The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Top contenders for this year’s Masters
Jon Rahm is bidding to become just the fourth player to win back-toback green jackets after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
Here, we look at some of the main contenders for the year’s first major championship, starting on Thursday.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win backto-back Players Championship titles.
JON RAHM
Started last year with a four-putt double bogey on the first but still shot an opening 65 and ended up winning his second major by four shots over LIV Golf duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Returns to Augusta as a fellow member of the Saudibacked breakaway, which ensures his competitive sharpness will be under scrutiny.
RORY MCILROY
His recent record at Augusta National includes a thrilling final round of 64 in 2022 and two missed cuts and the four-time major winner is reportedly set to skip the pre-tournament parthree contest to focus on his bid to make history.
XANDER SCHAUFFELE
Schauffele insisted the best was yet to come in his career after narrowly missing out on the Players Championship title, the Olympic champion taking a oneshot lead into the final round only to get overhauled by a charging Scheffler. Failing to get over the line perpetuated the belief in some circles that Schauffele has underachieved, although he has seven PGA Tour titles to go with his gold medal from Tokyo.
LUDVIG ABERG
Most golf fans are well aware of the statistic which makes Aberg appear an unlikely contender, namely that Fuzzy Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on their tournament debut back in 1979. In addition, the Masters will be Aberg’s first appearance in any major, but the 24-year-old Swede has defied the odds since turning professional in June 2023, winning on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour and justifying his wild card by helping Europe regain the Ryder Cup.