For Masters Qualifiers, It's Time to Take a Scouting Trip to Augusta National

Tournament invitees can play nearly anytime and many take advantage, often with family members.

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With the PGA Tour in Florida, it’s the time of year when players who are in the Masters field work out details to get to Augusta National for practice rounds.

One of the perks of an invite is the ability to line up tee times at the famed course any time it is open and not holding a special event. Recently, two players who have yet to play in the tournament got their first look.

Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion who first qualified last May by winning the Wells Fargo Championship, visited the Tuesday of Arnold Palmer Invitational week. He had been at a Wells Fargo media day at Quail Hollow on Monday and accompanied course owner and Augusta member Johnny Harris to the home of the year’s first major.

With the Masters less than a month away, players are taking trips to see the course :: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“It was amazing,” Clark said. “That’s a place I always dreamed of playing at and then to do it with my dad and brother was awesome. We were talking the first couple of holes and we were just looking at each other and saying this is cool.”

Nick Dunlap also visited recently. As the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, he earned a spot in the Masters field by winning at Cherry Hills. His also won the American Express Championship in January and has since turned pro.

“In my opinion, it’s the most special place in the world as far as golf courses go,” Dunlap said. “There’s a different feeling about it and it took me a day and a half to where I would just stop looking around and be like, man, I’ve got to play golf here. There’s such an awe factor. I mean, just driving down Magnolia Lane and then the golf course is just perfect. It’s the most nervous I’ve been for a shot that means nothing. It’s just different.”

Rory McIlroy, who has a chance to to complete the career Grand Slam with a Masters victory but hasn’t won a major in 10 years, is undecided whether he will go pre-Masters week as he often has in the past.

McIlroy is not playing the Valero Texas Open the week prior to the Masters and said he might go that week. He’s also had visits to the course to play with his dad, Gerry.

“I've done that a lot and it's really nice and I can certainly do that after the Masters, but when I do it before, I don't feel like I get a ton out of it,” he said. “Like in terms of like preparation for the week and actually getting into the mindset I need to get into. So maybe a quick pit stop on the way to San Antonio to play a practice round and spend some time. But as I said, nothing planned as of yet.”

The Valspar field … and other notes

Much has been made about the possible impact on regular PGA Tour events with the addition of the big-money, small-field signature events. And following a signature event as well as the Players Championship does not exactly do this week’s Valspar Championship any favors.

But the final event of the Florida Swing has attracted a strong field with two of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including Xander Schauffele and Brian Harman—runners-up at last week's Players Championship. Patrick Cantlay was entered but withdrew.

The tournament also has Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, two-time winner Sam Burns, Tony Finau and former champion Gary Woodland this week at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course. For now it has 10 of the top 30 in the OWGR.

And a few more things ...

American John Catlin won the International Series event in Macau, China, on Sunday in a playoff over Spain’s David Puig, the LIV Golf player who was attempting to win for the third time on the Asian Tour. The playoff defeat cost Puig a spot among the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which would likely get him an invite to the PGA Championship in May. He is currently 105th. Catlin, a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, lost his card last season and earned an Asian Tour card by needed an invite to play the tournament, where he shot a third-round 59 with an 18th-hole eagle. It was the first 59 in Asian Tour history. ... Scottie Scheffler became the first player to win multiple events on the PGA Tour in 2024. ... He’s also the first multiple winner of the Players since Tiger Woods won his second in 2013. ... He is the first to win after trailing by five strokes entering the final round since Henrik Stenson in 2009. ... Scheffler’s worst score so far in 2024? A 71—which was 2 under par—at Kapalua during the third round. ...  Sam Ryder set a Players record with 27 birdies, breaking the mark of 26 set by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1994. Ryder tied for 16th. ... The first round of the Masters is in 24 days.