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‘A new era in global golf’: European Tour to be renamed DP World Tour

• Dubai company will assume title sponsorship in 2022
• Prize fund from next year will exceed $200m

The collective will of golf’s establishment to swat aside challenges by Saudi Arabia means the European Tour will be renamed from the start of next year. DP World, the Dubai-based logistics company, will take on title sponsorship of the tour, with prize funds to increase as a direct result. The European Tour, formed in 1972, will keep its name as an overarching corporate entity only.

Saudi Arabia’s manoeuvres in the professional game have met staunch resistance from the European and PGA Tours, who are now in strategic alliance. Greg Norman was recently confirmed as the public face of a Saudi-based series of 10 events on the Asian Tour. The Saudis have long-held aspirations of a golf super league but, as yet, have no formal buy-in from leading players.

The DP World Tour will lead to prize funds – including major championships and World Golf Championships – totalling more than $200m (£147m) for the first time. Tournaments solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour must have a minimum purse of $2m.

Next year will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 27 different countries, including new events in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Africa and Belgium. Neither the European Tour nor DP World would detail the length of their partnership or its total monetary value but it is understood the latter runs into hundreds of millions of dollars.

“This announcement is momentous and will herald a new era in global golf,” said Keith Pelley, the European Tour’s chief executive. “When I joined [in 2016] I told the board I felt the name of the tour was a misnomer and did not reflect our brand. We are definitely a world tour.

“The DP World Tour is a natural evolution of our decade-long partnership, and the presence of ‘world’ in our new title better reflects our global reach. We will always remember our heritage and those who have gone before us who helped us shape our tour but we also rejoice in our global footprint.”

Pelley refused to reference directly the Saudi/Asian Tour alliance. However, this will inevitably be viewed as the further closing of ranks by the PGA and European Tours.

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Rory McIlroy, speaking via video conference to a media event held in Dubai , branded the deal “great news for global golf”. The four-times major winner has previously spoken out against Saudi plans for his sport.

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s commissioner, said: “I’ve said before that our respective tours are positioned to grow – together – over the next 10 years faster than we ever have at any point in our existence and today’s announcement is another point of proof in those efforts.”

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PGA Tour, European Tour announce formation of a strategic alliance

European Tour chief Keith Pelley and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a strategic alliance between the two tours on Friday.

Faced with the test early in 2020 on how to make professional golf work amid a global pandemic, the game’s biggest stakeholders worked together on a plan that salvaged a good deal of the overall schedule. During that process, the potential for a long-term partnership emerged between the PGA Tour and European Tour, one that was formally revealed on Friday.

Officials at the two tours announced that after months of conversations, and an intense 72 hours of discussions this week, they are forming a “strategic alliance” that will involve, among other things, working together on commercial opportunities, including the sharing of global media rights. Specifics of the arrangement are still to come, according to both tours, but the partnership will include cooperation on global scheduling, prize funds and playing opportunities for each tour’s respective memberships.

“We are thrilled to announce this further strengthening of our partnership with the European Tour,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, “and we look forward to working together for the benefit of the men’s professional game and for golf fans around the world.”

“Today’s announcement is the formalization of a closer working relationship between the tours in recent years,” said Keith Pelley, European Tour chief executive. “It was one which was crystalized earlier this year when both Jay and I were part of the working group containing representatives of the four majors and the LPGA, a group which helped shape the remainder of the golfing calendar for 2020 during unprecedented times.

“We shared the challenges of working through a year neither of us could have ever imagined, and we found definite synergies in many areas of our respective tours. That gave us the impetus to move forward together and arrive at this momentous announcement we are making today.”

RELATED: How the PGA Tour resumed its season, played through a pandemic and made its way to East Lake

Of importance to both tours, the agreement appears to eliminate the possiblity that the European Tour would align with those attempting to crate a separate pro golf entity in the Premier Golf League. There has been much speculation this year that the PGL could lure top-level players from the European and PGA tours.

In a virtual press conference on Friday, Pelley confirmed that he had talks with Raine Group, one of the partners in working to make PGL a reality.

"Raine Capital presented a very compelling offer to take the European Tour to another level, but in a different direction," Pelley said. "Ultimately, we felt partnering with the PGA Tour was the best option for our members and for global golf, a decision that was made unanimously by the board of directors."

Pelley also strongly disputed conjecture that the deal with the PGA Tour was struck because the European Tour was under serious financial stress.

"If this was a financial situation, we would have done far more than a strategic alliance with a minority investment," Pelley said. "I can tell you, we are categorically not in financial difficulties. That is simply wrong. We are in robust financial health with a very strong balance sheet, strongest ever, and a strong support of networks of partners. We have played 23 events since July in Q3 and Q4, creating 15 from scratch, showing incredible resilience and flexibility; and also at the same time funding a health strategy and COVID testing of another 3 million, and I don't think this that is a business or that it simply would have been possible for a business which did not have robust finances."

One part of the agreement revealed on Friday was that the PGA Tour would acquire a minority investment stake in European Tour Productions, which produces and distributes content internationally for the tour. Additionally, Pelley said that Monahan would be a member of the European Tour board of directors moving forward.

After halting play for several months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the PGA Tour and European Tour resumed their seasons in the summer, holding tournaments without spectators. Each tour created specific health and safety plans, creating “bubbles” to try and limit the exposure of players, volunteers and officials conducting the events. Both tours have had a limited number of players test positive for COVID since their restarts.

RELATED: How the European Tour restart has been (mostly) a success so far

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2024 DP World Tour schedule: Tournaments, dates, purses and venues

The 2024 DP World Tour (European Tour) schedule has been announced, with a significant overhaul to the schedule that golf fans have been accustomed to seeing in recent years.

The most significant changes to the schedule are the creation of different seven different blocks of the schedule. There are five separate "swings" in the schedule: Opening, International, Asian, European and Closing. The other two portions of the schedule are the Closing Nine and the DP World Tour playoffs, a two-event slate that will determine the Race to Dubai champion.

At the end of each swing, the top five players in Race to Dubai points from that stretch will get a share of a $1 million bonus pool.

The idea behind the schedule is to create incentives to continue playing on the DP World Tour through particular stretches of the year.

2024 DP World Tour (European Tour) schedule

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European tour creates another option for PGA Tour players who lose their cards

PGA Tour players who finished out of the top 125 on the FedEx Cup now have another option where to play: the European tour.

The DP World Tour is offering full membership to PGA Tour players who finish between Nos. 126 and 200 this year, although there is a caveat. Only five players who accept European tour membership can play a tournament in any given week.

That would keep as many as 75 PGA Tour players from filling out European tour fields.

The European tour is creating a new category for anyone on the PGA Tour taking it up on the offer. Category 12 follows a career money exemption, but it is positioned ahead of the top 20 players who advance out of the Challenge Tour.

The PGA Tour has three tournaments left in its FedEx Cup Fall portion of the schedule. Among those currently outside the top 125 are Jimmy Walker, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox of Scotland and Jason Dufner.

Without this option, players outside the top 125 would try to get into PGA Tour events with weak fields or go to the Korn Ferry Tour, where the top 30 players on the points list earn their way to the PGA Tour.

The announcement made Monday is part of the strategic alliance announced last year. The top 10 players from the European tour not already exempt earn PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season. Their priority comes right after the players who finish in the top 125.

“Our ‘Ten Cards’ initiative will give the opportunity for DP World Tour members to excel on the PGA Tour next season and this new membership opportunity announced today will give PGA Tour members the chance to do exactly the same on our tour,” said European tour CEO Keith Pelley. “I am excited at the possibilities.”

The European tour also said affiliate membership will be available to any PGA Tour member during 2024. They would be part of a nonmember points list that could allow them to qualify for the postseason if they play at least four times outside the majors.

PGA Tour players who want to take up Europe on the offer will have to join by Dec. 20. Anyone wishing to play in the European tour co-sanctioned events in November and December (mostly in South Africa and Australia) would need to join by Nov. 22.

The European tour has the Qatar Masters this week, followed by the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The leading 10 players on the points list currently include Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre and Thorbjorn Olesen.

This is the year Talor Gooch got the best of Dustin Johnson in LIV Golf .

Gooch left Johnson's team (4 Aces) after the inaugural season and joined up with Bubba Watson and the RangeGoats. Gooch not only won the individual title , the RangeGoats finished second and the 4 Aces finished fourth.

Two seasons into the Saudi-funded league, Gooch now has won $45,694,512, narrowly ahead of Johnson and his $44,377,445.

Three other players already have cleared $25 million after two seasons — Cameron Smith ($29,333,917), Brooks Koepka ($25,771,933) and Branden Grace ($25,037,167).

For all his money, Gooch is not currently eligible for any of the majors next year.

“Hopefully, people will get together in the golf world and figure out how do we make sure the best of the best are playing in the best tournaments, which are the majors,” Gooch said. “It's out of my control, but hopefully I’ve done everything I can within my control to prove that I’m one of the best players in the world.”

Billy Horschel and his wife, Brittany, launched their Horschel Family Foundation on Tuesday, geared toward supporting addiction recovery, contributing to food banks and honoring the military.

Brittany Horschel announced in 2017 she was dealing with alcoholism and since has used social media and a blog, The Sober Modern Mom. Now she will serve as founder and president of the foundation.

“Billy and I find more joy in helping and watching others succeed than we do ourselves, and we have always dreamed and spoken at length about having our own foundation,” Brittany Horschel said. “We have watched from the sidelines as many of our friends have begun theirs, attended handfuls of events and supported many. We have waited in the helm until our time was right, until our hearts and minds were ready to fully invest into the causes that are near and dear to us.”

She said the hope was to “help steer the world towards a more healthy, positive and loving place for future generations to come.”

The Horschels are launching the foundation at PGA Tour headquarters. They are partnering with the tour to address substance abuse and mental health opportunities in North Florida.

Among the programs they are starting is “PAR,” designed to remove barriers that keep people from seeking help — privacy, access and resources.

“Through collaboration with the PGA Tour and various local mental health and addiction specialists, we hope to provide pathways for healing,” she said.

Ingrid Lindblad had a week to remember. She had her luggage stolen from the airport in Orlando, Florida. Despite the distraction, she was a medalist in the second stage of LPGA Tour qualifying school. And then she turned down the final stage to go back to LSU to finish her senior season.

Her bizarre journey began when she was informed her suitcase was put on an earlier flight to Orlando during her layover in Atlanta. When she landed in Orlando, her airtag indicated the bag was leaving the airport.

Lindblad, the No. 1 player in the women’s world amateur ranking, filled out a police report and then went on a quick shopping spree for clothes.

And then she won the second stage by four shots, making her eligible for the Q-Series that leads to an LPGA Tour card.

That’s where the journey ends.

The LPGA changed its rules so that players must turn pro before going to Q-Series. Lindblad would rather finish at the Southeastern Conference college and then be assured of Epson Tour status when she’s done with school.

“I was talking to my coaches, and I really like it at LSU,” she said. “This year we have a really good team, so I just want to give it a chance to get another SEC and maybe a national championship.”

Rose Zhang has finished out of the top 25 in her last seven starts. ... Three of the four FedEx Cup Fall tournaments have been won by players from the top 50 in the world ranking — Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Collin Morikawa. ... Justin Leonard (U.S.), Robert Karlsson (Europe) and Stephen Ames (International) have been added to the World Cup Champions event to be held Dec. 7-10. ... South Africa had seven players among the top 100 in the world two years ago. Now the only player is Thriston Lawrence at No. 96. ... Cameron Smith and Talor Gooch are among 13 full-time players at LIV Golf who have entered the Hong Kong Open in two weeks. Graeme McDowell is playing consecutive weeks in the China Open and Hong Kong Open, both part of the Asian Tour.

Talor Gooch made $9,060,980 in 116 tournaments over five seasons on the PGA Tour. He made $45,694,512 in 20 tournaments over two seasons in LIV Golf.

“Everyone in this field, everyone that plays professional golf, they’re good enough to win. We’re not trying to search for too much. Sometimes when you do search for too much, that’s when these weeks become longer and more stressful.” — Collin Morikawa.

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Scottie scheffler only star shining in either pga tour or liv golf heading into masters.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — If you’re expecting star power prevailing in this week’s Masters, which begins Thursday at Augusta National, don’t look at the list of winners so far on the PGA Tour.

With all due respect to each of their accomplishments and talent, the list is a who’s-who of … well … who are these guys?

Among the tournament winners include Nick Dunlap, who was the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991.

Then there was Matthieu Pavon, the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour.

There, too, was rookie Jake Knapp winning in Mexico, and Austin Eckroat, another rookie, capturing his first victory, then Pete Malnati winning for the first time in nine years and German Stephan Jaeger winning for the first time.

The world’s top players, other than No. 1 ranked Scottie Scheffler and reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, have been absent from the top of leaderboards.

Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 2, hasn’t won a tournament leading into the Masters .

Jon Rahm, the defending Masters champion, won three times before his win at Augusta last year but has not won once this year, even after he joined LIV Golf .

Xander Schauffele, ranked No. 5; Patrick Cantlay, ranked No. 7; Viktor Hovland, ranked No. 6; Brian Harman, the reigning British Open champion who’s ranked No. 8?

None has a win this year.

Even Ludvig Aberg, who’s ranked No. 9 and is considered one of the best young talents out there, hasn’t won.

This Masters, in fact, is his first career major — even though he excelled on the European Ryder Cup team in the fall.

The rub here when it comes to the top players versus the lesser knowns is that the cream usually rises to the top at the Masters.

There are exceptions, but over the years the stars usually shine brightest at Augusta.

The best part of this week is the fact that all the world’s best players are together in the same tournament for the first time since the British Open in July.

With the division between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, with the PGA Tour banning LIV players who compete in its events, only the four major championships bring all of those players together on the same course in the same tournament.

“I believe everyone agrees there’s excitement in the air this week,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday. “The best players in the world are together once again.”

The question is how long that’ll even be the case in the majors since the world ranking system that’s in place doesn’t recognize LIV or award points to its members.

And the world rankings are the essential pathway for players to qualify for the majors.

The Masters, for instance, had 18 LIV players in the field last year and has just 13 this week.

Seven of those are past Masters champions and are invited into the tournament automatically.

Unless something changes with the deeply flawed ranking system, the only LIV players allowed in the Masters field will be past champions.

Just nine LIV players are assured of being back to Augusta National next year, depending on how they fare in the majors this year.

The top 50 in the world rankings at the end of the year and a week before the Masters get invitations to Augusta.

Ridley on Wednesday called Official World Golf Ranking a “legitimate determiner” of the best in golf, which is a questionable assessment at best.

Bryson DeChambeau, one of the LIV players in the field this week but not a former Masters champion, suggested this week that the major championships like the Masters invite a number of the top players from the Saudi tour into its field based on how they’re performing.

Ridley didn’t sound keen on that.

“If we felt that there were a player or players, whether they played on the LIV Tour or any other tour, who were deserving of an invitation to the Masters, we would exercise that discretion with regard to special invitations,” Ridley said.

One special invite was given to a LIV player who wasn’t already qualified via ranking or past-champion status — Joaquin Niemann.

Interestingly, when Ridley ran down the reasons why Niemann was invited, he cited a number of Niemann’s accomplishments — none of which were LIV related — despite the fact that the Chilean has won two LIV tournaments this year.

So, the continental divide remains. At least golf has this week.

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The Five: Can Rory McIlroy start strong, other pressing questions at Masters

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Rory McIlroy ahead of the 2024 Masters. (David Cannon/Getty Images)

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It is said that whatever you think about last before going to bed is what you will dream about. It's why Xander Schauffele thinks about a Masters green jacket.

“As many dreams … as I can have wearing a green jacket or someone putting it on me on the 18th green, that's what I try and envision,” Schauffele said Monday.

Schauffele has come close. He finished runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2019, but Schauffele is still chasing that dream. It’s a universal feeling among those on the grounds at Augusta National. If you’re a professional golfer, you’ve most likely dreamed of a putt to win the Masters or contemplated what you’d put on your Champions Dinner menu. Schauffele is still waiting for a chance to play Augusta National with his dad, Stefan. Schauffele could likely make it happen, but his dad won’t allow it. Not yet.

“He told me a long time ago, ‘I'm only going to play when you're a member,’” Schauffele said.

Someone will realize those dreams this week. Schauffele is one of the favorites coming off a strong start to his season, highlighted by his T2 at THE PLAYERS Championship. But he isn’t one of our biggest storylines. That’s what The Five is dedicated to this week. As players refine their preparation before Thursday’s opening round, let’s take stock of what’s to come. The Five examines the must-follow storylines that set the stage for the year's first major championship.

1. Tiger Woods: Focus on the cut, not contention

When Tiger Woods tees it up on Thursday at the Masters, it will be just his third competitive round of 2024. If he finishes the round, it will be just his second completed round in an official PGA TOUR event since last year’s Masters.

It’s inarguable to say Woods can find magic at Augusta National. It’s also inarguable that Woods lacks the one thing he’s preached as necessary for much of his career: competitive reps. His only start of 2024 came at The Genesis Invitational in February, and he withdrew during his second round with flu-like symptoms.

So what will win out: experience or rust?

That sets up an exciting push-and-pull with history as its backdrop. Woods has made 23 consecutive cuts at the Masters, tied with Gary Player and Fred Couples for the longest streak in tournament history. He can take that record for himself this year.

“I think it's consistency, it's longevity and it's an understanding of how to play this golf course,” Woods said. “... And it means a lot.”

If there’s a place Woods can piece it together, it’s Augusta National. But to expect Woods to contend is difficult, particularly when some of the sport's other top stars are in top form. Woods’ fight to make the cut will still be plenty intriguing and realistic. Holding the consecutive cuts record at Augusta would be fitting for the man who owns the longest consecutive cuts made record on the PGA TOUR.

2. Is Scheffler’s putting fixed?

The saga that never ends. Scottie Scheffler enters the Masters as the heavy favorite to claim his second green jacket in three years. He put together a dominant month of March, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship. It looked like he had solved the putting woes that had plagued him from truly dominating the PGA TOUR over the last 24 months.

Then he pulled a 6-footer on the 72nd hole of the Texas Children’s Houston Open to miss a playoff and the possibility of his third consecutive win. Was it a simple misread? Or is it a sign that Scheffler still has some work to shore up the putter in the biggest moments? Remember, Scheffler famously four-putted on the final hole of the 2022 Masters, and the glassy greens of Augusta are no place to lose confidence in your flatstick.

It seems reductive to say the putting is the only thing that matters for Scheffler at Augusta, but he’s shown it to be true. His superb ball-striking has traveled to every event for the past two years. Whether Scheffler wins or loses falls solely on the one variable can’t seem to control: putting.

3. Approach play, fast start key to Rory McIlroy’s chances

Rory McIlroy’s quest for a Masters title is often considered a “matter of when.” Given his talent, stature and course fit, a green jacket is assumed to be inevitable. Yet the more years McIlroy leaves empty-handed, the more the pressure ramps up and the definitive proclamations begin to crack.

This Masters will be McIlroy’s 10th attempt at completing the career Grand Slam. This year also marks 10 years since his last major victory. McIlroy revealed it feels like he’s trying to win his first again. So as close as he’s come to achieving Masters glory, he’s in some ways no closer to it than when he made his debut at Augusta National in 2009.

But for all the consternation McIlroy has faced about his Masters shortcomings, it could all change in four days. To do it, McIlroy will need to improve his approach play, which has been his Achilles’ heel at Augusta National and for most of this season.

There were signs of life at last week’s Valero Texas Open. He finished third in Strokes Gained: Approach and notched his first top-10 on the PGA TOUR this season. That came a week after he sought advice from legendary swing coach Butch Harmon.

But it’s hard to say if that will continue this week. McIlroy has come to the Masters playing amazing and then missed the cut. He has nearly won the Masters after missing the cut the week prior.

The key will be his start. Over the last 10 years, McIlroy’s scoring average in the first and second rounds is 72.3. His weekend scoring average is 69.4, nearly three shots better.

Then there’s this stat: 36 of the last 37 Masters champions have been in the top 10 through two rounds, according to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group.

McIlroy starting slow is not an option. If McIlroy is finally going to get the monkey off his back , there will be signs. It starts with improved approach play and a fast start.

4. Best first-timers class since …

Every crop of Masters first-timers features a few studs. Last year showcased Tom Kim and Sahith Theegala alongside amateurs Sam Bennett and Gordon Sargent. The prior year included Sam Burns and Min Woo Lee.

I’d challenge someone to come up with a better first-timers class than this year’s, though. Among the players making their debut at the Masters are reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg and Nicolai Højgaard – two European Ryder Cuppers – and two PGA TOUR winners under age 23 in Nick Dunlap and Akshay Bhatia.

One swing from every first timer in the 2024 Masters field

The headliners are Clark and Åberg, who enter the week at Nos. 4 and 9 in the world, respectively. Clark, the rare major champion who has not yet played Augusta, might have three wins this season if not for Scottie Scheffler. He finished runner-up to Scheffler in back-to-back weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship. He won the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s shown himself to be a big-game hunter and is arguably the second-best player in the world right now behind Scheffler. How he tackles Augusta National as a first-timer will be fascinating.

The context of Åberg’s debut might be even crazier. The 24-year-old played in a Ryder Cup, won PGA TOUR and DP World Tour events and cracked the top 10 in the world before playing a major championship. The Masters is not only his tournament debut but his major championship debut. His game is a fit at any course, Augusta National included, but this is a new stage for the Swede – who has handled everything else in his path.

Other first-timers include reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Eric Cole, current-season winners Jake Knapp, Matthieu Pavon, Austin Eckroat and Stephan Jaeger and world No. 1 amateur Christo Lamprecht.

They will all be chasing rarified air. Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 was the last Masters rookie to win the green jacket. If there was going to be a year to do it, it might be someone from this class of first-timers.

5. How will the weather affect the course?

One of the marvels of golf architecture, Augusta National has not had the opportunity to flex its full strength on the field in recent years as rainy conditions have softened what can be a firm and fiery test.

Given early feedback from the ground, that could change this year. Reports indicate the course is as firm and fast as it has been in several years.

“I mean, I was hitting 5-irons that were coming into par 5s that were bouncing, tomahawking over the green, and I was like, ‘This is pretty cool.’ It's been a while,” Schauffele said Monday.

Whether it stays that way will be the question. Current forecasts estimate more than an inch of rain could fall on Thursday, though any precipitation seems largely isolated to just Thursday. With windy and dry conditions expected to come through the Augusta area following the rain, the hope for a firm and fiery test over the weekend is still a strong possibility.

What the weather will do remains to be seen, but players have their preferences on how they would like it to play.

“If the course is playing hard and fast, it's more difficult. Winning score is usually … higher,” 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama said. “When it's wet, I mean, it can go to 20-under. I like both, but if it goes to 20-under, my chances … get slimmer. So, I would like a tougher setup where it plays drier, fast and hard.”

Added reigning Open Championship winner Brian Harman: “I prefer it to be hot and windy. I feel like that gives me the best opportunity. When it's cold and wet, that's kind of a tough row to hoe for me.”

Masters greats tee off on PGA Tour/LIV split

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Liv's dechambeau storms into masters lead, scheffler one back.

LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau used a sizzling burst of late birdies to muscle into a one-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler on Thursday as Spaniard Jon Rahm's Masters title defence got off to a shaky start.

The host Edmonton Oilers attempt to stretch their win streak to four games when they entertain the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night.

The Nashville Predators enter Friday night's game at the Chicago Blackhawks coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

Masters 2024 props, golf odds: Expert reveals top PGA Tour prop bets, parlay picks for Augusta National

T he first 2024 Masters tee times will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday after weather delayed the start of the opening round. At 100-1 to win outright in the 2024 Masters odds, it's unlikely that Tiger Woods will pick up his sixth career green jacket this week at the Masters 2024. However, there are still plenty of intriguing Masters Tiger props on the board for golf bettors to consider before he tees off. The latest 2024 Masters prop bets list Woods' Round 1 score over/under at 73.5, with the Over favored at -165 (risk $165 to win $100).

Other Tiger prop picks include a top-10 overall finish paying +900 and a top-20 performance returning +350. Which 2024 Masters props should you target involving Woods and every other golfer in the 2024 Masters field? Before locking in your 2024 Masters prop picks or entering Masters pool picks, you need to see what SportsLine DFS pro and PGA expert Mike McClure has to say . 

McClure is a DFS legend with over $2 million in career winnings, and he's been red-hot on his PGA picks dating back to the PGA Tour restart in June of 2020. McClure uses his proprietary simulation model to analyze the field and crush his  golf picks . He is up almost $9,500 on his best bets since the restart.  

McClure's model predicted Jon Rahm would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scheffler winning in 2022. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping 10 majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed McClure's picks has seen massive returns.  

Now, McClure has dialed in on the Masters golf tournament and just locked in his top prop picks and PGA predictions. You can only see McClure's Masters 2024 prop picks at SportsLine .

Top 2024 Masters prop picks

We can tell you that one of McClure's favorite Masters prop picks is Ludvig Aberg to be the top debutant at +275. Despite turning pro less than a year ago, Aberg comes to Augusta in strong form. He's already picked up wins on both the PGA Tour and European Tour in the past seven months.

He's also made every cut during his 2024 PGA Tour schedule and hasn't finished worse than 25th in his past six events. His average finish position during that span is 12.8 and he's posted four rounds of 66 or lower this year, including an astonishing 63 in Round 4 of the Sentry. Wyndham Clark is the only other first-time Masters player who can claim a comparable recent run to Aberg, so McClure loves the value of betting on Aberg at a return that approaches 3-1.  You can see who else to back at SportsLine .

How to make Masters 2024 prop picks

McClure has also locked in a slew of other prop bets for the 2024 Masters, including a prop that pays almost 20-1 and comes from an unlikely player. You can find out who it is, and check out all of McClure's Masters prop picks at SportsLine .

Who wins the Masters 2024, and which golfer should you target for almost a 20-1 payout? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike McClure's Masters 2024 prop picks, all from the golf expert who is up almost $9,500 on his best bets since 2020 , and find out.

The Masters 2024: Matthieu Pavon in the spotlight ahead of realising Augusta dream

By Mathieu Wood

Golf reaches a wider audience when The Masters arrives, placing players at the front of the sports agenda. Even with his remarkable rise to prominence in recent months, Matthieu Pavon knows this is no ordinary week.

Having won his maiden DP World Tour title in Madrid in his 185th appearance last October, Pavon went on to secure dual membership status with the PGA TOUR, birdieing the final four holes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai to cap a fine finish to the campaign.

He has since become the first French winner on the PGA TOUR since 1907 with his victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. “No words”, he said with a beaming smile in his immediate post-round interview after birdieing the final hole to win at Torrey Pines, California.

Pavon is now a member of the world’s golfing elite. After reaching a career-high in the Official World Golf Ranking, the French star has the keys to fulfil all his goals as he looks ahead to his first appearance at Augusta National.

“It [The Masters] is the week I have dreamt about for so many years,” he told the DP World Tour.

“It is the Major that I want to win the most. It is also the history of the Green Jacket, and it looks pretty on some of the winners’ shoulders!"

🏆 DP World Tour win 🪪 PGA TOUR dual membership 🏆 PGA TOUR win All in three months. The journey was long. Bravo @matthieupavon 👏 https://t.co/AOcNz8Zsjy — DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 28, 2024

A week on from his first practice round at the famed Georgia venue, in the company of Major winner Shane Lowry , the excitement for World Number 25 Pavon is clear to see. And so it should be.

It's a long way from when he was struggling to make an impression as an amateur, and then when he first set out as a professional in 2013.

“I am at the spot that I dreamt about for so many years," he added.

"Yes, of course, it took me 10-11 years to get there but it is all about the journey and the process. It doesn’t matter to me if it comes to me in four or 11. It was just a matter of time.

"I feel really prepared after those 11 long years to get to this spot and now I am ready to stay there."

I am at the spot that I dreamt about for so many years

In what can be a solitary sport, travelling the world away from family, Pavon is thrilled at the prospect of sharing his long-awaited Masters debut with those who mean the most to him.

His mother, Beatrice, is a golf instructor while his father, Michel, won France’s top-tier division in football with Bordeaux during a 15-year playing career before moving into coaching. Both are on site in Georgia along to support their son, along with Matthieu's brothers.

"My mum and dad went to the Masters in 2009, 15 years ago," he said. "It will be nice to share some time with them.

"I know that they really liked it and they dreamt that I could get there and play one day. I am bringing all my family.

"There is a fellow Frenchman who is coming too, Adrien Saddier (fellow DP World Tour member). He wanted to come and see the practice rounds so he will be with me until Wednesday. I think it is going to be a lot of fun."

During his parents' visit to Augusta National, his mum buried a coin on the grounds as a good luck charm with the hope her son would one day play at the famed Georgia venue.

While, Pavon has no intention of specifically looking for the coin, he does intend to do something similar for his two-year-old son.

"I think it's part of the story, and it's only better that that coin maybe stays here forever," he said.

"The only thing we're going to do now is probably I'm going to get a coin myself, bury it somewhere for maybe wishing that my son one day will come as a player over here."

"I don't know if he wants to play golf. It doesn't matter. But maybe I wish that. It would be fun if in the next 20, 30 years my son gets here as a player. That would be an awesome story."

“He writes the history of male French golf!” The French announce call for @MatthieuPavon ’s first TOUR win is electric. @CanalPlusGolf | @AdrienToubiana pic.twitter.com/wY3KqvpYHz — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 28, 2024

L'Équipe – the French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport – dedicated a section of its weekend supplement on Saturday to Pavon, just days ahead of the first men's Major of the season.

The last golfer to be on the front cover of the L'Équipe magazine was Céline Boutier last September, two months on from her maiden Major Championship victory on home soil at The Evian Championship.

While he is not a Major winner yet, Pavon will be hoping to generate more headlines this week after his history-making exploits so far this year.

Just like Boutier, Pavon's career has reached new heights in recent times after years of perseverance and playing out of the spotlight. No longer.

He will be a headline draw on home soil later this year when the FedEx Open de France heads to Le Golf National. Before that, he is set to represent his country in a home Olympic Games this summer at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.

Pavon has made four previous Major starts in his career, with his best a tie for 25th in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

So, what has the 31-year-old learned from his past experience of playing in what are the biggest weeks in golf?

"These tournaments are special," he replied. "They are supposed to be the toughest all year.

"It’s really about how you manage yourself. How mentally you can be prepared to to that event and also how good your attitude can be.

"The key in mind is to be super positive and patient during weeks like this."

Recognising history, with Fuzzy Zoeller the last rookie to win the Masters in 1979, Pavon is aware of the challenge he faces, having enjoyed some pre-tournament practice at Augusta National early last week.

"The more you play it, the better you get over there," added Pavon, who cites Tiger Woods' memorable chip-in during the final round in 2005 as his first Masters memory.

"It is really tricky around the greens. There are lots of elevations. The greens are fast, so there are spots you can’t be and some others that you better find.

"It is all about course management and being very precise with your iron play."

Now, the notion that Augusta National is a course that suits drawers of the golf ball is often remarked.

As a result, for a player who typically works the ball from left-to-right instead, Pavon has been honing in on ensuring he is best equipped to summon both shapes on call with the support of his coach Jamie Gough, who works with several leading golfers, including fellow Masters participant Ryan Fox.

"I am a fader of the ball, but I think Jack Nicklaus was too and he won a couple of Masters! he said with a smile.

"It’s all about getting a couple reps playing some draw shots. I have worked on it over the years with my coach Jamie and I know how to draw the ball but practicing a few extra draw shots on the range could help for sure.

"Jamie is pretty big to me. We have changed my swing over the years. I wanted to get rid of the left side of the golf course, so we had to make a few technical changes.

"Jamie is super nice, he always finds some super simple exercises that you can repeat every day and makes me better all the time and this is what we did together."

All his hard work has led him to this. Amid all the pre-event attention, Pavon is intent on ensuring he doesn't get caught up in the excitement and focuses on the values that have enabled him to take recent big steps forward in his career development.

"I am trying to treat this tournament the same way I prepare for every other. I think that is key," he said.

"If you put too much expectation or too much pressure on yourself on those big tournaments that is when you get caught a little bit uneven."

The Masters 2024: Ryo Hisatsune relishing Augusta sights and sounds as Major debut nears

By Corey Yoshimura Regardless of nationality, economic status, or where you currently live in the world today, odds are when classic anthems such as Queen’s Bohemiem Rhapsody, Michael Jackson’s We Are the World, or the Beatles’ Hey Jude comes on the radio, you’ll naturally stop and hum along with the

DP World Tour Partners

The nine best bets to win this year’s Masters

The PGA Tour schedule so far this season has been ruled by long shots. Take away Scottie Scheffler’s two victories in 2024, and the tournament winners have mainly come out of nowhere.

That trend is unlikely to continue this week at the Masters , where surprise winners are rare. Yes, you’ll occasionally see triumphant golfers such as 60-to-1 long shot Danny Willett in 2016 or 40-to-1 Hideki Matsuyama in 2021, but most Masters champions follow the same criteria: They have good history at Augusta National, good form entering the tournament and good standing in certain key metrics.

While it’s hard to judge the form of the 13 LIV golfers in the field because they play less often and in less-challenging fields, we have a pretty good sense of what a Masters winner should look like:

He’s good at Augusta National: According to Datagolf, course history is far more predictive at Augusta National than at any other course in the PGA Tour rotation. Nine of the past 14 winners (and 13 of the past 18) had a previous green jacket or a top-10 Masters finish.

He’s not a Masters rookie or an amateur: Only three players have won the Masters in their first appearance at the tournament, the last being Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. I won’t be considering the following Augusta National first-timers: Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Eric Cole, Nick Dunlap, Austin Eckroat, Ryo Hisatsune, Lee Hodges, Nicolai Hojgaard, Jake Knapp, Peter Malnati, Denny McCarthy, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon, Adam Schenk and Stephan Jaeger. Plus, no amateur has won the Masters, and there are five in this year’s field: Santiago de la Fuente, Stewart Hagestad, Christo Lamprecht, Neal Shipley and Jasper Stubbs. In terms of picks to win, you can ignore them.

He’s highly ranked: Of the past 24 Masters winners, 17 entered the tournament in the top 12 of the Official World Golf Ranking, and 22 were in the top 30. But because the OWGR does not award ranking points to LIV golfers , who have plummeted down the rankings board, this trend has become a bit dicey. LIV’s Brooks Koepka had at least a share of the lead for the first three rounds at last year’s Masters before he fell apart on Sunday.

He’s in good form: Of the past 13 Masters champions, only Matsuyama in 2021 did not have at least two top-12 stroke-play finishes in the calendar year of the tournament, either on the PGA Tour or the European Tour. These golfers haven’t exactly been tearing it up this year (or are well past their primes), and they’re off my list: Fred Couples, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Fox, Lucas Glover, Sungjae Im, Zach Johnson, Tom Kim, Kurt Kitayama, Min Woo Lee, Luke List, Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikawa, José María Olazábal, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Vijay Singh, Sepp Straka, Camilo Villegas, Bubba Watson, Mike Weir, Willett, Gary Woodland and Tiger Woods.

He’s good on par-4s: Of the past 11 Masters champions, nine ranked first, second or third in the field in par-4 scoring during the tournament. Nine of the past 12 winners also entered the tournament ranked 11th or better in the PGA Tour’s par-4 birdie-or-better statistic . Rory McIlroy, for instance, ranks 70th in par-4 scoring and 72nd in par-4 birdie-or-better this season, and I won’t be betting him to end his Masters jinx this week. Other golfers who aren’t attacking par-4s this season include Cam Davis and Will Zalatoris (though the latter is tempting because of his strong Augusta National history).

He’s not the defending champion: Only three players since 1960 have won back-to-back Masters — Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66, Nick Faldo in 1989-90 and Tiger Woods in 2001-02. Since 2002, only Woods (2006) and Jordan Spieth (2016) have finished in the top five as the defending champion. Three of the past seven defending champions have missed the cut, and none of those seven finished better than Scheffler’s 10th last year. That means I won’t be betting Jon Rahm, last year’s winner , to repeat.

He didn’t win the week before: The last player to win the tournament immediately preceding the Masters and then win the green jacket was Phil Mickelson in 2006. Since then, only two golfers (Anthony Kim in 2010 and Spieth in 2021) have won the week before and then finished in the top 10 at Augusta. Akshay Bhatia, who just won the Texas Open , will not be on my card.

Now that we’ve eliminated 49 golfers from the field of 89, let’s take a look at a few who can actually win. Odds are as of Thursday morning at DraftKings Sportsbook :

Scottie Scheffler (+400)

Betting Scheffler at any tournament these days means accepting preposterously low odds, and the Masters is no different. The champion from two years ago and the OWGR No. 1 is again the favorite, for ample reasons. Scheffler has won two of his past three tournaments and was a missed six-footer away from forcing a playoff at the Houston Open two weekends ago. His worst finish this calendar year was a tie for 17th at the American Express; he has been in the top 10 in his seven other tournaments. The knock on Scheffler has always been his putting, but he has gained strokes on the greens in five of his past six tournaments after an equipment change. He’s first on the PGA Tour in par-4 scoring and par-4 birdie-or-better. What’s not to like here, other than the low odds?

Xander Schauffele (+1400)

Schauffele is probably the best player without a major championship (though he does have an Olympic gold medal ), and you have to think he’s about due: The world’s fifth-ranked player has far more top-10s (11) than missed cuts (three) in his 26 major appearances. Three of those top-10s came at Augusta National. Schauffele, who has finished T-5 or better in three of his past four tournaments, trails only Scheffler in par-4 scoring this season and is tied for 17th in par-4 birdie-or-better. And how about this from Kyle Porter of CBS Sports ? Nine of the past 11 Masters winners had gained at least 1.7 strokes tee to green per round in the three months leading into the tournament. Only two PGA Tour golfers fit that bill this year: Scheffler and Schauffele.

Hideki Matsuyama (+1800)

Matsuyama already has a green jacket as the 2021 champion. He also has some blinding form, with a win in February at Riviera (a good course comparison to Augusta National), followed by a tie for 12th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a tie for sixth at the Players Championship (two tournaments with elite fields), plus a tie for seventh last weekend in Texas. Matsuyama is one of three golfers in the field to finish at least in the top 25 in each of the past four Masters — Scheffler and Shane Lowry are the others — and he can’t be overlooked.

Joaquín Niemann (+3000)

I think Niemann has one of the better shots out of all the LIV golfers because he comes in with white-hot form: three wins and four top-fives since November, with one of those victories in a full-field DP World Tour event. (LIV golfers can play on the European tour.) He’s also one of only two LIV golfers to average at least two strokes gained per round this season. (Rahm is the other; Dustin Johnson — No. 3 on that list — is well behind both at 1.54 strokes gained per round.) Niemann’s best finish at Augusta National is a tie for 16th last year, but he has made the cut each of the past three years.

Tony Finau (+4000)

Every year, it seems, golf fans get talked into considering Finau at the Masters, and every year he seems to do just okay: He has never missed the cut in six Augusta National appearances, with three top-10s. This year, the world’s 26th-ranked player has missed just one cut in PGA Tour play and tied for second at the Houston Open, his most recent event. Finau can be a little wild off the tee, but that shortcoming is negated a bit at Augusta National because the rough isn’t very penal, and Finau shines at courses with short rough .

Shane Lowry (+5500)

The 2019 British Open champion has been picking up steam as the season has worn on, with a tie for fourth at the Cognizant and a solo third the next week at the Arnold Palmer. Lowry has finished no worse than a tie for 25th in his past four Augusta National appearances and tied for third two years ago. He’s top-20 in par-4 scoring and par-4 birdie-or-better this season.

Sahith Theegala (+4000)

The 26-year-old has played in only one Masters, but it was a ninth-place finish at last year’s tournament. This year, the world No. 15 has four top-10 finishes, with three of them coming over his past five events. Theegala is a respectable 24th in par-4 scoring and 31st in par-4 birdie-or-better.

Cameron Young (+5000)

Young is coming off a tie for seventh at last year’s Masters, has four top-10s this year and is respectable enough on par-4s (12th in par-4 birdie or better, 31st in par-4 scoring). And while Young has yet to win on the PGA Tour, he has four top-10s in major tournaments, including a tie for eighth at last year’s British Open. A win is coming, and it could be at Augusta National.

Jason Day (+6000)

The Aussie, ranked 21st, has the 2015 PGA Championship title on his résumé, and he has finished in second place in each of the other three majors, most recently at last year’s British Open. Day’s recent Masters form has been spotty (two missed cuts and a tie for 39th in his past three visits), but he has four Augusta National top-10s in his career. This season, Day has posted three top-10s and ranks in the top 10 in par-4 scoring and par-4 birdie-or-better.

The betting favorites

As of Thursday morning, here were the odds to win the Masters of the leading contenders, according to DraftKings Sportsbook:

• Scottie Scheffler: +400
• Rory McIlroy: +1000
• Jon Rahm: +1100
• Xander Schauffele: +1400
• Brooks Koepka: +1600
• Hideki Matsuyama: +1800
• Jordan Spieth: +2500
• Ludvig Aberg: +2800
• Joaquín Niemann: +3000
• Viktor Hovland: +3500
• Wyndham Clark: +3500
• Dustin Johnson: +4000
• Bryson DeChambeau: +4000
• Tony Finau: +4000
• Sahith Theegala: +4000
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +4000

The Masters 2024

Professional golf makes its annual visit to Augusta National Golf Club at the 2024 Masters, beginning Thursday and ending Sunday. See the latest Masters updates, scores and schedule .

Tee times: First- and second-round pairings and tee times have been announced. See the full schedule .

Who’s playing: The Masters field has 89 players, including five-time winner Tiger Woods , defending champion Jon Rahm and 2022 winner Scottie Scheffler . Five amateur golfers are also in the field .

LIV and PGA: Thirteen LIV players will compete at the Masters with their PGA Tour counterparts, distinguishable only by the LIV team gear they’ll be sporting. More than 10 months have passed since the PGA Tour announced plans to partner with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers, but no deal is imminent.

Betting: From historical performance to odds, here’s a breakdown of nine players who could win the Masters .

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