The big names at risk of not qualifying for The Masters

Time is running out to qualify for The Masters. 

The first men's major of the year gets underway on 9 April at Augusta National. 

At the time of publication, the 2026 Masters field stands at 88 players. 

There is only one last route into the tradition unlike any other, with the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking as of 30 March invited to The Masters. 

As things stand, America's Pierceson Coody - the grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles - is the bubble boy, though a lot can change over the next two weeks. 

GolfMagic has decided to take a look at the big names not yet qualified for the 2026 Masters. 

Joaquin Niemann

The Chilean, who plies his trade primarily in the LIV Golf League, received invitations to compete into The Masters in 2024 and 2025, but he has not yet managed to qualify for the 2026 Masters. 

Niemann is currently ranked 155th in the OWGR. 

Rickie Fowler

The popular American has made 11 appearances at The Masters. His best finish, of course, was a runner-up to Patrick Reed at the 2018 Masters. 

Fowler also has recorded three other top 10 finishes at Augusta. Fowler missed out last April and is in danger of doing so again. 

He is currently 61st in the OWGR but has committed to the Texas Houston Children's Open and Valero Texas Open. Two good performances should see him through. 

Tony FInau

The big American has dropped to 104th in the OWGR after a difficult 18 months on the PGA Tour. 

Finau has not registered a top 10 finish since the 2025 Genesis Invitational. 

Finau has played in the last eight Masters Tournaments so it will be strange to see him miss out. 

His best performance at Augusta came in 2019 when he played in the final group alongside Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods.

Billy Horschel

Horschel missed three out of the four majors last season after undergoing surgery on his hip. 

He is back to full fitness now but is 87th in the OWGR. 

Horschel has made 10 appearances at The Masters and only missing three cuts. 

His best result at Augusta was a share of 17th in 2016.

Will Zalatoris

Like Horschel, Zalatoris has been sidelined with a serious injury. 

Last May, Zalatoris had back surgery and didn't play for seven months. 

He sounded optimistic about his prospects at the start of the season, but has only made two starts. 

Zalatoris was also forced to withdraw from the Cognizant Classic with a left ankle injury. 

Zalatoris is currently 291st in the OWGR. 

Tom Kim

Has played in the last three Masters Tournaments but has suffered a dip in form. 

At 127th in the OWGR, Kim needs a miracle to tee it up at Augusta. 

Sahith Theegala

Like Zalatoris and Horschel, Theegala has had injury problems of his own. 

Theegala previously explained like he felt as though 2025 was "a lost season" after suffering an oblique injury that morphed into a neck injury. 

Three top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season have lifted Theegala to 80th in the OWGR. 

David Puig

The Spanish LIV Golf pro is currently 75th in the Official World Golf Ranking. 

He has entered the Hero Indian Open on the DP World Tour in an attempt to break the top 50. 

Which LIV Golf players have qualified for The Masters?

There will be 11 LIV Golf players in the field at the 2026 Masters.

Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Jon Rahm are former Masters champions exempt into the major for life. 

They will be joined by Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz and Tom McKibbin. 

LIV secured OWGR points in February and several players have already made big moves. 

But it looks as though some big names will miss out. 

Anthony Kim ended 2025 875th in the OWGR and jumped more than 600 places with victory at LIV Golf Adelaide. 

But at 208th, it looks as though Kim will miss out.