Power ranking all 33 of the past major champions at the 2024 Masters
The beautiful thing about the Masters Tournament is consistency. While other major championships change venues year-to-year, the Masters has a permanent home at picturesque Augusta National Golf Club.
The promise of Amen Corner. The daunting presence of Rae's Creek. The azaleas steeped in spring colors surrounded by majestic Georgia pines, dogwoods and oaks lining the course designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie.
All of this — $1.50 egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches included — has created a sense of nostalgia for the players, the caddies and the fans, and because of that the Masters is universally loved more than any other major. This year's narratives have only strengthened that love.
Will Tiger catch Jack with six Masters wins? Can Rory McIlroy finish off the career Grand Slam? Will Jon Rahm became the fourth golfer to defend his green jacket, or can Scottie affirm his stranglehold as the best golfer in the world? And looking at the vets, is there an AARP member among Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and Co. who can make a run into the weekend?
What they all have in common is that they are major champions already. From their familiarity with Augusta National to their recent results to their style of play, here's the 33 major champions in this year's field stack up against each other in search of the 2024 green jacket.
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Major Winners Power Ranks in 2024 Masters
1. Scottie Scheffler
Major Win(s): 2022 Masters
Why complicate this? He's No. 1 in scoring average and strokes gained, and has two wins and six top-10 finishes already this year. His worst finish in four starts at Augusta National? T19.
2. Rory McIlroy
Major Win(s): 2012, 2014 PGA Championship; 2011 U.S. Open.; 2014 Open Championship
He's the definition of snakebitten at Augusta National. In the battle for that coveted career Grand Slam, McIlroy has seven top-10 finishes in the Masters and 10 top-25 finishes.
3. Jon Rahm
Major Win(s): 2021 U.S. Open; 2023 Masters
Rahm said recently he would welcome LIV Golf moving from its 54-hole format to 72 holes. Because of the lack of PGA stats and the unevenness of his current schedule, the hype surrounding Rahm is a bit quiet for a defending champ. The 29-year-old has finished in the top 10 five of his last six Masters appearances and has never finished worse than T27.
4. Brooks Koepka
Major Win(s): 2017/2018 U.S. Open; 2018/2019/2023 PGA Championship
Koepka silenced the haters with last year's win at the PGA Championship after posting a T2 at the Masters. With a win this weekend, he'd vault to 12th on the all-time majors leaderboard alongside Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson.
5. Hideki Matsuyama
Major Win(s): 2021 Masters
The 2021 Green Jacket winner finds himself in contention at the Masters more than any other major. Dating back to 2015, he's finished in the top 10 thrice, top 15 five times and top 20 eight times.
6. Collin Morikawa
Major Win(s): 2020 PGA Championship; 2021 Open Championship
The 27-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-10 efforts at the Masters ahead of his fifth appearance at Augusta National.
7. Jordan Spieth
Major Win(s): 2015 Masters; 2015 U.S. Open; 2017 Open Championship
With six top-four showings at Augusta National in 10 appearances, Spieth is always on the short list of contenders, regardless of his drought in majors dating back to 2017.
8. Wyndham Clark
Major Win(s): 2023 U.S. Open Championship
Clark is the hottest golfer in the game not named Scottie Scheffler, ranking third in strokes gained and driving distance, sixth in scoring average and eighth in greens in regulation. But first timers at Augusta National usually face a learning curve.
9. Bryson DeChambeau
Major Win(s): 2020 U.S. Open
The man known for his prodigious power and YouTube channel has never played the Masters well, missing the last two cuts and finishing outside the top 20 in all seven appearances. Nonetheless, his 59 on the LIV Golf tour last year made headlines and he's a crowd favorite.
10. Matt Fitzpatrick
Major Win(s): 2022 U.S. Open
Fitzpatrick doesn't fit the imposing mold of a Scheffler or DJ or DeChambeau, but his iron game is dialed in and he's coming off a top-10 finish at the Masters.
11. Dustin Johnson
Major Win(s): 2016 U.S. Open; 2020 Masters
In prioritizing family (and a giant paycheck) with his move to LIV Golf, Johnson seems at peace. But he knows his legacy his built on major wins, and a three-year drought and a T48 effort at last year's Masters isn't cutting it after his five straight top 10s at Augusta National from 2015-20.
12. Cameron Smith
Major Win(s): 2022 Open Championship
Another LIV Golf defector, Smith has four top-10 efforts in the last eight majors, including a 2022 Claret Jug. To boot, he has four top-10 efforts in his seven Masters appearances.
13. Justin Thomas
Major Win(s): 2017/2022 PGA Championship
Last year was one to forget for Thomas, who missed the cut at the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship and finished T65 at the PGA. He also struggled in the Ryder Cup, so this'll be the first big step toward redemption in 2024.
14. Justin Rose
Major Win(s): 2013 U.S. Open
Rose has had his share of near-misses at Augusta National with two runner-up finishes and six top-10s, the last coming in 2021.
15. Adam Scott
Major Win(s): 2013 Masters
From 2011-15, Scott finished top 10 in 11 of 20 majors, including his Masters win. But it's been four years since he was last in contention in a major.
16. Tiger Woods
Major Win(s): 1997/2001/2002/2005/2019 Masters; 1999/2000/2006/2007 PGA Championship; 2000/2002/2008 U.S. Open; 2000/2005/2006 Open Championship
Word is Tiger's moderately healthy and striping the ball on the range at Augusta National. Doubters said he was done in 2019. No one dares say that now about the 48-year-old, who has nothing left to prove in his chase of Jack.
17. Phil Mickelson
Major Win(s): 2004/2006/2010 Masters; 2005/20221 PGA Championship; 2013 The Open Championship
The man loves Augusta National like Kelce loves T-Swift. In the Masters, Lefty has three wins, 16 top-10 finishes, five third-place finishes and two runner-up showings, including in 2023.
18. Patrick Reed
Major Win(s): 2018 Masters
Since winning the Masters in 2018, Reed has shined with T10, T8 and T4 finishes at Augusta National. Hate him or not for some controversial calls, but the man plays well at the Masters.
19. Jason Day
Major Wins(s): 2015 PGA Championship
Day completed the runner-up Grand Slam last year with a T2 at the Open Championship, but he hasn't contended at Augusta National since a T5 in 2019.
20. Shane Lowry
Major Win(s): 2019 Open Championship
With four straight top-25 finishes at the Masters and a T3 in 2022, Lowry is a solid darkhorse pick.
21. Sergio Garcia
Major Win(s): 2017 Masters
Since his breakthrough in 2017, El Niño's missed 14 of 21 cuts at majors without a single top-20 appearance.
22. Brian Harman
Major Win(s): 2023 The Open Championship
After two straight missed cuts at the Masters, it's safe to say the LIV golfer and Augusta National don't marry well.
23. Bubba Watson
Major Win(s): 2012/2014 Masters
Everyone remembers Watson's wedge from the woods to secure the 2012 Masters win, but Bubba hasn't been in contention at Augusta National since a T5 finish in 2018.
24. Keegan Bradley
Major Win(s): 2011 PGA Championship
His lack of a top-20 finish in seven Masters appearances isn't inspiring.
25. Charl Schwartzel
Major Win(s): 2011 Masters
The only Masters winner to finish with four straight birdies and also the Inaugural winner on the LIV Golf tour, Schwartzel is just two years removed from a top-10 finish at Augusta National.
26. Lucas Glover
Major Win(s): 2009 U.S. Open
Last year Glover became the third player in his 40s to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour, but Masters success has eluded him. He's made just five of nine cuts at Augusta National with a T20 his best result way back in 2007.
27. Danny Willett
Major Win(s): 2016 Masters
Willett never recaptured his form from 2016 and has proven boom or bust at the Masters, missing the cut in five of his nine appearances while finishing first, T12, T25 and T38 in the other four.
28. Fred Couples
Major Win(s): 1992 Masters
The gold standard in modern golf for the perfect swing, Couples holds the record for oldest player to make the Masters cut at 63. Why can't he do it at 64?
29. Gary Woodland
Major Win(s): 2019 U.S. Open
Never consistent at Augusta National, Woodland has missed the cut every even year starting in 2018.
30. Zach Johnson
Major Win(s): 2007 Masters; 2015 Open Championship
Johnson hasn't been in contention at Augusta National since a T9 finish in 2015.
31. Vijay Singh
Major Win(s): 1998/2004 PGA Championship, 2000 Masters
The Fijian is a staple on the PGA Tour Champions, but he hasn't made a Masters cut since 2018.
32. Mike Weir
Major Win(s): 2003 Masters
The Canadian has made only one Masters cut in his last eight appearances, coming back in 2020.
33. José María Olazábal
Major Win(s): 1994/1999 Masters
It's been ages since the 58-year-old Spaniard made a dent at Augusta National, Olazábal making just one cut in his last eight appearances.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Power Rankings of golf major winners at 2024 Masters
