Time to get that Green Jacket dry cleaned.
The Masters, considered by many to be golf’s signature tournament, is set to tee off next week.
Past champions will don their iconic green jackets at Augusta National Golf Club. After four rounds of golf, the weekend will end with last year's winner helping to place a new jacket on this year's champion, officially inducting the newest member into one of golf's most exclusive clubs.
Who might that new champion be?
Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 Masters.
When is the 2023 Masters?
The 2023 Masters will begin on Thursday, April 6, with honorary starters teeing off at 7:45 a.m. ET, and run through Sunday, April 9.
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Where is the 2023 Masters?
The Masters is held each year at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The famed course, which has been extended to 7,545 yards, is a par 72.
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How do you qualify for the Masters?
The Masters is by invitation only, meaning there are no qualifying tournaments. In order to qualify for invitation, players must meet one of the following 19 criteria, with occasional exceptions, per the Masters website.
1. Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
2. US Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
3. The Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
4. PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
5. Winners of The Players Championship (Three years)
6. Current Olympic Gold Medalist (One year)
7. Current US Amateur Champion (7-A) (Honorary, non-competing after one year) and the runner-up (7-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
8. Current The Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after one year)
9. Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion (One year)
10. Current Latin America Amateur Champion (One year)
11. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion (One year)
12. The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
13. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s US Open
14. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s The Open Championship
15. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year’s PGA Championship
16. Individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
17. Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship
18. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
19. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament
Is Tiger Woods playing in this year’s Masters?
Woods has not publicly commit to playing in the 2023 Masters, but he has told reporters recently that his intention is to play in all four majors if his body will allow it.
As a former Masters winner, Woods has a lifetime invitation to play in the tournament every year.
Woods, who won his first Green Jacket in 1997 at 21 years old, has never missed the Masters cut in 22 starts as a professional. In last year’s tournament, Woods overcame serious leg injuries sustained during a February 2021 car crash to make the cut. He finished tied for 47th at 13-over, the worst score of his professional career at the Masters.
Who won the 2022 Masters?
Scottie Scheffler won his first career major after shooting a 10-under in last year’s tournament. Scheffler held off Rory Mcllroy, who matched a Masters final-round record of 64 to finish 7-under.
Who is the favorite to win the 2023 Masters?
Scottie Scheffler is listed as the favorite to win the 2023 Masters at +700, per PointsBet, NBC's official betting partner.
He is followed by Rory Mcllroy at +750, Jon Rahm at +850, Jordan Spieth at +1600 and Cameron Smith and Patrick Cantlay at +1800.
Other notable past Masters winners include Dustin Johnson at +2800, Tiger Woods at +5500 and Phil Mickelson at +25000.
Has the Masters ever been on Easter?
The Masters is played during the first full week of April each year, which means the final round occasionally falls on Easter Sunday.
That will be the case this year. The 2023 Masters champion will be crowned on Easter for the 18th time overall, and first since 2012 when Bubba Watson won in a playoff.
Here are the Masters Easter Sunday winners, per The Augusta Chronicle.
1947 - Jimmy Demaret
1950 - Jimmy Demaret
1955 - Cary Middlecoff
1958 - Arnold Palmer
1966 - Jack Nicklaus
1968 - Bob Goalby
1971 - Charles Coody
1974 - Gary Player
1977 - Tom Watson
1979 - Fuzzy Zoeller
1982 - Craig Stadler
1993 - Bernhard Langer
1998 - Mark O’Meara
2004 - Phil Mickelson
2007 – Zach Johnson
2009 – Angel Cabrera
2012 – Bubba Watson
The final round of the 2020 Masters was scheduled to be played on Easter Sunday, but the tournament was postponed to November due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
