06 April 2023 , 06:00
1066
0
The first of golf's four major championships is set to get underway today at Augusta, with the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Scottie Scheffler all among those hoping to win the 2023 Masters.
There will also be 18 LIV golfers in action at the Masters, despite turning their backs on the PGA Tour to join the controversial Saudi-backed tour. While the PGA have banned all LIV rebels, Augusta National organisers confirmed last year they would not be instituting a ban.
They said in a statement they wanted to "honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers", while also criticising the rebels for "diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it".
As a result, Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Mito Pereira, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen and Talor Gooch are among those golfers hoping to win a share of the reported $15m (£12.1m) in prize money.
Whoever wins the tournament will bank around $2.7m (£2.2m), with the runner-up collecting $1.6m (£1.3m) and the third placed golfer earning $1m (£802,000).
Rory McIlroy to face new test in bid for 2023 Masters after change to Augusta
And last year's champion and current world number one Scheffler is feeling confident about his chances of winning. "There's always a couple greens that are different than the rest, depending upon which ones they have replaced and that I noticed," he said.
Rory McIlroy finished second behind Scheffler and is hoping to go one better this year (Mark Baker/AP/REX/Shutterstock)'I think I've been around the golf course a good amount, where I kind of know what's happening and I have a good feel for what goes on and when you go and play this time of year it's still a lot different than the tournament because the green speeds aren't exactly the same and the pin locations obviously are a bit different."
McIlroy, meanwhile, is hoping to go one better and win the Masters for the first time after finishing second behind Scheffler last year. "The last time the tournament was played I walked away pretty happy with myself but it's always good to be back," he said.
"The whole field has been building up to this point the entire calendar year. I'm just looking forward to getting the week started."