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Highlights Tours

Augusta National Golf Club: How to play a round at the world’s most exclusive golf club

Every year, the golf world gathers in front of the TV to watch the pros play the US Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. “Magnolia Lane” leading to the clubhouse, Amen Corner, which has caused many a superstar to despair, and a golf course in perfect condition – the mere thought of Augusta National gives golf fans goose bumps. However, the dream of playing the fairway of the legendary course remains unfulfilled for most. The National Club Golfer shows you how you still have a (admittedly very small) chance of swinging a club in the Mecca of golf one day.

How to play the course at Augusta National Golf Club

As a member of the Augusta National Golf Club, you always have the opportunity to play the course. Only the very fewest are accepted into the select circle of usually around 300 members. Therefore, we take a look at the possibilities to play the Augusta National Golf Club without becoming a member.

As a top amateur golfer

Beginning in 2019, the world’s top women amateur golfers will have a chance to play a round at Augusta National. Although the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship will be played at the Champions Retreat Golf Club on the first two days, after the cut the top 30 will play the final round at Augusta National Golf Club. As a consolation for the rest of the field, all players are allowed to play a practice round on the legendary course on the Friday before the final round.

As an employee at Augusta National

Whether volunteering at the US Masters, caddying for the club or holding another position at Augusta National Golf Club, employees get to play the course. Since the same volunteers help out at the US Masters every year over the tournament days in Augusta, it’s not easy to get on the course this way. If you do make it, you play the course a month after the tournament with the other volunteers. Caddies and other employees have the chance to enter the course with their bag once a year.

As a student

If you study at Georgia Regents University and play on the golf team there, you are particularly lucky. Because once a year, students are invited to the Augusta National Golf Club. And those who study at Emory, Queen’s, Western Ontario or Georgia Tech universities have the opportunity to receive a scholarship to the university in St. Andrews and, in the course of this, to play once on the Augusta National course. Many students write dissertations for scholarships using the dissertation writing help service from the edbrodi project, where you can order qualified help and support for students of various levels.

As a member of Augusta Country Club

According to the National Club Golfer, if you are a member of the neighboring Augusta Country Club, you also have the opportunity to tee it up at Augusta National. It is common for members from the country club to be recruited as flight partners if there are not enough players at the National Golf Club for a flight of four.

As an author about the club

Golf Digest’s David Owen gained access to Augusta National in a special way. As part of his book, “The Making of The Masters,” the club allowed the author to play a few rounds with members on the course. “One of them was getting married one day and there was a party at 5 p.m. in the golf store. We realized we weren’t going to make it in time and went straight from the tenth green to the 15th tee. So we skipped Amen Corner. But by that time I had played the holes so many times that I didn’t even notice,” Owen writes about his experience.

As the winner of the lottery among media representatives

If you manage to get accreditation for the US Masters as a journalist – which is difficult enough in itself – you have the chance to win a round of 18 holes in a lottery. 20 media representatives play the course on Monday, the day after the big tournament.

As a friend of a member

The safest way to get into the Augusta National Golf Club is probably to become a member. However, the full list of members is not known and only very few golf fans are likely to get along well with Jack Nicklaus, for example. Despite numerous opportunities, it remains almost impossible for the amateur golfer to set foot on the “hallowed turf”.

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Highlights Tours

Who are the favorites for the US Masters 2022?

The first major is just around the corner this week. The starting field is relatively small with 91 players and the venue is Augusta National Golf Club, as it is every year. With the help of the performances of the past weeks as well as the statistics of the past years we can identify the biggest favorites. At the same time, some players can also be excluded as favorites. However, it should not be forgotten: “Unexpected often comes”…

Especially in focus at the US Masters 2022

Future hope Viktor Hovland already proved several times in his young years that he has what it takes to become a champion. Hovland leads the DP World Tour Rankings this season with just three tournaments played, and he currently sits seventh in the FedEx Cup rankings thanks to one win and four top-10 finishes. He finished the 2019 Masters as the top amateur and just missed the top 20 (T21) last year.

Australian Cameron Smith has already prevailed in two significant tournaments this year. Tournament number 1 of 2022, the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, was won by Smith with a record score of 34 strokes under par. He also took the winning prize money in the unofficial “fifth” major, the Players Championship. With these two victories, he is currently in third place in the FedEx Cup. Smith is definitely a dangerous competitor in this form.

Since the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, no one has been able to get past the name Scottie Scheffler. With his third win in six weeks, he reached the top of the world rankings two weeks before the Masters. There is no denying that the American is in absolute top form. Although he “only” finished T18 at the last Masters, he made it into the top 10 at the other 2021 Major tournaments.

The absolute favorite is, among others, Jon Rahm, who until last week had been at the top of the world rankings for a total of 43 weeks. Major tournaments seem to suit him particularly well: The Spaniard has finished in the top 10 in each of his last four Masters appearances, while he also played his way into the top 10 twice in the other three majors last year and achieved his first major victory at the US Open. Based on these results, Rahm is not the top favorite for no reason.

Collin Morikawa is the high-flyer of 2020/21. At just 25 years of age, he is already a two-time major winner and has worked his way up to second place in the world rankings thanks to numerous victories and placings. The Masters is the major at which he has been least successful in his still young career. His best result so far was a shared 18th place last year, which he will try to beat this year.

Looking at the Masters stats

In addition to the five favorites listed, there are several other players who, according to various statistics, will have the best chance of winning the 2022 US Masters. For example, each of the last ten Masters winners was in the top 25 of the official world golf rankings in the week of their victory. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Billy Horschel, Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer, Tyrrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Daniel Berger, Tony Finau, Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick and Paul Casey also have good chances.

Two players were excluded in this enumeration: Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama. Sam Burns is competing at the Masters for the first time, making him a newcomer to Augusta. At 86 Masters, only one rookie has managed to win the tournament so far, so the chances for players competing for the first time are pretty slim. This also applies to Harold Varner III, Sepp Straka, Tom Hoge and JJ Spaun, among others. Hideki Matsuyama will start as defending champion at the 2022 Masters, which is why he is denied a favorite position. Only three players have managed to defend the title in the entire Masters era.

Looking at the Strokes Gained statistics, some players get another plus point. Eight of the last ten Masters winners were at least 1.5 strokes per round better from tee to green than their competitors in the three months leading up to the Masters. Jon Rahm, Joqauin Niemann, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland all figure in that trend.

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PGA Tour

Masters 2022: Phil Mickelson absent for the first time since 1994

Phil Mickelson will not participate in the Masters Tournament in 2022. The official list of registered professionals was updated on the Masters site on Monday after the Valspar Championship and Mickelson is no longer listed as an active player at the tournament, according to the list. Instead, the 51-year-old is now listed among the former winners of the Masters who will not compete in the 2022 edition.

No Masters participation due to sabbatical

Mickelson is therefore still committed to taking a longer break from the golfing circus. After the upheavals on the PGA Tour, the American reacted by saying that he had a lot to think about and needed some time away from active golf. In February, the 2021 PGA champion faced fierce headwind, both from the Tour and from the ranks of the players. Mickelson had made several memorable statements in an interview about the PGA Tour, its rights for players and about his push of the new Saudi League. As a result, the pressure on him became so great that he decided for himself to retire for a while. In a statement issued in late February, he wrote, “I know I have not been on my best behavior and desperately need time off to prioritize those I love most.”

When will Mickelson tee it up again?

As a result, he missed several important tournaments. Just recently, he did not play in the Players Championship, which is the biggest tournament on the PGA Tour. There will be no sign of Mickelson at any of the other tournaments in March either. Now he has cancelled the Masters. For him, it is the first Masters since his debut in 1994 that he will miss. When and how Mickelson plans a comeback to the tour is not yet known, so we have to be patient until Mickelson speaks out again.