We began our lament just after the end of the Open Championship. What began 101 days earlier had sadly come to an end, the 2024 men’s major season giving us Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele twice memorably walking off with the hardware. There were endless storylines in their wake (did the world’s No. 1 player really get arrested on Friday of the PGA Championship?)
But now that the main portion of the 2024 PGA Tour season has come to a close, Scheffler having picked up the FedEx Cup title on Sunday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, golf fans continue the long wait—220 days to be precise—until the first round of the 2025 Masters.
Yes, there’s still golf to be had this year—the Solheim and Presidents Cup, plus the conclusion of the LPGA and DP World Tour seasons (oh and LIV Golf’s final few events)—but much of the good stuff in 2024 had come and gone.
In an attempt to hold you over until the golf world returns to Augusta National once more next April, we compiled this early look at everybody who has already earned a spot in the field for next year’s Masters. We write this post with a caveat: We’re working off the presumption that the qualifying criteria for the 2025 event will mirror what was used in 2024.
To date, the number who have qualified, including past champions unlikely to play next year, is 83, the latest additions coming in the group of players who, by reaching last week’s Tour Championship, qualified if tradition holds for an invitation. Here’s the list, in alphabetical order.
Ludvig Aberg, 13, 18
Byeong Hun An, 18
Jose Luis Ballester (a), 7
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 18
Akshay Bhatia, 18
Keegan Bradley, 17 (BMW), 18
Sam Burns, 18
Patrick Cantlay, 14, 18
Wyndham Clark, 2, 18
Fred Couples, 1
Cameron Davis, 13, 17 (Rocket Mortgage)
Bryson DeChambeau, 2, 13, 14, 16, 17 (U.S. Open)
Thomas Detry, 16
Tony Finau, 14, 18
Matt Fitzpatrick, 2
Tommy Fleetwood, 13, 18
Sergio Garcia, 1
Brian Harman, 3
Tyrrell Hatton, 13
Russell Henley, 18
Tom Hoge, 18
Max Homa, 13
Billy Horschel, 15, 18
Viktor Hovland, 16, 18
Sungjae Im, 18
Dustin Johnson, 1
Zach Johnson, 1
Noah Kent (a), 7
Chris Kirk, 18
Brooks Koepka, 4
Bernhard Langer, 1
Thriston Lawrence, 15
Shane Lowry, 3, 18
Robert MacIntyre, 17 (RBC Canadian Open, Scottish Open), 18
Hideki Matsuyama, 1, 17 (St. Jude), 18
Rory McIlroy, 14, 17 (Wells Fargo), 18
Phil Mickelson, 1, 4
Collin Morikawa, 3, 4, 13, 16, 18
Jose Maria Olazabal, 1
Jacob Skov Olesen (a), 8
Matthieu Pavon, 13, 18
Taylor Pendrith, 17 (CJ Cup Bryon Nelson), 18
Jon Rahm, 1, 2
Aaron Rai, 17 (Wyndham), 18
Patrick Reed, 1, 13
Davis Riley, 17 (Charles Schwab Challenge)
Justin Rose, 15
Xander Schaufelle, 3, 4, 13, 16, 17 (PGA, Open Championship), 18
Scottie Scheffler, 1, 5, 13, 17 (RBC Heritage, Memorial, Travelers), 18
Adam Schenk, 13
Charl Schwartzel, 1
Adam Scott, 1, 18
Vijay Singh, 1
Cameron Smith, 3, 13
Jordan Spieth, 1
Sepp Straka, 18
Hiroshi Tai (a), 12
Sahith Theegala, 18
Justin Thomas, 4, 18
Davis Thompson, 17 (John Deere)
Jhonattan Vegas, 17 (3M Open)
Bubba Watson, 1
Mike Weir, 1
Danny Willett, 1
Tiger Woods, 1
Cameron Young, 13
Will Zalatoris, 13
PAST CHAMPIONS NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY
Tommy Aaron
Angel Cabrera
Charles Coody
Ben Crenshaw
Nick Faldo
Raymond Floyd
Trevor Immelman
Sandy Lyle
Larry Mize
Jack Nicklaus
Mark O’Meara
Gary Player
Craig Stadler
Tom Watson
Ian Woosnam
Fuzzy Zoeller
Masters qualifying criteria
1: Masters champions (lifetime)
2: U.S. Open champions (five years)
3: Open champions (five years)
4: PGA champion (five years)
5: Players champion (three years)
6: Current Olympic gold medalist (one year)
7: Current U.S. Amateur champion and runner-up (one year)
8: Current British Amateur champion (one year)
9: Current Asia-Pacific Amateur champion (one year)
10: Current Latin America Amateur champion (one year)
11: Current U.S. Mid-Amateur champion (one year)
12: Current NCAA Division I Men’s Individual champion (one year)
13: First 12 players, including ties, in the previous year’s Masters
14: First 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s U.S. Open
15: First 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s Open Championship
16: First 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s PGA Championship
17: Individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point FedEx Cup allocation, from previous Masters to current Masters
18: Those qualifying and eligible for the previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship
19: 50 leaders on the final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
20: 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters
Main image: Ben Jared
