The Masters 2023: Things you missed

The 2023 Masters will throw up plenty of talking points.

The Masters is underway! Here are the things you might have missed from the year’s first Major at Augusta National.

Today’s Golfer’s 2023 Major coverage is brought to you in association with TaylorMade.

ThIs year’s Masters has already thrown up plenty of talking points, surprises and controversies. These are some of the things you may have missed…

Early start for round two

The second round of the Masters has been moved forwards with all groups getting underway 30 minutes earlier than originally listed due to the threat of storms in the Augusta area.

See all of Friday’s Masters tee times, groups, and featured groups.

Hovland doesn’t choose his outfits…

Viktor Hovland’s score wasn’t the only thing that grabbed attention on Thursday, with the Norwegian’s J Lindeberg scripting attracting plenty of comments.

The 25-year-old was asked about his floral polo shirt in his post-round press conference and was quick to point out that he had “nothing to do with it”.

“I just wear what they tell me to wear,” Hovland said while laughing. “It’s definitely a little bit out there, but I’d rather take these than the pink pants I had last year.”

It’s not the end of his bright scripting for the week with a green floral shirt and green trousers set to follow on Friday.

Bennett inspired by his late father

Barring a disaster on Friday, Sam Bennett has the leading amateur prize locked up and will be eyeing up the main prize after a stunning opening round.

The 23-year-old US Amateur champion posted a four-under 68 on Thursday to sit just three shots back of the leaders after 18 holes.

He’s the first amateur to sit inside the top 10 at the Masters after the first round since Ryan Moore did so in 2005, and he’s the first amateur in the past 30 years to card a bogey-free round at the tournament.

Those watching closely may have spotted an unusual tattoo on Bennett’s forearm (pictured above). It reads: “Don’t wait to do something,” and is the final note his father, who died in June 2021 due to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, wrote to his son.

Should Koepka have faced a penalty?

When Brooks Koepka finished his round he expected to be answering questions about his stunning seven-under-par performance that sees him co-lead the tournament. Instead, the four-time Major champ faced questions about his caddie Ricky Elliott’s in-round actions.

The Northern Irish bagman was accused of offering club advice to Gary Woodland’s caddie after Koepka had played his approach shot into the par-5 15th hole, a move which is against the rules. Television footage seemed to show Elliott shouting “five” towards his fellow looper, before placing Koepka’s 5-iron back into the bag.

Such a breach would have cost Koepka a two-shot penalty if proven, but they were cleared of the breach following post-round checks, a move that Paul McGinley described as “staggering”.

Morikawa makes his mark

Koepka’s controversy came after the ever-trustworthy social media police had accused Collin Morikawa of replacing his ball ahead of his marker on the 6th green.

Footage of the incident went viral with viewers accusing the two-time Major champ of cheating by putting his ball a couple of inches ahead of his marker and then moving his marker behind it. The American addressed the incident post-round, explaining that his ball had moved as he prepared to address it and he’d simply been replacing it in its original position.

The golfer was unaware of the online storm, but welcomed the news. “Good. Bring that PIP up. Blow me up, guys,” he laughed.

First round withdrawals

The Masters field is down to just 86 players ahead of the second round following the withdrawal of Kevin Na and Will Zalatoris.

Na withdrew midway through his opening round with illness having looked uncomfortable and fatigued through the front nine.

Zalatoris withdrew with an apparent back injury before getting his round underway. It’s the latest injury setback for the American who missed the last four months of 2022 after suffering two herniated discs in his back.

He also endured a stomach bug at the WGC-Match Play in March, causing him to shed seven pounds in a week.

Na and Zalatoris follow Aaron Wise in withdrawing from the Major.

LIV rebels lose legal battle with DP World Tour

We know it’s not Masters-related per se, but an announcement is expected on Thursday which will confirm that the DP World Tour has won its legal battle against 13 LIV players and will now be able to sanction them for playing in conflicting events without permission.

Arbitration body Sporting Resolutions have ruled in favor of the DP World Tour, two months after a three-strong panel heard five days of arguments from lawyers representing LIV players and the DP World Tour.

The verdict means the rebels are likely to face bans from the DP World Tour, which may yet impact their chances of competing in the other major championships this season.

The decision could also have major repercussions for the Ryder Cup and European captain Luke Donald, who now looks set to be without the services of Sergio Garcia, Westwood, Poulter, Paul Casey, and Thomas Pieters for September’s event in Italy. 

You can read the full story here.

Phil Mickelson turns down the chance to speak

This must surely rank as the biggest surprise so far this week. Motormouth Mickelson is staying out of the spotlight and has turned down a press conference, leaving Cameron Smith as the only LIV representative among a strong line-up of 13 players.

The likes of Tiger, Rory and Scottie Scheffler are all scheduled to speak on Tuesday ahead of the Champions Dinner in the evening, which Mickelson is still expected to attend as a three-time winner of the tournament.

This year will be the first time the past champions have been in the same room since Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel defected to LIV and left a trail of destruction in their path.

Friendships have already been broken – seemingly beyond repair – and Fred Couples recent comments about that ‘nutbag’ Mickelson and that ‘clown’ Garcia should make for some interesting dinner table chat. We’d pay good money to be in attendance and so, too, it seems would Jon Rahm.

“I keep thinking about it because I wish I could be there and just be able to see how things work out,” says the Spaniard. “Too bad the US Open doesn’t have one of those.”

Tom Kim enjoys ‘dream’ practice round

Tom Kim could barely contain his excitement about making his Masters debut when we spoke to him at the Genesis Invitational in February. At the time he didn’t have any practice rounds lined up, but the 20-year-old moves quick. On Monday, he was walking the fairways and hitting shots alongside his idol Tiger, Rory and Fred Couples.

As far as introductions to Augusta go, he probably couldn’t have picked three better men, who have a combined 75 Masters appearances and 32 top-10 finishes under their belt.

The South Korean is one of 16 rookies in the field this week and has already been tipped as a future Major winner by Trevor Immelman after becoming the first player to win twice on the PGA Tour before the age of 21 since Tiger Woods in 1996. You can read more about his journey and expectations here.

Early contender for shot of the week?

Holes-in-one are especially hard to come by at Augusta National. There have only ever been 34 aces in 86 Masters Tournaments and the 12th – dubbed Golden Bell – has only given up three of them, which is what makes Sepp Straka’s feat on Monday even more remarkable.

The only thing better than the shot were the celebrations of Straka, who finished T30 in his first Masters last spring. It’s just a shame for the Austrian that one of the greatest shots of his life came a few days too early!

Koepka ready to reignite rivalries

Brooks Koepka is relishing pitting himself against Rory McIlroy again at Augusta. Speaking after he became the first man to win two individual LIV titles at the rebel tour’s Orlando event, the former World No.1 and four-time Major champion said he was looking forward to seeing “all the good players back, back in one field again.”

“It’s the first time we’ve seen it in a long time. That’ll be exciting.

“I’m looking forward to it, just to see everybody and compete against them. At the end of the day, I’ll be honest, I do miss playing against Rory (McIlroy), I do miss playing against Scottie (Scheffler), and I’m sure they miss playing against us.

“That’s a fact; you always want to play against the best. That’s going to make Augusta even more special. I think if one of the LIV players does win, I think it’ll be definitely a huge statement for LIV.”

Wise withdraws to look after mental health

Aaron Wise, the 2018 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, won’t be at Augusta having withdrawn to concentrate on improving his mental health.

“Regretfully, I am withdrawing from The Masters today,” the Golf is just as much a mental game as it is one of physical skill, and the mental piece of it has been a struggle for me recently.

“I don’t take the significance of playing at Augusta lightly, but know that I need to take some time away to focus on my mental health so I can get back to competing at a level I am proud of.

“This hurts, but it’s needed. See you all soon.”

Wise finished 17th on his only previous Augusta appearance back in 2019. The 26-year-old’s withdrawal means the field is down to 88 players. See the full Masters fields and how they qualified.

LIV players to celebrate on final hole?

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has claimed his players will celebrate together on the 18th green if one of the 18 rebels win the Masters this week.

Speaking to NewsCorp, Norman said that one of his players being in contention for the Green Jacket with the likes of McIlroy and Rahm come the final round on Sunday is “what the people want”.  

“If one of the guys, no matter who it is, they are all going to be there on the 18th green, they are all going to be there, and that just gives me goosebumps to think about,” the two-time Major champion said.

“When you walk up 18, your caddie hugs you then you see your wife or your mum and dad. Now, to have those 17 other guys there, that’s the spirit we want. 

“That’s what these guys talk about. They are saying no matter who wins, no matter who is in that position, we are going to be there. And that just gives me goosebumps to think about.”  

The Australian will not be in attendance at Augusta National this week after Chairman Fred Ridley refused to extend an invite to him. Norman has since branded the decision “petty” and has promised to get the drinks in should DJ, Cam Smith or any other LIV’s player pull on the Green Jacket.

Augusta hole changes… Unlucky 13?

We’ve all saw the dramatic satellite images from Google Earth last year, showing a deep, green funnel cut into the forest behind the tee of Azalea – Augusta’s dramatic and iconic par-5 13th. Now we know why. A new back tee will stretch the hole from 510 to 545 yards, turning an easy birdie chance into a much trickier challenge for the players this year and, hopefully, easing Ben Crenshaw’s concerns over a lack of strategy at modern Augusta.

Why the extra length?

A boomerang of a hole, the 13th’s NASCAR-cambered fairway scythes leftward through pinewoods and 1,600 azaleas before arriving at a treacherous green, stunningly protected by Rae’s Creek – which picks the perfect moment to emerge from the shadows down the left side of the hole. Epitomising Augusta’s supernatural ability
to be both beauty and beast, the 13th is, for many, golf land at its finest.

But if the hole had a weakness, it lay in the fact that despite those towering pines, its corner could be cut…
and the hole shortened considerably. Augusta’s committee first attempted to deal with this in 2002, with the hole lengthened 25 yards as part of the infamous ‘Tiger-proofing’ revamp.

But since then, elite golf’s modern power game has continued apace with players routinely pulling the hole’s pants down – be it through the power fades of Bubba Watson or the slinging draws of Rory McIlroy. This has no doubt contributed to the hole’s ranking as the easiest on the course relative to par. 

Positioned immediately behind the old tee, the new one does not change the angle of the drive; but it should go a long way to protecting the hole’s honor, and forcing golfers to play round the angle of the hole… as co-designers Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie originally intended.

Why now?

This one is harder to answer. The 2017 acquisition of land behind the 13th tee from neighboring Augusta Country Club suggests the Masters Committee have accepted for some time that the threat to the integrity of the hole was too great to ignore. But that has been set against a natural reluctance, admitted by Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley, to make changes to such a historic and famous hole. It appears that, after 2022’s revisions to the 11th and 15th, it just could not be put off any longer.

What effect will the extension have?

Naturally, we won’t know the full impact until April 9, when the last group clears the 13th. But initial fears the new tee will turn a devastatingly exciting risk-reward par 5 into a dull, plodding three-shotter appear unfounded.

Despite the extension, the hole remains the shortest par 5 on the course, and solid drives will still bring the green into range. But we can, perhaps, expect to see more 5-wood and fewer mid-iron approaches, while the days of the second shot being struck with a 56º sand wedge – as Bubba managed in 2014 – are surely gone for good.

What do the players think?

Scottie Scheffler
“It’s longer. (Laughing.) It’s a lot longer. Definitely harder. I think with modern technology and that tee shot — I used to hit 3-wood there because I can sling hook a 3-wood. I can’t sling hook a driver on purpose. 

“That hole was one where I’d hit the same shot I hit on 10. But that’s really the biggest change for me. Now, I’ll just hit driver kind of out towards the corner and try and use more of the contouring to get the ball that way versus before.

“I should say it this way: My driver is now going where my 3-wood kind of used to go. My 3-wood I could maybe get it a little bit further around the corner, but my driver is now going to where that 3-wood was before.”

Jon Rahm

“I think my line won’t really change. The club selection might change. What you won’t see is people possibly being able to turn the corner and having 8- or 9-iron in or maybe even 7-iron. Now it will play a little bit more out to the right to hopefully give yourself a better line.

“But I can anticipate a lot of people hitting a good tee shot and still having to curve it around the trees a little bit, and obviously we’re going to see a lot of lay-ups. 

“I think it plays in my favor. It’s going to play obviously in the longer hitters’ favor as well, just because I may be comfortable enough from 220 to go at the green, but somebody that might have a 2-iron plus or a long iron with that lie might not feel as comfortable. So, I think it plays to my advantage.”

Rory McIlroy

“I think overall it’s a little like 11 in terms of the change. I think they made the tee shot easier because you don’t really have to do anything with the tee shot anymore.

“Just hit it sort of straight up the chute. The second shot, much more difficult. A little bit like 11. The second shot on 11 is much more difficult with how they’ve contoured the front of the green.

“I used to hit 8-iron from a flat lie into 13 and now I hit a 5-iron from the ball way above my feet. Just makes you think a little bit more about the second shot which I think is good.”

Xander Schauffele

“I think it’s now lengthened to the point where, if you hit driver, you’re going to have to snap-hook it—and hopefully not hit the trees. In the past, if you wanted to just hit a straight shot, you hit 3-wood. I always tried to hit driver because I didn’t want to hit a hybrid or a 4-iron off of that crazy hook slope.

“So I think the change will make the hole hard. I kind of wish they hadn’t lengthened 15 as much. That hole was very dramatic and very fair the way it was. It’s nice to have holes you can reach [in two] at Augusta.”

The 13th hole in numbers
Par: 5 Yards: 545
Average Masters score: 4.78
Course ranking: 18th (easiest)
Average 2022 score: 4.85 (ranked 16th)
Highest score: 13 (Tommy Nakajima, 1978)
Lowest score: 2 (Jeff Maggert, 1994)

Check out our in-depth Augusta course guide

LIV Golf’s gatecrashers

The Masters scarcely needs sub-plots, but the presence of 18 LIV Golf rebels in the field – including six former winners – ensures the 2023 tournament will have one. In fact, LIV players have won seven of the last 13 playings of The Masters. We can only imagine the look on Masters Chairman Fred Ridley’s face if he’s joined by one of the rebel tour’s stars in the Butler Cabin come Sunday evening.

Despite describing the LIV movement as “diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it,” Ridley made a reluctant call to invite the Saudi-backed Tour’s players based on this most traditional tournament’s raison d’etre – bringing together the best players in the world to compete for the Green Jacket.

LIV commissioner Greg Norman welcomed Ridley’s decision.

“I compliment the Masters on letting the players play because now they have got the best field and they are actually now the true Super Bowl,” he said.

“But if I’m the Masters right now, I would want, on Sunday, DJ or Brooks or Cam, any of those guys against Rory and Jon Rahm. Can you imagine what the TV ratings would be like? 

“It’s what the people want. It’s what TV wants. The ratings will be far higher than any other ratings if you’ve got Rory playing any one of our top guys.”

While no doubt relieved, LIV members will have noted Ridley’s ominous sign-off that Masters invitation criteria are not set in stone; but, for now, what price Rory and Patrick Reed being drawn in the same group on Thursday?

Find out which other Majors LIV’s stars can play in this year.

LIV Golf players at The Masters 2023

Abraham Ancer
Bryson DeChambeau
Sergio Garcia (Winner 2017)
Talor Gooch
Dustin Johnson (Winner 2020)
Brooks Koepka
Jason Kokrak
Phil Mickelson (Winner 2004, 2006, 2010)
Kevin Na
Joaquin Niemann
Louis Oosthuizen
Mito Peirera
Thomas Pieters
Patrick Reed (Winner 2018)
Charl Schwartzel (Winner 2011)
Cameron Smith
Harold Varner III
Bubba Watson (Winner 2012, 2014)

Read our interview with Sergio Garcia about his Augusta memories

Augusta’s new-look par 3 course

Though the extended 13th is the only change to Augusta’s main course, its pretty nine-hole, par-3 course has been dramatically revised, with the first five holes re-routed.

According to the club, the changes bring the DeSoto Springs Pond more into play and give more patrons a better view of the action.

The 5th becomes the longest hole on the course at 155 yards, and the 4th the shortest at just 70. The course’s overall yardage has been cut by just five yards to 1,055 yards, while the par remains – you guessed it – 27.

The popular Masters Par 3 Contest will be played on Wednesday. Mike Weir and Mackenzie Hughes were named co-winners of the 2022 event which was cut short by inclement weather.

Expect to see partners and children caddying and hitting shots, aces galore thanks to the friendly pins, and players who hold a genuine hope of winning The Masters doing everything they can to avoid winning the par-3 title. Why? The tournament is seen as something of a curse with no winner ever going on to don the Green Jacket in the same year.

Some really big names are missing

The Masters always boasts the smallest field of any Major (just 88 players will tee it up in 2023), so it’s not uncommon to see some big names watching at home with the rest of us. This year that includes LIV Golf players, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, who have been hit hard by Greg Norman’s failure to secure World Ranking points for the Saudi-backed league thus far.

Former US Open champion Webb Simpson, Full Swing favorite Joel Dahmen, and multiple Tour winner Lucas Herbert are also missing out after Corey Conners denied them and 130 other players from snatching a last-minute invite by winning the Valero Texas Open.

The British challenge is in short supply

Five years ago, there were 11 UK golfers in the Masters field. Two years ago, there were 12. But with due deference to Mr S. Lyle Esq who is retiring after the tournament, there are just six competitive UK golfers in this year’s tournament: Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose, and Danny Willett.

A case can still be made for any of the six to be a legitimate contender for the Green Jacket but without the likes of Casey, Westwood, and Poulter – and with no one coming along to replace them – the UK challenge looks thinner than it has for quite some time.

*Matt Wallace’s maiden PGA Tour win at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic did not earn him an Augusta invite because it was played opposite the WGC-Match Play.

No more Masters on terrestrial TV

Won by Gay Brewer, the 1967 tournament was relatively unremarkable – though it did mark Ben Hogan’s final Masters… and the BBC’s first. But now the few fingernails by which the Beeb were hanging on to this venerable event have finally snapped.

They haven’t taken up their option on a Masters highlights package believed to cost around £1 million, leaving the Masters absent from UK terrestrial broadcasting for the first time in 56 years. It’s an absence that will be felt most keenly by a generation of golfers inspired to take up the game by those beautiful April images… among them Rory McIlroy, who labelled the situation “unfortunate”. 

But, as Rory conceded, this is simply the latest repercussion of a rapidly changing picture for sports media: UK viewers will are left with the option of Sky Sports coverage or various online streaming services, including the official Masters.com website.

Read our full guide on how to watch and listen to the Masters.

Larry Mize’s swansong

For the last 40 years, Larry Mize has made the 250-mile drive from his home in Georgia to play in his hometown Major. When he makes the journey this year, it will be for the 1987 Masters champion to say goodbye.

“I feel like it’s time,” says Mize, who will be making his 40th consecutive and final start at Augusta National on April 6. “I’ve been thinking about it for the last few years. The course is so long and as you get older, you don’t get longer, you get shorter. You know, it’s harder to compete in the tournament. It’s harder to make the cut. And I always felt like once I was really having a hard time making the cut, it was time to end it.”

Some of Mize’s earliest and most career-defining memories can be traced back to the Masters.

He used to work the scoreboard on the 3rd hole as a teenager and remains the only Augusta native to own a Green Jacket. He may also be responsible for the most iconic shot in Masters history. A sand wedge from 140
feet on the second playoff hole in 1987 that hopped, skipped and disappeared into the hole to stun then World No.1 Greg Norman and the watching world.

“It’s the greatest shot ever,” said Carl Jackson, a long-time Masters caddie. “People talk about Tiger’s chip (2005) or (Gene) Sarazen’s double-eagle (1935), but neither of those won the tournament. Mize walked ’em off.”

Despite the fanfare at the time, Mize was derided by some as a ‘lucky’ champion, the Danny Willett of his generation. It is a tag he has never quite been able to shake off, despite the nerveless finish to his final round which got him into that sudden-death playoff with Norman and Seve (who was eliminated after the first extra hole).

“I know some people thought that and that’s OK,” says Mize now, “but people forget I birdied the 72nd hole when I needed to. I played my way into the playoff and I played good all week. And, yes, I hit a really good shot to win it, but you don’t luck into something like a Green Jacket.”

Although he has never gone back to attempt the shot, that ‘lucky’ chip from 140 feet on the par-4 11th changed his life. It rewarded him with a seat at the Champions Dinner and a lifetime exemption to play the tournament.

At 64 years of age, he will be the second-oldest man in the field, behind Bernhard Langer, when he ties Jack Nicklaus’ tally of 40 Masters appearances next month. It will also mark his first competitive appearance since August due to a lingering back injury.

He says that he still intends to play “a handful of tournaments” on the senior circuit, but you sense he is far happier nowadays playing the role of grandfather over golfer. 

“I’m really enjoying being at home,” he smiles. “A lot of it depends on how well I play. If I play well enough, I might continue to play a few tournaments. If I don’t, I will stop. I’m ready to slow down.”

For now, the only thing he can guarantee is that he will be strolling down Augusta’s impeccable fairways come April. Whether his back is 100 percent ready is another matter, but he has no intention of ending his Masters journey without saying a proper farewell.

“There’s still a little kid inside me that just loves going back every year,” says Mize, who last made the cut in 2017. “I’ll still go back and do the dinner and the par 3 contest in future years, but this will be the last time I play in the tournament. I’m sure it will be bittersweet. It’ll be a little emotional, but we’ll try to keep that to a minimum as best we can.”

MORE FROM THE MASTERS
– How you can play Augusta
– Everything the champion wins
– With anonymity guaranteed, the caddies reveal all about Augusta

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About the author

Michael Catling
Today’s Golfer Features Editor

Michael Catling is Today’s Golfer‘s Features Editor and an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with dozens of Major champions, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, and Justin Thomas.

A former member of Ufford Park and Burghley Park, Michael has been playing golf since he was 11 and currently plays off a handicap of 10.

Away from golf he’s a keen amateur chef and has his own healthy recipes website. He also loves playing squash, going to the gym, and following Chelsea FC.

Michael uses a Ping G driver, Ping G 3-wood, Ping G Crossover 3-iron, Ping G Series irons (4-PW), Ping Glide wedges (52º, 56º, 60º), TaylorMade MySpider Tour Putter, and Srixon AD333 golf ball.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on Twitter.