The 89th Masters will be held at Augusta National Golf Club this week, but the 89 storyline could continue. The most notable names are rounded up as the 2025 PGA Tour season enters its first championship with numerous golfer matches peaking at precise timing, just as Azaleas bloom and Augusta National waits for the gates to support its world.
Rory McIlroy rolls into Georgia with waves of momentum on his back and mountain weight on his shoulders. The march to Augusta in the first three months of the season was almost perfect, only raising the volume of discussion, as he attempted to become the sixth player to complete a career grand slam.
Of course, McIlroy is not the only golfer who has been talked about entering the Master. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has the opportunity to join a rare company by winning the third green jacket in four years. World No. 3 Xander Schauffele can join perhaps the rarest company you can imagine. Brooks Koepka, Bryson Deccanbeau and John Lahm may represent the best shots in Liv Golf’s victory, but in fact, it’s another name who has the best shots to bring the green jacket back to that tour.
Dive into the nine most fascinating storylines that enter the 89th Masters.
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Is the 11th time attractive?
It’s a storyline every time the master rolls, and this year it was only encouraged by McIlroy’s play. The four-time major champion will make his 11th attempt to complete a career grand slam and become the sixth golfer to develop all four major trophies. (Also, it’s Rory’s 39th attempt to win the fifth major after winning his final capture at the 2014 PGA Championship. If McIlroy achieves his goal, the players in this quest achieved a feat.
Gene Sarazen: Mastersben Hogan’s 2nd attempt: Opengary player’s first attempt: US Openjack Nicklaus: 4th attempt at Opentiger Woods: Open first attempt
This year feels different from past years, given McIlroy’s two wins before April (career first) and the well-balanced nature of his game. Still, he has to play himself in this tournament – something he has never done since 2018 when he was in the final group with ultimate champion Patrick Reed. McIlroy has a top 10 with six people in 10 attempts, but has missed two cuts in the past four years.
The fourth room?
Nicklaus, Woods, Nick Faldo – It’s a list of green jacket holders that protected the clothes with the master. Schaeffler not only seeks participation, but also seeks a third win in four years, and will begin the competition on Thursday with just as good a chance as the people these days. The world’s No. 1 may not be in the same shape as 2022 and 2024, but he is not far apart.
Rounds 62 and 63 were featured in the Houston Open. This is Schaeffler’s final start before the Masters – and he’s slowly but surely rolling into form. Winning the PGA Tour is hard enough, and it is nearly impossible to win more majors and achieve feats in consecutive years. But Schaeffler showed that he had a golf course under his belt, it was just as good as he was.
He is a successful defender at TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale and Albany Golf Club, and has also won two wins in three seasons at Bay Hill. The two-time champions had a defensive dance experience in previous weeks, and the experience may prove to be invaluable. Scotty could be the ninth and first overall to win the third master since Phil Mickelson in 2010.
Additional Grand Slam Trackers
McIlroy from the Masters, Mickelson from the US Open, and Jordans Piece from the PGA Championship. Certainly, career grand slam conversations are outdated. So let’s introduce a few more players to this insanity. Brooks Koepka, Morikawa and Xander Schaufele are all able to add Game 3 of their career Grand Slam pursuits with the Masters victory.
The victory marks Koepka’s sixth major (historic in itself), and further predicts a trip to Royal Portrush later this summer. Meanwhile, for both Morikawa and Schaufere, especially if they are considering open records in the US, the US will be open open this summer, allowing the US to win the event of a mistake.
All three plays approached sliding each and green jacket in the final Sunday pairing. They eventually won the Masters – Schauffer and Morkawa in 2024, Rahm and Koepka in 2023, and Shaufele and Matsuyama Hideki in 2021
Race to 3
The ultimate game in the game is not a race from one big win to two, but a race from two to three. Scheffler, Schauffele, Morikawa, Rahm, Dechambeau, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson all have two major championship trophies in the mantle and additional opportunities to total, entering 2025. The big wins, along with Spieth, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Payne Stewart and Billy Casper (and many other names), attract them past the two clusters.
The race may be particularly historic for Schaufele. He enters the 2024 Masters and has a cloud of “He can’t beat the big ones” hanging from his head. He was able to leave the 2025 tournament with his possession in three major championships.
Will Americans continue to do great control?
The run of the major winners and the consistency that Red, White and Blue flew over the leaderboard in the four biggest tournaments of the year have been immeasurable these days. The Americans have raised seven straight trophies, the longest stretch since 1974-77, and last year alone, all four major champions were welcomed by the United States. It was the first such feat since 1982.
The final seven major winners
Brooks Koepka (2024 PGA Championship) Wyndham Clark (2024 US Open) Brian Herman (2024 Open) Scotty Schaffler (2024 Masters) Xander Schauffere (2024 PGA Championship) Brison Deccanbeau (2024 US Open) Xander Schambele (2024 Open)
Take time or stop time
He may be one of the top players in the game, but he hasn’t shown it in the major championship stages yet. Joaquín Niemann tows this year’s Masters in plenty with a few early season wins following another ferocious start to the Livgolf.
However, over 22 previous major championship appearances, the young Chilean notched only one top 20 finish at the 2023 Masters, a T16. It’s still early in his career and no one wants to hurry to the referee – but it’s getting earlier and later, and we need to see something from right-handed. This week will probably come.
The debutant is approaching
It hasn’t been achieved since Fuzzy Zoller won his 1979 debut, but it hasn’t been able to give it a go. First-timers have been getting closer and closer over the last decade, finishing in the top five at the end of their first walk around Augusta National.
He has been a well-known debutant since 2014
Jordan Spieth: T2 (2014) Jonas Brixt: T2 (2014) Cameron Smith: T5 (2018) Sungjae IM: T2 (2020) Will Zalatoris: 2nd (2021) LudvigÅberg: 2nd (2024)
Last year’s class was a bit unorthodox, as it featured not only Oberg but real-life US open champion Clark. While this year’s group may lack firepower, there are high-quality players like Maverick McNeely, Davis Thompson and Taylor Pendris who can challenge the top of the leaderboard.
I can’t see the tiger
For the first time since 2021, the Masters will continue without a 15 major champion. Instead of trying to beat Achilles while preparing for the Masters and adding his record at Augusta National, Woods announced in the week of the Players Championship that he had defeated Achilles as he sat on the couch and watched from home. The absence at the main stage of Woods has become more common in recent years, but it’s not too bad. He now missed out five of the past 12 masters dating back to 2014.
Yes, tree
Although there have been no substantial changes to Augusta National in design this season, Hurricane Helen had other ideas. The storm that devastated the southeastern part of the United States had a major impact on Augusta, Georgia, including the Augusta National Golf Club itself.
Many trees will be removed from the property, making the second nine players a different vantage point. With new corridors and some gaze features being changed for the wind to move, certain holes include pivotal holes – historically they will not play the same.
“Behind the 11th, Hogan Bridge will definitely pop right now when he plays a second shot of losing a couple’s tree behind the 11th green,” said 2008 champion Trevor Immelman. “There are also some trees behind the 15. I think that if you need to lay up to Pal 5, it’s interesting from the perception of the second depth, from the perception of the second depth, from the perception of the second depth, from the swirling perspective of the wind. [it] It seemed to fade from the devastation from the storm.
“If you rescue a pine straw or a pine tree, you should allow something that the player likes to call “hero shots,” or something that allows players to hit low slices around these trees, allowing them to try running near the green at age 9.
