The 89th Masters will begin on Thursday, April 10. You know the drill, so I will dispense with some of the usual facts and figures.
Today we will focus on the field. Specifically, golfers invited to the Masters who formerly played golf for the University of Georgia. After all, we are Dawg Sports. I’ve listed them below, and how they qualified. Some, like Henley and English, qualified via several criteria, but I just mention the “main” one. I’ve also listed their opening round tee time in parentheses.
Bubba Watson (11:21 am EDT): 2012 & 2014 Masters Champion
Brian Harman(9:14 am EDT): 2022 British Open Champion (5 year exemption). Not to mention he just won the Valero Texas Open this past Sunday.
Sepp Straka(1:45 pm EDT): Played in the 2024 Tour Championship (Top 30 FedEx Cup points). But also just won the American Express in late January.
Russell Henley(12:50 pm EDT): Played in the 2024 Tour Championship (Top 30 FedEx Cup points). But also just won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March.
Chris Kirk(8:13 am EDT): Played in the 2024 Tour Championship (Top 30 FedEx Cup points)
Harris English(9:03 am EDT ): PGA Tour winner since the 2024 Masters. But also just won the Farmers Insurance Classic in late January.
Davis Thompson(8:24 am EDT ): PGA Tour winner since the 2024 Masters. Davis won the John Deere Classic last July, and this will be his first Masters appearance.
So here’s a hint: take the morning off work, or get logged in early. Friday should be almost the opposite, with plenty of Bulldogs in the afternoon coverage.
For the decade I’ve been doing this, there has always been some Red and Black representation competing for a Green Jacket on those hallowed golf grounds. If memory serves (and it sometimes does), as few as 3, and as many as 8 have been invited. So this year’s crop of 7 is a healthy number, and is over 7% of the 95 player field. That’s not too shabby.
Bill Kratzert, Franklin Langham, Peter Persons, Chip Beck, Ryuji Imada, Brendon Todd, Hudson Swafford, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Kisner, and Erik Compton are other former ‘Dawgs who have played in past Masters. And there are a handful of Bulldogs who played either part-time or full-time on the PGA Tour but never qualified for Augusta. There might be a few others but I’d have to do some deep dives to find them.
If you care to nitpick, there is the matter of 2018 Masters Champion Patrick Reed. Reed played at UGA for 2 years before being dismissed/transferring under some dubious circumstances. He finished his collegiate career at Augusta State, and has had a very successful pro career, yet controversy seems to follow him. For those reason, his participation is excluded from any ‘Dawgs on Tour content.
When to watch is not the question. Choosing the medium/platform, then choosing how or what you’d like to see is the question, and almost a conundrum. Because the Masters 1) owns all the media rights, 2) is selective how they are distributed and aired, but 3) is gracious and generous with their product.
The Masters.com website has everything you can imagine. Live on the Range (with commentary), Featured Groups, Amen Corner, 15&16, and holes 4,5,&6. They will also cover the Honorary Starters at 7:30 am Thursday. The Masters app is just as robust and has the same features. And both will allow you to search for your favorite player and watch every tournament shot he makes. That’s right, even if they are not featured or on the broadcast, you can see every shot for all 95 players in the field. I can’t believe this is free.
CBS has the traditional broadcast coverage, supplemented by adding in ESPN. Thursday and Friday, 3:00-7:30pm EDT will be on the main ESPN channel. Saturday and Sunday has a slightly new wrinkle, with noon-2 pm on Paramount+, and CBS taking over at 2:00 pm through 7:00 pm.
The Par 3 contest will be on both ESPN+ and Disney+ from noon-4:00 pm Wednesday, with a broadcast on ESPN 2-4 pm. So the Mouse is definitely worming his way in, any way he can.
That should get you started. The weather should be perfect, we’ve got 7 former Bulldogs competing, and 4 of them have won a PGA Tour event in 2025. It should all add up to another wonderful Masters. Enjoy, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!