The Masters, the opening Major of the year, is on the horizon and as always there are plenty of big names set to miss out on the iconic drive down Magnolia Lane.
Out of the four men's Majors, The Masters field is by far the smallest with less than 100 competitors so it is the toughest one to book your spot. One of the best perks of winning The Masters is that past champions get invited back each and every year but golfers outside of the world's top 50 must meet certain criteria otherwise an invite won't be turning up at their door.
This year's Masters is also the first in this new post-LIV Golf world, where some star LIV names are missing out due to their world rankings sliding. A number of LIV players have qualified for The Masters already due to past Green Jacket wins, Major triumphs and high world rankings, but most of those who haven't won Majors recently, or a Masters before, are on the sidelines.
So, which big names are currently not looking like getting a start at Augusta National this year?
PAUL CASEY
Casey is set to miss The Masters for the second year in a row after 15 appearances at Augusta National. The Englishman's decision to join LIV ultimately meant he sacrificed his Masters spot, as he was in the world's top 30 when he joined in July.
The Englishman now finds himself outside of the world's top 100 and likely out of all four of the year's Majors.
RICKIE FOWLER
Fowler has shown a real upturn in form over the past six months and will come very close to making his first Masters start since 2020 after missing out on the last two editions.
He currently ranks 59th in the world and needs to be inside the top 50 in the week prior to the event. He has a good chance of booking his spot!
WEBB SIMPSON
The 2012 US Open champion was World No.4 less than three years ago but he is now outside of the world's top 130. He was 164th in the world prior to his T7th at the Valspar Championship, which lifted him up around 30 spots in what was his first top ten since November 2021.
Simpson has played in the past 11 Masters tournaments but looks set to miss this year's instalment.
IAN POULTER
Poulter, now a LIV Golf player, is facing the prospect of playing in no Majors this year for the first time since 1999.
The Englishman is down at 151st in the world and will not be at Augusta for the second year running. His best Masters finish was a T6 in 2015.
MARC LEISHMAN
Leishman, who plays for Cameron Smith's 'Ripper GC' in the LIV Golf League, recently fell out of the world's top 100 and will miss The Masters for the first time since 2015.
The Aussie currently isn't in any of the year's Majors after joining the Saudi-backed circuit along with Smith last August. He was T4th at Augusta in 2013.
LEE WESTWOOD
The former World No.1, twice a runner-up at Augusta National, is not in the field for this year's event after his T14th finish just missed him out on the top 12 and ties last year.
Westy co-owns the Majesticks GC franchise in the LIV Golf League and now faces the prospect of a Major-less year with his world ranking down at 276.
LUCAS HERBERT
The Aussie, winner of the 2021 Bermuda Championship, 2021 Irish Open and 2020 Dubai Desert Classic, is currently not in the field.
He's ranked at 56th in the world so is very close to making a return to The Masters, where he missed the cut last year in his debut. A good couple of weeks should get him back to Augusta.
MATT KUCHAR
Kuch is down at 71st in the world rankings and looks set to miss his second successive Masters.
The nine-time PGA Tour winner has played in The Masters 15 times, most notably in 1998 when his T21st finish earned him the Silver Cup as low amateur.
THORBJORN OLESEN
Despite two DP World Tour victories in the year leading up to The Masters, at the 2022 British Masters and 2023 Thailand Classic, Olesen has not quite made the field this time around.
The Dane, who famously took down Jordan Spieth 5&4 at the 2018 Ryder Cup, is currently 95th in the world. He has played in the Masters three times and was a very impressive T6th in his debut in 2013.
JOEL DAHMEN
The Netflix Full Swing star has never played in The Masters and that doesn't look like changing this year as things stand.
Dahmen, who was T10th at the US Open last year, currently ranks 100th in the world and will need a very good result at the Texas Open next week to secure his Augusta spot.
