2024 Masters Preview

Twenty-one years after Mike Weir captured the Green Jacket, it’s shaping up to be as good a year as any for another Canadian to follow in his footsteps.

At this year’s Masters there will be four Canadians teeing it up – Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, and of course, Weir himself.

There are still two PGA Tour events left on the schedule prior to the Masters, which means if a Canadian not already in the field wins then they’ll receive one of the final invites to the first major of the year.

This is a big year for the best of the best on the men’s side, with both the Olympics and the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal as late-summer goals. The race for a spot on Canada’s Olympic team on the men’s side is one of the tightest of any country in the world. Taylor seems to have one of the spots on lock – thanks to his win at the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year – but the second spot sees both Conners and Hadwin continue to jump back-and-forth.

Mackenzie Hughes, at No. 63 in the world, also has a good shot with a string of solid play.

Alas, with major-championship season upon us, the biggest way to confirm a spot on both of those teams is to start having great finishes at the majors.

The Masters is where it all starts.

“Corey has had a lot of success at the Masters the last few years but the rest of us are eager to prove ourselves in these biggest events,” Hadwin said at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship. “The Players, the majors, I think we all have a lot to prove to Mike and the International (Presidents Cup) team and I think playing well in these events will go a long way knowing that, come September, we can face everything that comes along with being in Canada.”

Hughes was the top Canadian at the 2023 Masters, finishing tied for 29th.

“I feel pretty pleased, pretty happy,” Hughes said after his final round a year ago. “Lots of good things in my game too that I'm encouraged about. Saw some things around this place that give me hope that one day I can slip on one of those jackets maybe.”

Conners had come into Masters week a year ago having had three straight top-10 results at Augusta National and having won the week prior at the Valero Texas Open – but ended up missing the cut. He’ll return to Augusta for 2024 on account of getting to the Tour Championship at the end of 2023. Taylor is in the field thanks to his win at the RBC Canadian Open, while Hadwin is back thanks to finishing in the top 50 in the official world golf ranking at the end of 2023.

With a Green Jacket in his closet, Weir has a permanent invitation.

It will be a unique week for both Hadwin and Taylor as the last time they teed it up at the Masters was the 2020 edition – which took place in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic postponement.

Hadwin missed the cut that year, but Taylor finished tied for 29th in his Masters debut. Hadwin’s best result came in 2018, when he finished tied for 24th.

Regardless of how they got there or their previous experience, with a solid group gearing up for the first major of the year, don’t be surprised if a Canadian is in the mix late on Sunday.

This will be the first event of the year where both those who play on LIV and the PGA Tour will be reunited in the same field led by the defending champion, Jon Rahm. Rahm won his first Green Jacket in 2023 by four shots over Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. It was Rahm’s fourth PGA Tour title of the year.

Rahm, in December, joined LIV as that circuit’s highest-ranked signee.

Scottie Scheffler, the Masters winner in 2022, will head back to Augusta National as the game’s No.1. He’s won twice already this season, including becoming the first golfer in tournament history to defend at The Players Championship.

There is one change to Augusta National for 2024, with the par-5 2nd hole now measuring 585 yards – 10 yards longer than the year prior. It’s the longest hole on the property.

The 2024 Masters goes from April 11-14.