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Superlatives trip off the tongue easily at Augusta National. Jack Nicklaus is adamant that the Masters ‘isn’t just another tournament’. Arnold Palmer said that returning to Georgia every year felt a little like ‘coming home’.
And Tiger Woods, five-time champion around these parts, was clear when he stressed that the tournament is one of those special events ‘that people just know about’.
As the world’s best golfers prepare for the first major of the year, and four days playing at the very pinnacle of their sport, Daily Mail Sport runs the rule over everything you need to know about the greens ‘where God hangs out’, in the words of Mac O’Grady.
From Rory McIlroy’s miracle run last time out to what happens behind the scenes at the Champions Dinner, don’t even think about tuning in without taking a look through our guide.
The Course
2025: Rory breaks his duck
Almost 365 days later, the memories still linger.
McIlroy had waited 11 years to win another major, and by beating Justin Rose in a tense playoff to claim his glorious green jacket, he simultaneously ended his long-running drought, won his first Masters title, and completed the Career Grand Slam.
The Northern Irishman became just the sixth man in history to achieve the latter feat, and collapsed to the turf overwhelmed with emotion as the weight of history hit him full-force.
As Daily Mail Sport’s chief feature writer Riath Al-Samarrai described it:
The putt rolled, it turned ever so slightly and finally, after four feet, and after all these years, it dropped beneath the ground. As it fell, Rory McIlroy stepped up to a level of sporting greatness we assumed might never come.
And never have we assumed it more than we did on this marvellous Sunday of utter lunacy and bedlam and chokes and revivals at the Masters.
Each of those terms have been applied to McIlroy in his career. And each of them could be designated to specific chunks of a final round in which he squandered a four-shot lead.
But then that ball disappeared, ending his sudden death play-off with Justin Rose and instantly erasing so many of his labels. Killed them stone cold, reframing everything we say, so he dropped to his knees and bawled his eyes out. He could have filled Rae’s Creek with his tears.
To relive all of the drama via Daily Mail Sport’s report, click here.
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The sport’s most celebrated meal: The Champions Dinner
Before the tournament begins in earnest, last year’s champion, McIlroy, hosted all of Augusta’s former winners at a dinner of his choosing at the tournament’s stately clubhouse.
The table they sit at is approximately 40ft long and squeezed into the small library on the second floor. If you win their tournament, a seat is yours for life. But you do have to eat whatever the defending champion has chosen.
Each Tuesday of tournament week, it is a ritual. Sacred to those who attend every year.
Taking in nods to his favourite restaurant Le Bernardin, an Irish classic, and one of his mother’s favourite appetizers, McIlroy curated both the menu and a decadent wine list to celebrate his triumph, and the start of this year’s event.
…and the beer prices are patron-friendly!
While champions are quaffing bottles of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild – which can run into the thousands of pounds – those taking in Augusta National are assured of a far more reasonably priced meal.
Some of the signature items on their menu, including the egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches, haven’t seen their low, low prices change since 2002, while the most expensive items available – beer and wine – remain available for single figures.
A guest, sharing his receipt with Daily Mail Sport, had purchased two Crow’s Nests, a craft variety exclusively made for the Masters Tournament and sold at Augusta National in a green commemorative cup, at a mere $6 (£4.46) each.
Two of the 16oz (473ml) beers, with the customary US tax added on, came to a total of $13.02 (£9.68). That is way cheaper than the prices sports fans are used to paying in stadiums around the world.
The standout names
The top-ranked star: Scottie Scheffler
The world No 1 has won twice at Augusta National and will be looking to become the ninth player in history to master the course three times this weekend.
But Scheffler’s ranking belies a worrying drop-off in form, with the 29-year-old failing to claim a top-10 finish in the three events building up to Thursday.
Beyond looking for a reversal of his current fortunes in Augusta, Scheffler will likely be in high spirits. After arriving in Georgia, the golfer announced that just over a week ago, he and his wife Meredith welcomed their second son, Remy.
Augusta’s record-breakers
The most victories – 6: Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 record still stands to this day, with Tiger Woods the closest on five wins after his miraculous 2019 triumph.The youngest winner – 21: Tiger Woods was a mere 21 years and 104 days old when he claimed his maiden Masters in 1997. The most appearances – 52: Golfing legend Gary Player turned out for over half a century – and remains a frequent fixture at the Champions Dinner. The most early leads – 5: Justin Rose holds the dubious record for the most times having led the field after the first round. He has also finished runner-up three times. The course record – 63: Two golfers share the honour of having scored the record: Nick Price, for his round in 1986, and Greg Norman, in 1996.Widest margin of victory – 12: Not content with breaking one record in 1997, Woods won by a margin of 12 strokes – which is yet to be bettered. <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sport/golf/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
The defending champion: Rory McIlroy
Not since Tiger Woods in 2002 has a pro won back-to-back at Augusta National, but McIlroy is in the history-making business after breaking his duck at the Masters last year in titanic fashion.
Currently ranked world No 2, McIlroy too is struggling with uneven form in the build-up to the tournament. But with a view to leveling Nick Faldo’s record of six major titles, the Northern Irishman should not be counted out.
The rebel star: Bryson DeChambeau
California-born DeChambeau has never finished higher than fifth at Augusta, but could have a tilt at his third career major in sight after a strong start to the year on the LIV Golf tour.
Should the 32-year-old triumph in Georgia, it could lead to a little bit of a frisson between the departing champion and the one at the beginning of his reign: McIlroy has been an outspoken critic of DeChambeau and his fellow Saudi-backed rebels, with the latter implying that last year’s winner refused to talk to him during their final 18 holes at the 2025 event.
Last year’s runner-up: Justin Rose
Always-the-bridesmaid Rose has been runner-up at Augusta three times in his decorated career, and finished second in dramatic fashion – via a nail-biting playoff – against McIlroy last year.
The 45-year-old will be taking part in his 21st Masters from Thursday, and is confident that it might finally be his year.
The young Swede: Ludvig Aberg
26-year-old Aberg is just three years from his debut, but a perennial favourite amid the contenders whenever he pitches up on the green.
Finishing seventh last year, Aberg is in promising form heading into Augusta, claiming a top-five spot in his last three PGA Tour starts this season.
Masters Par 3 Contest
The Par-3 tournament has been a staple of The Masters ever since its introduction to the tournament in 1960.
The contest sees players, who begin the major the next day, caddied by their wives and accompanied by their children, who are allowed to participate in the sweet competition.
The McIlroy clan were out in full force on Wednesday afternoon to support the defending champion. Walking the grounds of Augusta National, Erica Stoll was pictured caddying for her husband, while their daughter, Poppy, also enjoyed a sunny day out on the famous course.
Scheffler also partook in the contest, and his entourage was noticeably bigger than usual. Just 12 days after his wife Meredith gave birth to their second son, Remy, both mother and child joined Scheffler at Augusta alongside the couple’s firstborn, Bennett.
It was hard to tell which of the kids was more of a hit at Wednesday’s family-friendly Par 3 Contest – Remy being carried by Meredith in a baby wrap or Bennett knocking the ball around with a blue toy club.
The Masters, by numbers
25¢: The original price of the famous pimento cheese sandwich, first sold from the house of local Augusta couple Hodges and Ola Herndon in the late 1940s.40,000: The number of visitors to Augusta National every day between Thursday and Sunday over the course of the tournament. 342C: The Pantone colour code for the iconic green jacket’s ‘Augusta Green’ tone, first sported by Sam Snead in 1949. $49.99: The cost of a limited-edition garden gnome – only available daily on-site – although the collectibles can go for tens of thousands of dollars on the resale market. 11ft: The depth of the deepest bunker on the course, the second fairway bunker on the 18th hole. 1,600: The number of azaleas – the flower most synonymous with Augusta National, planted on the south side of the 13th hole, which is named for the bloom.