Apr. 12—AUGUSTA — The weekend has arrived at Augusta National Golf Club, and the world's best golfers are honing in on one of the most iconic and unique prizes: a green jacket.
The winner of the Masters Tournament will get that, and a lot more, but first he must navigate Amen Corner and his own emotions before he slips on the iconic garment.
Perhaps songwriter Dave Loggins said it best in the record "Augusta" that he penned. Loggins was inspired by a visit to Augusta National in 1980, and CBS began using the record as part of its telecast in 1981. Loggins died in 2024 at the age of 76, and was best known for his Masters song and the hit single "Please Come to Boston."
This is the opening of "Augusta":
"Well, it's springtime in the valley on Magnolia Lane
It's the Augusta National and the master of the game
Who'll wear that green coat on Sunday afternoon
Who'll walk that eighteenth fairway singing this tune
Augusta ... your dogwoods and pines
They play on my mind like a song
Augusta...it's you that I love
And it's you that I'll miss when I'm gone."
Here's what you need to know for the weekend:
Making the cut
The low 50 and ties out of this year's starting field of 95 players made it to the weekend. First instituted in 1957, the cut was low 40 and ties through 1961. From 1962-2012, it was low 44 and ties and those within 10 strokes of the leader. From 2013-2019, it was low 50 and ties and those within 10 strokes of the leader.
The current format was adopted in 2020. A total of 53 players made the cut this year, which fell at 2-over-par 146. Among the notable golfers who won't play the weekend include Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson.
Tiger Woods, who is not competing this year because of an injury, holds the record for most consecutive cuts made with 24. Jack Nicklaus, who retired from competition in Augusta in 2005, holds the record for most made cuts overall with 37.
Chasing history
Defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler got off to a strong start in the opening round with a score of 68. If he is able to win this year, he will become only the fourth golfer to successfully repeat as winner at Augusta National.
Nicklaus was the first to do so in 1965-66. Nick Faldo joined him in 1989-1990, both coming in sudden-death playoffs. Tiger Woods turned the trick in 2001-2002.
Scheffler also won in 2022, and a third win this year would put in further rarefied air with three wins in four years. Only Nicklaus — 1963, 1965 and 1966 — has that distinction.
Statistically speaking
The winner of the Masters has gotten off to a good start. Since 2006, the eventual champion has been no worse than the top 11 after the first round.
That bodes well for Scheffler, who was tied for second going into the second round.
But he doesn't care about that.
"I don't really think about that stuff very much. I don't really care what happened in the last few tournaments," Scheffler said after his first round. "I think anytime you get close to the lead, it's going to be easier for you to win the golf tournament.
"That's a simple fact of the matter. You get off to a good start, statistically you're going to have a better chance to win the tournament."
While the Masters has produced two of the most memorable comebacks in golf history — Jack Burke Jr. in 1956 and Faldo in 1996 — typically the winner comes out of the final couple of pairings. In the past two decades, only Danny Willett in 2016 was lower than that: he was tied for fifth entering the final round.
Green jacket
On Sunday evening, after the tournament ...
