The Masters 2026 – newbie’s information: All you want know forward of Rory McIlroy’s title defence at Augusta Nationwide

Who’s enjoying in The Masters and why is it such an vital date within the sporting calendar? Here is our newbie’s information, overlaying all it’s essential know in regards to the first golf main of the 12 months at Augusta Nationwide, completely dwell on Sky Sports activities Golf…

What’s The Masters and the way do I watch?

The Masters is among the 4 main championships in males’s skilled golf and is really distinctive within the sense that it’s the just one to be held on the similar location yearly, the world-famous Augusta Nationwide golf course.

First performed in 1934, this 12 months’s match would be the ninetieth in its historical past – with Sky Sports activities bringing you extra protection than ever earlier than from Augusta Nationwide.

Wall-to-wall protection from the match begins at 2pm on Thursday, with Featured Group motion and common updates from across the course out there on Sky Sports activities Golf till the worldwide broadcast window begins at 6pm.

The identical timings will apply on Friday, earlier than an earlier begin kicks in for the weekend – with protection beginning at 4.30pm forward of full protection getting beneath means at 5pm and lasting till lengthy after the ultimate putt is holed.

The infamous Amen Nook stream may also be out there, specializing in the well-known three-hole stretch from the eleventh, with that Featured Group providing additionally out there on the Sky Sports activities+ channel.

A feed of the fourth, fifth and sixth holes will go dwell every day as quickly because the opening group attain that a part of the course and one other stream covers the fifteenth and sixteenth holes, with Featured Teams additionally out there on Sky Sports activities+.

Who makes up The Masters area?

The highest 50 on this planet on the finish of the earlier calendar 12 months earn an invitation, as do these inside the highest 50 throughout the week earlier than the match takes place, whereas earlier winners maintain a lifetime exemption and some other main winners from the final 5 years are additionally included within the area.

The highest 12 and ties from final 12 months’s Masters are allowed to return, as are the highest 4 and ties from the opposite three majors in 2025, with each winner of PGA Tour occasions that award a full-point allocation in direction of the season-ending Tour Championship additionally getting a spot.

A brand new exemption class for this 12 months’s contest has seen extra invitations given to winners of six nationwide Opens – the Genesis Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and the South African Open.

The final three winners of The Gamers and all qualifiers for final season’s Tour Championship earn an invitation, plus the champions of 5 of the world’s largest beginner titles, whereas The Masters committee also can invite a participant who has not certified.

Invitations are given to the 2 finalists of the US Novice and the winner of The Novice Championship, together with the winners of the Asia-Pacific Novice Championship, Latin America Novice Championship, the US Mid-Novice and the NCCA Division 1 Males’s Particular person Champion.

There are at the moment 91 gamers – as of April 4 – set to tee it up at Augusta Nationwide.

Which gamers may very well be in rivalry?

Rory McIlroy returns as defending champion after finishing a profession Grand Slam eventually 12 months’s match, and whereas there’ll undoubtedly be much less strain on the Northern Irishman, he’ll begin as one of many favourites.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler might be seeking to reclaim the title he gained in 2022 and 2024, however arrives in comparatively poor kind, having completed exterior of the highest 20 at his final two tournaments.

The almost certainly contender from LIV Golf must be Bryson DeChambeau, who has simply gained successive titles in South Africa and Singapore. 2023 champion Jon Rahm additionally seems to be in good nick having misplaced a play-off to DeChambeau in Johannesburg.

Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg will each be chasing a primary main title, whereas their European Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick arrives in high-quality kind having completed second at The Gamers earlier than successful the Valpsar Championship.

Final 12 months’s runner-up Justin Rose already has a PGA Tour win to his title this season, and after lacking successive cuts, appeared to have regained some kind when he completed T13 at The Gamers.

From an American perspective, Cameron Younger was victorious final month at The Gamers, whereas two-time main champion Xander Schauffele is in good kind and has recorded 5 top-10 finishes in his final seven appearances at Augusta.

Why will Tiger Woods not be enjoying?

5-time champion Tiger Woods might be absent from Augusta for a second successive 12 months.

Woods was charged with driving beneath the affect (DUI) after being concerned in a automobile crash in Florida on March 27, the place he admitted to taking a look at his telephone as his rushing Land Rover clipped the again of a truck and rolled onto its aspect.

A sheriff’s officer report described Woods’ eyes as ‘bloodshot and glassy’, his pupils dilated and hydrocodone tablets – used to deal with extreme ache – in his pocket on the scene, whereas physique digicam footage – launched on April 2 – confirmed him arrested on the roadside.

Woods has entered a not responsible plea, taking the case to a jury trial, though has since introduced he might be “stepping away” from golf for a “period of time” to hunt therapy and concentrate on his well being.

Earlier than the incident, it had been unclear whether or not the 50-year-old would have been match sufficient to take part at Augusta, the place he was final victorious in 2019.

Woods’ first look of the 12 months in TGL – the indoor competitors he and Rory McIlroy are founders of – on March 24 had raised hopes he would characteristic at The Masters, however his future within the skilled recreation has now been left unsure.

Who makes the lower and what are the lower guidelines?

The midway lower at The Masters is completely different to any of the majors, with solely the bottom 50 and ties after 36 holes getting by way of to the weekend.

There have been loads of adjustments to how the match makes use of a lower by way of the years, with the previous ’10-shot rule’ that noticed you make the lower if inside 10 strokes of the midway lead now not present.

Who gained The Masters final 12 months?

It lastly occurred! Rory McIlroy accomplished a profession Grand Slam, and in probably the most dramatic of circumstances.

Having gained the opposite three majors by the tip of 2014, McIlroy had waited greater than a decade to turn into the sixth man to finish the outstanding feat.

McIlroy begun the ultimate spherical two pictures clear, and recovered from making a double bogey on the first to determine a four-shot lead with 9 holes to play.

Nevertheless, a shocking cost from Justin Rose and a rollercoaster back-nine for McIlroy left the Northern Irishman needing to make a par on the 18th to seal victory.

A missed six-foot par putt resulted in a play-off, however McIlroy steadied himself to make a birdie on the similar gap he had simply bogeyed, cueing vastly emotional scenes on the 18th inexperienced.

Two-time champion Patrick Reed ended up third, whereas Scheffler was fourth. DeChambeau was alongside McIlroy within the last group however struggled to a three-over last spherical, leaving him tied for fifth with Sungjae Im.

What’s on McIlroy’s Champions Dinner menu?

After claiming his first Masters win, Rory McIlroy earned the honour of choosing the menu for the annual Champions Dinner served on match week at Augusta Nationwide.

The reigning Masters champion traditionally chooses the meals served to fellow winners within the Augusta clubhouse on the Tuesday night earlier than the intense motion begins Thursday morning.

McIlroy will cater to followers of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild and 1989 Chateau d’Yquem, so too sticky toffee pudding fanatics and grilled elk slider scranners.

The 36-year-old’s menu features a first course of yellowfin tuna carpaccio, adopted by an choice of different wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon – accompanied by conventional Irish Champ – earlier than being rounded off by sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

He might also characterize the primary participant to incorporate brussels sprouts in his choice. Couple that with bacon-wrapped dates, and it’s a daring transfer.

McIlroy revealed how his mom Rosie had beforehand served him bacon-wrapped dates, whereas he and his spouse Erica have loved a dish of yellowfin tuna carpaccio at their favorite restaurant in New York.

What’s the prize cash and the way a lot does the winner get?

The prize cash breakdown for 2026 is but to be confirmed, however it’s anticipated to stay much like final 12 months, wherein McIlroy banked a then report $4.2m (roughly £3.17m).

The entire prize cash for the sphere was $21m (£15.87m), with all professionals making the lower incomes a minimal of $51,000 (£39,000).

The place is Augusta Nationwide and what’s it like to go to as a fan?

The Masters is held at Augusta Nationwide golf course in Augusta, Georgia in the USA. Based by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, the course was designed by Jones and Alister MacKenzie and opened for play in 1932. Since 1934, it has performed host to The Masters match.

Cellphones are strictly banned from the course, with even cameras banned exterior of observe days. Anybody caught with any offending objects is requested to depart the course. If a patron must make an emergency name, there are telephone banks positioned across the course they’ll use.

Among the different guidelines embody patrons not being allowed to lie down on the grounds, whereas working can also be forbidden. By way of costume code, backward-facing hats are a strict no-no, denims are usually not allowed and sneakers have to be worn always – with excessive heels and flip flops on the no record.

However whereas patrons might have guidelines to observe, they’re removed from short-changed when it comes to the plentiful and inexpensive foods and drinks choices out there. The Pimento Cheese sandwich – a staple at Augusta – prices the small matter of $1.50!

The rest I have to know?

Though {golfing} terminology largely stays the identical as some other match, you could come throughout a couple of phrases and phrases throughout The Masters that might not be as acquainted…

Amen Nook – Refers back to the three-hole stretch from the eleventh to thirteenth at Augusta Nationwide, seen as probably the most troublesome part of the course – and out there as one of many bonus feeds all through the week dwell on Sky Sports activities.

Azaleas – These are certainly one of most well-known crops on show at Augusta Nationwide and through The Masters. All of the course’s holes are named after timber or shrubs current on the golf course and one of many spots the place azaleas are most prevalent is alongside the thirteenth gap, which bears its title.

Butler Cabin – Positioned close to the 18th gap, that is the place The Masters winners are introduced with their Inexperienced Jacket. Jack Nicklaus was the primary, in 1965, to conduct his post-victory interview from inside this constructing.

Champions Dinner – The winner of final 12 months’s match hosts an unique dinner for all earlier Masters champions, and chairman Fred Ridley, on the Tuesday night time of the week of the Masters. Rory McIlroy has curated a mouth-watering menu after his first Augusta Nationwide win.

Crow’s Nest – Positioned above the library and champions locker room, up a steep set of stairs and on the third flooring of the Augusta Nationwide clubhouse, this a well-known hideaway reserved just for amateurs competing on the match. Gamers to have stayed within the Crow’s Nest as amateurs who later went on to win The Masters embody Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods.

First and second 9 – Reasonably than the ‘entrance 9’ or ‘again 9’ getting used to explain the cut up in holes at Augusta Nationwide, they seek advice from holes one to 9 because the ‘first 9’ and 10 to 18 because the ‘second 9’. It is a small distinction, positive, however provides to the distinctive status of the place.

First lower – Augusta has what’s known as the ‘first lower’ and ‘second lower’ of grass when gamers miss the green, versus the tough you’ll discover at different golf programs.

Inexperienced Jacket – The idea of a ‘Inexperienced Jacket’ was first launched in 1937 to assist differentiate Augusta Nationwide members from different patrons. Since Sam Snead’s victory in 1949, the winner of each Masters match has been rewarded one, with the jacket introduced to the brand new champion by the winner of the earlier 12 months’s match.

Hogan Bridge – This bridge takes gamers over Rae’s Creek and to the inexperienced on the par-three twelfth gap as a part of Amen Nook. It’s named after Ben Hogan, to mark his record-setting low rating of 274 for his 4 rounds on the 1953 match.

Honorary Starters – Most years at The Masters, a bunch of legendary golfers are invited to hit the ceremonial tee pictures on the primary gap to sign the beginning of the match.

Magnolia Lane – That is maybe probably the most well-known driveway in all of America, welcoming the competing golfers to Augusta Nationwide in probably the most spectacular means. The highway is 330 yards lengthy, lined with magnolia timber on all sides.

Patrons – That is what the individuals in attendance at The Masters are referred to, not followers or spectators.

Pine straw – The luxurious fairways and pristine greens might be the best-known options of Augusta Nationwide, however overlaying the bottom between most of the holes and on the base of quite a lot of timber is pine straw, which makes for some difficult lies for gamers once in a while.

Rae’s Creek – This is the daunting stretch of water that famously guards the twelfth and thirteenth greens. At its widest inside Augusta Nationwide, the creek runs 60 ft broad and 4 ft deep. It’s surrounded by golf’s most vibrant backdrop of blooming azaleas and dogwoods.

Sarazen Bridge – The primary bridge at Augusta to be named after a participant, achieved so to commemorate Gene Sarazen’s ‘shot heard around the world’. It was unveiled in 1955 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Sarazen’s well-known albatross on the fifteenth gap which is the place the bridge resides.

Tea Olive – This is the title of the opening gap at Augusta Nationwide. In line with the custom the naming of holes on the course, Tea Olive – a shrub native to jap Asia – could be discovered on the appropriate of the green and on the rear of the inexperienced. No Masters golfer has ever birdied the primary gap in all 4 rounds.

Who will win The Masters? Watch the opening main of the 12 months this April completely dwell on Sky Sports activities. Reside protection of the opening spherical begins on Thursday April 9 from 2pm on Sky Sports activities Golf. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.