With the golf calendar having reached its conclusion for 2015, the field for the 2016 Masters is largely set, although it won’t be finalized until shortly before the 2016 tournament in Augusta begins.
Approximately 90 golfers have already qualified, excluding former Masters champions who are not expected to compete. Players can still qualify by winning a PGA Tour prior event prior to the 2016 Masters or moving into the top 50 of the World Golf Rankings one week before the Masters tees off. The winner of the 2016 Latin American Amateur Championship, which will be played in January, will also qualify.
Jamie Donaldson and Lee Westwood earned Masters berths at the Thailand Championship, the last significant tournament on the 2015 calendar. Donaldson won the tournament to move from 68 in the rankings to 43, while Westwood barely slipped into the top 50, tying for second to improve six spots from 56th. They were among 15 players to qualify for the Masters under that category, with 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel the lone American among that group.
Among the top 50 qualifiers was Korea’s Byeong Hun An, India’s Anirban Lahiri, and Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, both from Thailand. An will give Korea at least one professional representative in the field, as Tour Championship qualifier Sang Moon Bae is serving in the Korean military and is unlikely to compete.
The field is also likely to be without four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who is recovering from back surgery and is expected to sit out the tournament for the second time in three years.
Nine players with ties to Georgia are among the players already qualified, including former Masters champions Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson and Larry Mize. Kevin Kisner, one of four Georgia Bulldogs in the field, will be making his first Masters start, with Davis Love likely playing his final Masters after earning a 2016 invitation with his surprise 2015 victory in Greensboro. Mize is also getting close to playing for the last time in Augusta, with the 30th anniversary of his memorable 1987 victory approaching.
Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk, Patrick Reed and Harris English will also tee it up in Augusta in April, with a few other Georgians still in position to qualify based on their world ranking and others needing a PGA Tour title to get a late invite. Jason Bohn and Russell Henley were both inside the top 65 in the rankings at the end of the year, with Brendon Todd (No. 75) probably needing a win. Brian Harman and Augusta native Charles Howell also need a victory in one of the dozen or so 2016 tournaments before the Masters.
Going into 2016, the top American players not yet in the Masters field are Ryan Palmer and Gary Woodland, with Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald and Miguel Jimenez the most notable international players yet to qualify.
Current 2016 Masters field:
Masters champions – Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Angel Cabrera, Phil Mickelson, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize
U.S. Open champions, 2011-15: Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson
British Open champions, 2011-15: Ernie Els, Darren Clarke
PGA champions, 2011-15: Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley
Players champions, 2013-15: Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
Top 12, 2015 Masters: Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Charley Hoffman, Ryan Moore, Bill Haas, Kevin Na, Kevin Streelman
Top 4, 2015 U.S. Open: Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Cameron Smith
Top 4, 2015 British Open: Marc Leishman
Amateurs: Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. champion); Derek Bard (U.S. runner-up); Romain Langasque (British); Jin Cheng (Asia); Sammy Schmitz (Mid-Am); 2016 Latin American champion will also qualify
PGA Tour winners, post-2015 Masters: Jim Furyk, Chris Kirk, Steven Bowditch, David Lingmerth, Fabian Gomez, Danny Lee, Troy Merritt, Shane Lowry, Davis Love, Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas, Graeme McDowell
Top 30, 2014-15 FedExCup: Henrik Stenson, Jay Berger, Patrick Reed, J.B. Holmes, Jimmy Walker, Robert Streb, Kevin Kisner, Scott Piercy, Brandt Snedeker, Brooks Koepka, Sang Moon Bae, Harris English
Top 50, World Golf Rankings, end of 2015: Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Byeong Hun An, Thongchai Jaidee, Bernd Wiesberger, Victor Dubuisson, Andy Sullivan, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Billy Horschel, Anirban Lahiri, Jamie Donaldson, Chris Wood, Soren Kjeldsen, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood
(Players closest to the top 50 at the end of 2015: Matt Jones, Ryan Palmer, K.T. Kim, Shingo Katayama, Gary Woodland, Jason Bohn, Russell Henley, Francesco Molinari)