s a lot!

So there you have it. Please go out and spread the word to all the casual golf fans—including Stephen A. Smith—that Rory McIlroy won the 2026 Masters fair and square.

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