Masters field 2017: Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson top list of Augusta qualifiers

The Masters field stands at 94 players with just one week to go until the “tradition unlike any other.” Unlike the other three majors, the green jackets at Augusta take pains to ensure their field does not enter triple digits. They start hyperventilating when that becomes a possibility, as was the case a few years ago when the field threatened to go into the 100s early in the year.

The U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship all have fields of 156 players. The Masters ranges from the high 80s to the upper 90s and has a very specific set of qualifications. If the field size starts to get too big or inch towards triple digits, chairman Billy Payne has said they’d reexamine their exemptions process.

They can breathe easy with this year’s field, which added four more names after the WGC Dell Match Play but will not come close to triple digits. The latest additions to the Masters field are Hideto Tanihara, Ross Fisher, Jeungchun Wang, and Tommy Fleetwood. That pushed the total to 94, with the possibility for one more addition this weekend at the Shell Houston Open. The winner there, if not already exempt, earns a last-minute spot in the field and happily changes his travel plans for the week (as we saw last year with Jim Herman).

That 94 number could also, of course, come down over the next week. Tiger Woods, who holds a lifetime invitation thanks to his success at Augusta, is officially still in the field but it’s unlikely he tees it up next week. We haven’t seen him try to hit a golf ball since early February in Dubai. His back troubles, which I think we can now say are much more severe than the “spasms” cover offered up by his agent in the Middle East, were so bad in Los Angeles that he could not even go to the course to sit in a chair for a press conference during the Genesis Open. Last week, Woods said “God, I hope so” when asked if he would play the Masters. No one should be optimistic. He’ll likely make the announcement over the next week that he’s a scratch. That will take the field down a spot, and we can always have unforeseen withdrawals from injuries or family emergencies.

UPDATE: Tiger did take his name out of the field on Friday night.

While this is may be the most hyped golf event out there, it’s not the deepest field. That belongs to the PGA or The Players, which ensures all the best in the world, the full top 100, at least have a chance to play. The PGA arranges it every year so everyone in the top 100 gets an exemption (so it’s “deeper” than the group at Augusta). The Masters, on the other hand, is a more exclusive and coveted invitation. It’s the one that actually gets all these world-class players giddy when it comes in the through the mail, like the hard-copy letter-carrying snail version.

There are 18 categories of exemptions at The Masters. Some of them are the usual ones you get at all four majors. Others are specific just to the traditions at Augusta. Here are the exemptions:

Below, you’ll find the 94-man field with one week left to make those possible aforementioned minor adjustments. It’s broken down by exemption, so a player is listed under the first exemption he holds. For example, Rory McIlroy is exempt in seven different ways of the 19 listed above, but listed below just once in the first category he falls under set out by the Masters.

UPDATE: Russell Henley took the Shell Houston Open on Sunday afternoon, joining the field at the last minute and putting the number back up to 94 at the top of Masters week. Henley, a UGA product, made a furious rally to chase down Sung Kang and get another bid to Augusta. With Tiger dropping out last Friday, and now Henley back in, it appears our field is solidified at 94. There are no real known injury concerns that would have a player on the fence. We’ll get tee times for this group on Tuesday.

Here’s your updated field at the start of Masters week: