Weather, Scheffler, LIV, Tiger: Here are the storylines to watch during the 2024 Masters
How many intriguing storylines are there for the 88th Masters Tournament?
Take your pick.
There’s Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka and their LIV Golf gang, Tiger Woods, a talented rookie class and Rory McIlroy.
And then there’s the weather for Thursday’s first round. It is expected to be a long, wet and windy day for the field, which is scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. According to Augusta National, thunderstorms are expected from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., with wind gusts of 40-45 mph from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We’re going to have some interesting weather,” said Will Zalatoris, who was a runner-up here in 2021.
After Thursday’s wind and rain, which is supposed to end in the early afternoon, the forecast for the rest of the week is sunny and warm.
“So I can see maybe playing a little bit more defensive Thursday, Friday (when the cut is made),” Zalatoris said. “Then Saturday and Sunday will be what we always dream of having a weekend at Augusta.”
The secret to scoring Thursday, Zalatoris said, is to be “extra patient” especially with the wind, which can swirl and make club selection a guessing game.
The bulk of the big names have morning starting times Thursday and might spend more time off the course than on it before noon. Scheffler, McIlroy and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele go off at 10:42 a.m.
Current U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland and former British Open champion Cam Smith in the next group out.
Woods tees off at 1:24, Koepka is in the 1:36 group, Jordan Spieth goes off at 1:48 and Dustin Johnson is off in the final group at 2 p.m.
There is a good chance those with afternoon starting times won’t finish their round and will have to come back early Friday to do so before the second round starts.
Can Scottie Scheffler keep his game rolling at 2024 Masters?
Scheffler’s play has been the talk of the golf world since the end of last season. The World No. 1 has 18 top-10 finishes in his past 24 starts and three wins. In his past three starts, he has two wins and a runner-up finish.
The putting problems he had most of last season seem to have been corrected since he went to a mallet head putter.
In last year’s Masters, he finished 53rd in putting out of the 54 who made the cut, with 127 putts. In his winning year, he was fifth with 110.
It’s been a few years since someone was as strong a favorite as Scheffler is.
“I try not to look too far into the future,” he said. “I'm excited about how I've been playing to begin this year. I had two nice wins, which was obviously a bunch of fun. Then I was close in my last start as well. I think it's just one of those deals where all I'm trying to do is put myself in contention in the tournament and hopefully finish it off. I really am not looking much past tomorrow. I'm focused on my preparation right now. And those things don't really occupy many of my thoughts day-to-day. I'm an extremely competitive person. And I like competing out here, and hopefully I'll be out here competing for a long, long time, but life throws crazy stuff at you sometimes. So we'll see how long it happens, but hoping it's going to be a long time.”
Being the No. 1-ranked player in the world isn’t always a good thing in the Masters. Johnson was No. 1 when he won in 2020 and Scheffler was No. 1 in 2022. Before that, the last player to win as the top-ranked golfer was Woods in 2005.
Scheffler was No. 1 here last year, tied for 10th and was passed by Rahm after the Spaniard’s victory.
Speaking of Rahm, his defection to LIV Golf in December means the top three finishers from the 2023 Masters – Koepka and Phil Mickelson tied for second place – are LIV members.
Rahm is seeking to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters and the first since Woods did it starting in 2001 and 2002. He’d love to join that exclusive club.
“I had heard from a few other players, a few Masters champions and a few that have won other majors rather than the Masters, that they said there's something different, something special when you win one,” Rahm said. “I can confirm it's absolutely true; that the jump from no majors to U.S. Open was smaller from than what it was from the U.S. Open to the Masters. It is the biggest tournament in the world, with no offense to anything else, but it's probably the most followed one by people that don't even play golf.”
Can Brooks Koepka claim a green jacket?
Koepka, who went on to win the PGA Championship five weeks after the 2023 Masters, is coming back to claim the green jacket he thinks he left behind. He’s a five-time major champion.
Koepka was the 54-hole leader last year but Rahm zoomed by him and won by four over Koepka, who closed with 75, and Mickelson.
At the next major, the PGA Championship five weeks later, Koepka said he was in a wrong mental place during that Masters final round. He wouldn’t elaborate then and he still won’t.
“It's pretty simple. I wasn't going to let it happen (again),” Koepka said on Tuesday. “I'm not going to share it. But, yeah, I think if I get the chance this year, I won't be thinking that way.”
LIV golfers trying to make a statement?
In all, 13 LIV golfers are in the field, including Masters champions Rahm, Sergio Garcia (2017), Patrick Reed (2018) and Johnson (2020).
Garcia, who has lost three playoffs this season on the rebel tour, said last week that LIV golfers “are coming for the green jacket.”
That vow didn’t impress 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples.
“I don't think you need to tell people what you're doing,” he said this week. “I mean, everyone at this tournament - you don't think Ludvig Aberg wants to win the green jacket here, or (Tyrrell Hatton)?”
Can Tiger Woods complete 72 holes at The Masters?
There are many questions about the 48-year-old Woods and his injury-wracked body. He made the cut last year on the number, then withdrew during the third round because of foot problems. Since then he’s had ankle surgery and played just 18 holes in competition.
“We want him to play his best,” former champion Ben Crenshaw said. “He can get it around, believe me. I’m in that camp. He’ll figure out a way.”
Woods has always said he wouldn’t enter a tournament if he didn’t think he could win.
“I don't know when that day is, when that day comes, but I still think that I can. I haven't got to that point where I don't think I can’t,” Woods said.
Can Masters rookies Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg win?
The rookie Class of 2024 is so strong that it could produce only the fourth first-time winner at Augusta National and first since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Heading that group is current U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and European Ryder Cupper Ludvig Aberg of Sweden. Clark is ranked No. 4 in the world and Aberg is No. 9.
“Yeah, it's a tricky balance because obviously I'm feeling all the first-time feelings that everyone's feeling, but I'm also trying to be OK with all those things coming at me at the same time,” Aberg said. “Because I think once you start fighting it, once you start trying to push it away, I think that's when it becomes tricky. So I guess all I'm trying to do is just embrace all the nerves and all the excitement that I feel and at the same time know my capabilities and know my qualities and know that that's probably going to be good enough to compete. I can't make any promises, but I'll definitely make sure that, coming Thursday, I'll be as prepared as I can be.”
Will Rory McIlroy finally complete the Grand Slam?
Then there is McIlroy, who is still chasing the career Grand Slam. This is his 10th attempt since winning the third leg at the 2014 British Open. Since the British win, he’s finished in the top five in three Masters, including a runner-up in 2022. He missed the cut last year.
Woods said there is “no question” that McIlroy will one day win the Masters.
“He'll do it at some point. He's just too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when.”
McIlroy, one of the final players to register on Tuesday morning, was getting some last minute work in on the course on Wednesday afternoon after skipping the Par-3 Contest.
Golfers are supposed to be off the “big” course by 3 p.m. so it can be prepared for Thursday’s opening round. McIlroy was going past that limit and was teeing off on No. 8 at 3:15 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: The storylines to watch during the 2024 Masters
