The post J.J. Spaun’s Titleist driver has been clutch in his last two wins appeared first on Golf.

The post J.J. Spaun’s Titleist driver has been clutch in his last two wins appeared first on Golf.

On the 71st hole of both of his last two PGA Tour wins, J.J. Spaun has delivered the two most clutch drives of his career.

Both came with the same driver.

At Oakmont, Spaun was tied for the lead with Robert MacIntyre when he authored the shot of the tournament by driving the par-4 17th green, his ball running right past the cup, on his way to a go-ahead birdie.

This past Sunday, Spaun did it again in an arguably more clutch situation when he was trailing by one shot on the 17th hole at TPC San Antonio. His tee ball landed just short of the green and rolled out just inside of 10 feet. This time, Spaun converted the eagle putt to go ahead by one and hung on by paring the difficult par-5 18th to post 17 under, which proved to be good enough for his third PGA Tour victory and second at the Valero Texas Open.

“I think if there was more wind I would have hit 3-wood, but I knew I was one back of the lead. I wanted to be aggressive and take driver, just kind of hit like a 90-percent driver,” Spaun said after the win. “I kind of had a flash of my tee shot at Oakmont at the U.S. Open last year on 17 on Sunday where I drove the green and ended up making birdie. It was kind of a nice image that I had in my mind before I pegged it and hit the shot. Yeah, I stepped in there and put a really good swing on it.”

Titleist GT3 Custom Driver

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

Spaun has taken his game to another level since switching to the Titleist GT3 driver in the summer of 2024. He was initially in the GT2 model when the club debuted on the PGA Tour that summer, but Spaun worked with Titleist Tour rep Larry Silveira at that year’s 3M Open to dial in his spin rates, which led him to the GT3 head.

Spaun plays his driver in the B1 setting, which plays the driver at its stated loft of 9 degrees but makes it three-quarters of a degree flatter. He also moves the SureFit CG track weight on the sole to the T1 position. Both of these changes are presumably to give the club a touch more of a right bias.

He pairs the head with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6-X with VeloCore+. The Ventus Black was in the driver of all four major champions last season, including Spaun, and so far this season is the single-winningest shaft profile on the PGA Tour, with five victories in 13 events. Last week’s winner, Gary Woodland, also plays the Ventus Black with VeloCore+.

Fujikura Ventus Black Wood Shaft (Velocore+)

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Before switching to the GT, Spaun ranked 146th on the PGA Tour in Srokes Gained: Off the Tee, but was 41st last season.

Last week at TPC San Antonio, he was 16th for the week, gaining nearly two strokes OTT, with 1.362 coming in the final round. The tee shot on No. 17 itself gained him 1.08 strokes as he set up the go-ahead eagle.

While Titleist has started seeding its next-generation GTS line of drivers, Spaun doesn’t seem like he’s ready to switch. You can take advantage of the timing as the GT drivers are currently $200 off!

Want to find the best driver for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post Meet the 6 amateurs making their Masters debut in 2026 appeared first on Golf.

The post Meet the 6 amateurs making their Masters debut in 2026 appeared first on Golf.

Every year, a handful of the world’s best amateur golfers earn the rare invite to the Masters, stepping onto golf’s hallowed grounds to compete alongside the game’s top professionals. Each bringing their own unique story — full of grit and hope — to Augusta National.

Here’s a closer look at the six amateurs who have earned their spot at this year’s Masters. 

Ethan Fang makes his Masters debut this week. Last June, he edged Ireland’s Gavin Tiernan one-up in the final to claim the Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in England, joining legends like Bobby Jones, José María Olazábal and Sergio García as a champion of the prestigious amateur event. Fang, a First Team All-American at Oklahoma State University, led his team to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship and finished runner-up in the Western Amateur. His impressive resume also includes competing in The Open at Royal Portrush and representing the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup, Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy.

Jackson Herrington will also tee it up at Augusta for his first Masters — and major — appearance. Last August, the University of Tennessee sophomore came up just short against Mason Howell in the U.S. Amateur final at Olympic Club, finishing runner-up. This week, he could follow in the footsteps of legends like Ben Crenshaw, Patrick Cantlay, Doug Ghim and Neal Shipley — past U.S. Am runners-up who went on to earn Low Amateur honors the following year at the Masters. Herrington, who earned Tennessee Men’s and Junior Player of the Year honors in 2024, also finished runner-up with Blades Brown in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship and advanced to match play in both the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur.

Brandon Holtz makes his first Masters and major championship start after a remarkable rise through the Mid-Amateur ranks. Last September, in his first USGA championship, he defeated Jeg Coughlin III 3&2 to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Arizona. That victory earned him the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy and spots in both the 2026 Masters and U.S. Open. He joins past Mid-Amateur champions, including Jay Sigel and Stewart Hagestad, who later claimed Low Amateur honors at the Masters. Holtz’s path to golf’s first major has been an unconventional one. After playing college basketball at Illinois State University, he pursued professional golf before regaining his amateur status.

Mason Howell will make his Masters debut this week as one of the game’s rising stars. Last August, he won the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club, defeating Jackson Herrington 7&6 in the final round. With his victory, Howell became the third-youngest champion in the event’s history. He joins a long list of past winners like Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. The University of Georgia commit and 2026 United States National Junior Team member also competed in the U.S. Open and represented the United States in both the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy in 2025. In 2024, he earned junior All-America honors after finishing fifth in both the Western Junior and Junior Players Championship and advanced to the round of 64 in the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Fifa Laopakdee makes history this week as Thailand’s first amateur to compete in the Masters. Last October, he had a dramatic comeback at the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai, starting the final round six strokes behind. Birdies on holes 17, 18 and all three playoff holes propelled Laopakdee to victory, earning him spots in both the 2026 Masters and the Open Championship. The Arizona State University junior also won the individual gold medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games by 11 strokes. He has also represented Thailand on a global stage in both the Eisenhower Trophy and the Junior Presidents Cup. 

Mateo Pulcini makes his first Masters and major championship start after a breakthrough win at the Latin America Amateur in Peru this past January. He closed his final round with a 68 and parred the second playoff hole to secure spots in this year’s Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. In 2025, Pulcini won World Amateur Golf Ranking events in Argentina and Brazil, finished fifth in the Mexican Amateur and represented Argentina in the Eisenhower Trophy in Singapore. He also earned three NCAA Division II All-American honors at Oklahoma Christian University and played his final collegiate season at the University of Arkansas.

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The post Jason Day starts Masters week with new sponsor in TIAA appeared first on Golf.

The post Jason Day starts Masters week with new sponsor in TIAA appeared first on Golf.

Jason Day played his first Masters practice round of the week in a vest covered with birds (scarlet tanagers, eastern bluebirds, red-headed woodpeckers, among others), so you’d be forgiven if you missed a new sponsor he had emblazoned just above his flock of feathered friends.

On Monday, Day and retirement-planning provider TIAA announced a new partnership that named the 13-time PGA Tour winner and 2015 PGA Championship winner as the company’s inaugural “Golf Ambassador.”

In a release, TIAA noted Day’s “tenacity, discipline and relentless focus on the long game,” as well as his ability to reach a younger demographic through his popular YouTube channel, The Lads, as reasons the partnership between the Australian star and the financial planning firm make sense.

“Partnering with TIAA feels right because we share a belief that everyone deserves a secure financial future,” Day said in a statement. “I’ve worked my whole career to build something lasting: for myself, for my family, and for the next generation. TIAA is doing that same work for millions of people, and I’m proud to help bring that message to a new generation.”

Micky Onvural, TIAA’s chief marketing and communications officer said: “Jason Day is not only one of the most accomplished players of this generation, but also part of a movement reshaping what golf looks and feels like. Jason has helped bring the game to new audiences, making it more accessible, authentic, and exciting for younger fans. He has faced setbacks, risen above them, and continued to compete at the highest level, and that spirit of perseverance is exactly what connects him so naturally to TIAA’s mission and to the people we are proud to serve.”

The partnership will see Day and TIAA work together on “a number of brand initiatives, digital content and engagement opportunities.”

Day is ranked 41st in the world. He has two top-10s in seven starts in 2026 and is coming off a T6 finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open two weeks ago. In 14 career Masters starts, he has five top-10 finishes, including a T8 in 2025.

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The post 1 man keeps game affordable as high-end golf explodes around Augusta | Destination Aiken appeared first on Golf.

The post 1 man keeps game affordable as high-end golf explodes around Augusta | Destination Aiken appeared first on Golf.

Jim McNair knows he could charge more at his golf course.

“But we’re happy where we are,” he says. He means the greens fees start at $30. But he’s content with his location, too, in Aiken, S.C., just 25 minutes from Augusta, where the Masters gets underway this week. If you keep up with headlines in the game, you know that Aiken has emerged in recent years as one of the hottest golf destinations in the country, with a proliferation of exclusive enclaves.

McNair’s course is something different. He runs Aiken Golf Club, which his father purchased in 1959 and which he took over in 1985. The club itself goes back much further. Established in 1912, it began with 11 holes, built as an amenity to a hotel, and was later expanded to 18 by John Inglis, a golf professional and founding member of the PGA of America who’d worked with Donald Ross in New York.

Then the Depression hit. Hammered by the downturn, the hotel eventually shuttered and the city of Aiken stepped in to keep the course alive until Jim’s father, James Sr., a scratch player and respected teaching professional, took over. Under his watch, the course operated as Highland Park CC, a family-centric club that became a magnet for juniors and aspiring pros alike, many of whom went on to distinguished careers in the game.

When Jim inherited the operation in 1985, he understood that sentiment alone wouldn’t sustain it. Scraping by on a threadbare budget, he ran the pro shop and doubled as the superintendent. By the late 1990s, with aging infrastructure and new competition crowding the market, desperate times required a full redo.

“I realized it was now or never,” McNair says.

With help from the city, he rebuilt the course from the ground up. It reopened in 1999 as Aiken Golf Club. At its centennial in 2012, McNair was formally recognized as a co-designer alongside Ross and Inglis.

The course into which he’s poured his life tips out at less than 6,000 yards on an intimate site. Small in scale, it has an outsized personality. With doglegs that take the driver out of your hands and sloping greens defended by well-placed bunkers, it’s a strategic delight, widely recognized as one of the best values in the country and a standout in an area that GOLF recently explored in depth.

McNair’s contributions to the local golf scene extend beyond the course he owns. He also designed and built the Chalkmine, a par-three layout that serves as a practice ground for local collegiate players and a home base for First Tee programming. It’s another small-scale project with an outsize impact.

To learn more about golf in Aiken and McNair’s work in the area, check out the video above.

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The post Jason Day had 1 wild Masters outfit rejected, another is raising eyebrows appeared first on Golf.

The post Jason Day had 1 wild Masters outfit rejected, another is raising eyebrows appeared first on Golf.

In a recent years, Jason Day has caused quite a stir among Augusta National’s powers-that-be during Masters week. The culprit has been the former major champion’s outrageous outfits, designed by his apparel sponsor Malbon Golf.

One notorious Malbon sweater was banned by Augusta mid-Masters two years ago.

This year, Day and his Malbon collaborators are pushing boundaries at the historically buttoned-up club once again. One planned Masters outfit in particular was reportedly rejected by Augusta National. But the attire Day showed up at Augusta wearing on Monday, and the rest of his planned apparel for Masters week, is raising eyebrows once again.

Day’s Masters apparel for 2026 is out there

In the lead-up to the Masters, Sports Illustrated reported that Augusta National rejected one of the Malbon outfits Day had planned to wear this week.

That outfit, seen below, featured a head-to-toe rain suit covered in images of birds. But it turns out one half of that outfit survived the Masters inspectors. Day will wear the bird-covered rain jacket on Thursday if inclement weather arrives.

The bird motif can be found throughout Day’s Masters scripting for this year, including in the threads he wore on Monday during practice at Augusta.

Day showed up with a tan vest version of the bird motif, which includes several different bird species intended to represent the avian residents of Augusta National. (You can see Day’s Monday Masters outfit in the photos at the top of the page.)

News

“If you are on the course and you are tuned in with nature and know the sounds of birds, you’ll make more birdies,” Malbon told Sports Illustrated. “It’s inspired by Native American beliefs. Each one of these birds has a different meaning. I’ve been sending the noises of the birds to Jason for the last six months. Hopefully, he’s trying to stay in touch with nature.”

Day plans to wear the bird vest he rocked on Monday again during Friday’s second round, potentially with a matching hat.

Though the most eye-raising apparel piece of them all might be Day’s choice for Tuesday. While inspired by a birding vest, it looks more like an old-school fishing vest. That might be fitting, though, as Augusta National’s famous ponds are said to be home to monster fish.

Jason Day once had sweater banned mid-round at Masters

If we had to guess what specific problem Augusta National had with the head-to-toe bird outfit they rejected for the 2026 event, it would be that they found it to be too “busy.”

At least, that’s how Day described the offending Malbon sweater the club asked him to remove during the 2024 Masters.

News

The mostly white vest featured large block lettering that read, “No. 313 Malbon Golf Championship.”

“Yeah, they asked me to take it off — the vest off yesterday… the busy one,” Day told reporters during the 2024 Masters. “Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament. That’s what we’re here to do is try and play and win the green jacket.”

As for the club’s reasoning, Day said that Augusta officials didn’t provide one.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. They said, can you take it off? I said, yeah, no worries.”

But Day turned a bad sweater into a good deed. The infamous vest later sold during a charity auction for Day’s Brighter Days Foundation, with the winning bid stretching to $17,300.

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The post Now that Rory McIlroy has his green jacket, who needs this Masters most? appeared first on Golf.

The post Now that Rory McIlroy has his green jacket, who needs this Masters most? appeared first on Golf.

Last year newly minted Masters champion Rory McIlroy strode into the press building, took his seat and spoke directly to the group of assembled writers.

“I’d like to start this press conference with a question myself,” he said. “What are we all going to talk about next year?”

Everybody laughed. The subtext was clear: For a decade-plus, the biggest Masters story was some version of can Rory get it done this year? He’d famously blown a 63-hole lead in 2011. He’d famously completed the other three quarters of the career Grand Slam. He’d famously spent a decade winning everything in the sport except a major championship. By last year the Rory Story was the only Masters story — or at least that’s how it felt given how much bigger and how much weightier it felt with him in the mix.

So whose story now needs a green-jacket ending? To McIlroy’s question: Who are we supposed to be talking about now?

There’s no logical successor to McIlroy, who teed it up at Augusta every year with a very specific pressure. He needed a Masters title to round out his resume — and was so good at golf that he and the rest of the golf world felt it would be a tragedy if he failed to do so. We knew the way we’d talk about McIlroy post-Masters would be radically different, if only he could just get across the line.

Everybody’s resume changes dramatically when they win a Masters, of course. But whose conversation changes the most? Using those two factors — gap in the resume plus the talent required to fill it — here are the five guys who need this Masters most.

Honorable mentions

Scottie Scheffler would catch McIlroy and Koepka at the five-major mark with a win but given the clip he’s been on — not to mention the recent birth of his second child — he does not “need” anything at the moment … Rory McIlroy will have plenty of attention on him but doesn’t “need” this one either, he deserves at least one Masters before we pile expectations on him again … Jon Rahm will be among the favorites but already has a Masters … our expectations for Brooks Koepka are currently in a safe, middling space … Chris Gotterup and Jacob Bridgeman lead the Masters first-timers, who should consider this year a free roll … Cameron Young gets a grace period post-Players, any strong form at Augusta would be a win … Collin Morikawa’s recent injury mean we’re pressing pause on the expectation game … Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley and Robert MacIntyre are among the top active players yet to win a major, so this would be massive, there’s just no clear sign this will be the week.

Anyway, you get the idea. It would be big for anybody. It would be just a little bigger for the following:

5. Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg’s history at the Masters is short but sturdy. In 2024, his debut showing, he finished runner-up to Scheffler. In 2025 he actually had an even better chance to win; had he played his final three holes in one under he would have made it into a playoff, instead he finished bogey-triple and wound up seventh.

Does Aberg need a Masters? No. He’s still among the youngest top players on the PGA Tour and he remains ascendant. But also, of course he needs one! He’s been knocking on the door in big-time tournaments, letting the Players Championship slip away last month (and the Texas Open on Sunday). He’s still young but he’s not getting younger. At Aberg’s age (26-and-a-half) Jordan Spieth had three majors, Rory McIlroy had four, Tiger Woods had six. In fairness Brooks Koepka had zero, Phil Mickelson had zero and Scottie Scheffler had just snagged his first. So there’s plenty of time. But he comes in on form, which makes this a hell of a chance.

4. Xander Schauffele

There’s extra credit here for guys who have come close before, and on Masters Sunday in 2021 Xander Schauffele stood on Augusta National’s 16th tee at 10 under par — the eventual winning score — and made triple bogey.

No need to fixate on the negative, though. Schauffele’s on this list because he’s been the most consistent major championship performer of the last four years; since his last major missed cut at the 2022 Masters he’s played 15 majors and has won more times (twice) than he has finished outside the top 12 (once, a T28 at last year’s PGA). He also enters off third at the Players and T4 at the Valspar, suggesting his game is rounding into form at the right time.

A Masters win would do something else interesting, too: it would give him a third leg of the career Grand Slam, setting up a U.S. Open at Shinnecock in which both Scheffler and Schauffele would be one win away from joining McIlroy in history.

Still, let’s see Schauffele pick off this one before we start giving him a U.S. Open, too.

3. Bryson DeChambeau

This is as much an upside play as anything; DeChambeau’s career would suddenly enter radically different territory if he added a green jacket to his two U.S. Open trophies. Going from two majors to three suddenly rarefies the air you occupy.

He should have an excellent shot at contending this year, too. He enters in strong form off two consecutive LIV wins, he’s finished T6 and T5 in his last two Masters starts and seems to finally have found some answers to a place that vexed him his first six tries as a pro. There’s also the matter of some unfinished business after he played alongside McIlroy on Sunday last year and faded with 75.

DeChambeau’s resume is excellent. But to keep climbing the ranks of this generation’s best — and to continue bolstering his reputation as someone who can do it anywhere — he’d benefit greatly from a green jacket. (His YouTube channel would, too.)

2. Tommy Fleetwood

The best active player without a major is playing the best golf of his life. Last fall he won the Tour Championship, he won in India, he won at Bethpage. He’s logged four top 10s in five PGA Tour starts in 2026. He also has seven career top-fives in majors, most recently a T3 at the 2024 Masters.

East Lake was massive for Fleetwood. This represents the next step.

1. Justin Rose

Even McIlroy felt for Rose last year even as he vanquished him with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

And while there was no sense that Rose “lost” the tournament — McIlroy was 14 under par for the tournament through 10 holes on Sunday, while Rose was 7 under, his charge was a wild and dramatic bonus — there is a more general sense that he should be part of this club. Rose is a major champ and an Olympic gold medalist. He’s also the only man to lose in two playoffs at Augusta National. It would be poetic if this year was his turn.

Does Rose “need” a Masters title? Not really. That’s the point of this piece, of McIlroy’s quip, of the current pro landscape entering this year’s first major. Nobody needs this one like he needed that one.

But a whole bunch of guys sure want it anyway.

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The post Beer bets, hoop dreams and one dart: The Masters hasn’t seen anyone like him appeared first on Golf.

The post Beer bets, hoop dreams and one dart: The Masters hasn’t seen anyone like him appeared first on Golf.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — One dollar changes hands. 

One ball is closer. 

They run it back. From a spot around Augusta National’s 6th green, Brandon Holtz picks his golfer, and the man Brandon had just become best friends with chooses his. The two rubberneck as a pair of shots make their way down to the par-3’s putting surface. At the Masters, you can usually find Holtz at the 6th. Earlier, he had negotiated himself all the way up to the rope line at the tee box, the position he said is his favorite, because it’s a front-row laboratory seat. Wind gauging. Club selecting. Some decisions work. Some don’t. “One year,” Holtz said, “I’m with Tiger Woods right here and he hit a bad shot, and he’s got his hands over his mouth and just saying a few choice words, and I’m like yeah, he does it, too.”  

After a while, Holtz headed to the green, where he and his wife, Liz, met another couple, and the game of nearest-to-the-pin started. Soon, everyone was playing. Soon after that, dollar bets became beer wagers. Concessions are close by, after all. No one disputes what follows — the wives, Brandon said, “are keeping up.”

But not everyone’s ending matches. 

Brandon?

“It took a little bit of a while to get back to home base after that.” 

Liz? 

“That’s not how the story goes.” 

How does it go? 

“She doesn’t remember, probably,” Brandon said. 

“Had a great time on 6,” Liz said, “and skipped right back.” 

Brandon howls. 

“That’s how the story goes,” Liz said. 

And here’s where Brandon Holtz’s story gets good. 

Starting Thursday, another Masters begins. Rory McIlroy, last year’s winner, will be there. Scheffler. Rahm. DeChambeau. Augusta members clad in green jackets. Jim Nantz. Azaleas. Thousands of patrons eating pimento cheese between a couple of slices of white bread. 

And Brandon. 

Holtz lives where he grew up, in Bloomington, about two hours away from Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis, home to State Farm and a bunch of the state’s farms, a Midwest city where folks get gas and breakfast burritos at Casey’s and pick up groceries at Schnucks. Holtz was a college athlete next door in Normal, at Illinois State University, but in basketball, not golf. His neighbors might buy a home from Holtz, though to call him only a real estate guy would be akin to calling Augusta National a patch of grass. He’s 39 but not pushing away 19, charmingly so.

Every April since 2004, the Holtzes have also come down to Georgia, after Brandon’s dad, Jeff, was picked to receive lifetime Masters badges, and they’re visiting again this week.  

Because Jeff is caddying. 

And Liz is, too, during Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest, and she’ll be joined by Baker, 6, and Millie, 2.

Which means, yes, fore please, now driving will be Brandon Holtz, the unlikeliest entrant into the Masters maybe ever — and perhaps its most relatable. While he is better than most every man at golf, he is very much the everyman, and this year, for him, that gallery rope will be raised. His fellow patrons could be beer-betting on him. 

And if they did?

“Honestly,” Holtz said, “I wish I could get in there. ‘Hey, you want to buy me a beer after we’re done?’ 

“That’d be fun.”

HOLTZ ONCE SCORED 68 POINTS IN A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME. In his prime, he wasn’t a dribbler. Playing defense offended him. But he could shoot it. And still can. Though he hasn’t played even a pick-up game in a while, the fundamentals have kept warm — shoulders squared to the rim, fingertips pressed into the ball’s black grooves, forearm pointed to the ceiling, right wrist cocked slightly back, and a ball flung end over end, until it flicks through the net. In a game of P-A-R with a recent visitor (think H-O-R-S-E, but shorter), he won handily. On the 68 night, he kept shooting and he kept making, though he needed three overtimes to reach his total. “I didn’t have to tell everybody that part,” Holtz joked. 

Colleges covet unapologetic shooters, and 15 offered Holtz scholarships when he was at Bloomington High, before he signed with Illinois State, his hometown’s university, where the Holtzes have held basketball season tickets since the ’90s. From the school’s arena, the scent of popcorn and Papa John’s pizza wafts for a couple of blocks, and inside, the faithful never forget a Redbird. At a game in early March, a few fans said they remembered Holtz, listed as 6-foot-4 and No. 45 in your old programs. Some diehards have even posted a highlight package of him to YouTube. 

Over four years, Holtz played mostly as a reserve. Season 1, in 2005-06, he averaged four points and 12 minutes of playing time. Year 2, those numbers fell to two and eight, and after the season, the school fired the coach who recruited him and hired Tim Jankovich, a charmer who left an assistant’s job with the University of Kansas one year before the Jayhawks won the national championship. Jank met with returning players, and 19 years later, he still remembered his Holtz talk. He asked: Why should I have faith in you?

“And he just totally won me over,” Jankovich said. 

“He’s just like, just give me a chance, just give me a chance. And I knew right then, just the way he handled himself, he was so honest and mature. And honestly, I loved him from that point on.

“But in no way in my wildest dreams, if you’d have said then, hey, he might play in the Masters one day, I mean, no, I would have fainted.”

And how, exactly, did that happen? As far as anyone can tell, Holtz’s appearance will be a first by a former Division I basketball player.

There’s talent obviously given by the hooper and hacker above. And there’s maybe a little seamlessness between the sports. For the basketball player, golf fulfills. Tee balls that arch ahead feel a whole lot like 3-pointers. Free throws that require accurate repetition resemble 3-footers. Shoot, golf and basketball even share a key word — shot. But really, golf is just a game of one-on-one. Arrive to the ball, check the defense, make your move — across 18 holes and however many strokes. If you’ve at all wondered why MJ and LeBron and numerous other basketball players have come to golf, there you go. Holtz did play golf as a kid and played on his high school team, and he kept playing in college, shooting mostly in the 70s. After his final two seasons with the Illinois State basketball team — while he never averaged more than eight minutes of playing time, he did lead them out of the locker room ahead of games — he took a job at a course in town. His scores started to drop. The country clubbers in town couldn’t believe this basketball player was taking their money.

But could Holtz actually play for money? Jankovich remembered feeling stunned after hearing that his backup shooting guard was turning pro at golf about a year after his final basketball game. “You didn’t even play in college. You didn’t, you haven’t been playing. Like, you’ve just been at the driving range a little bit,” the coach said. But Jeff, his dad, was good with it, and Brandon was off. He planned to play two years — and played nearly four, from 2010 to 2014, at events in the Midwest and Southeast. Some good. Some bad. Once, while on the road, he opened the door to a hotel room to find two people — living there. “So there was a whole story,” he said. 

Holtz lost money as a pro, though. While he played well, earnings couldn’t beat expenses. He stopped playing professionally, outside of a couple events a year. He moved back home. On New Year’s Eve 2016, Brandon and Liz married. Baker and Millie soon arrived. And would you look at that, a lovely foursome, right smack dab in the middle of the Midwest, as idyllic as it can get. Cue Mellencamp’s “Small Town.” 

But here’s the thing about shooters: They shoot. 

And shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot, be it before college, in college, after college, at the age of 39. 

Because the next one might drop.

“I will say, I do feel like I failed him as a coach in the sense that if I had any idea that he was capable of this,” Jankovich said, “I would have begged him to play golf.”

BRANDON IS A TALKER, A BONE FIDE B.S.’ER, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN HE ALWAYS GETS HIS WORDS RIGHT. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there? From Brandon, Liz has heard this instead: We’re going to burn that bridge. “I’m like, that’s not quite it, buddy,” Liz said, “but you’re close.” 

At the Masters, Brandon will assuredly look every inch the part, but beneath the collared polo and golf pants is someone who’s sweating because he’s not in sweatpants. He’s a dude, man. And he’s your boy. He’s the friend we all have, the one we have a couple dozen stories about, but can share only a handful of them due to their mature-audiences tone. On his Instagram page, you can watch as he packs for an Augusta National practice round trip while wearing a faded, paint-smeared cut-off tee, given away at the 2004 “Flashes All-American Game.” There’s the post where he lets you know, very specifically, that the best Casey’s breakfast burritos come only from the small-town Casey’s, “because they make their food a little bit better.” There’s also the one that solves the mystery of what one is to do with the final scoops of French onion dip. It’s difficult to dip your chips at that point, you see, and here’s where Brandon has engineered a hack — dump the chips in the plastic container and break ’em up with a fork and enjoy. “You don’t have to worry about getting that dip on your hand.”

Those, and others, were recorded by Liz. Her favorite B-Holtz story, though, happened at a Starbucks. Brandon is not a coffee drinker, Liz said, and doesn’t go to Starbucks and, therefore, is unfamiliar with how to pronounce “latte” and “frappuccino.” He went, though, and, after Liz’s order, he was asked what he wanted.      

“And he goes, ‘Yeah, let me get a Coke,’” Liz said. “And the guy on the other side said, ‘Excuse me.’ And I’m like, ‘They don’t do Coke here.’ And he’s like, ‘Can I get a Coke?’ And he’s like, ‘Sir, we don’t serve Coke at Starbucks.’ And if you know Brandon, like I’m dying. I’m like on the — I’m like I can’t wait to see this guy’s face when we pull up because I’m not sure anyone’s ever …”

“Who doesn’t have a Coke?” Brandon said. 

“He just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact,” Liz said, “there’s no soda machine inside the Starbucks.” 

“It’s a drink place,” Brandon said.

Then there’s the joint where he learned golf, Lakeside CC, a par-32 that, yes, is beside a lake, but, most importantly, has a VFW, a Casey’s and a restaurant across the street, because the weekend gang plays Lakeside like this, Holtz said: 

– Load up on “supplies” at the clubhouse.

– Tee off on No. 1, a par-3. 

– High score then runs across the street on No. 2 and goes to either the Casey’s or the VFW for more “items.”

– The same game happens on the 4th hole, which is next to the restaurant. 

“Yeah, I mean, there were other things going on than just golf,” said Craig Onsrud, the course’s one-time pro who will also be joining Holtz at the Masters. 

On the golf side of things, Lakeside is claustrophically narrow. Wayward balls easily end up on somebody’s front porch. But Jeff, Brandon’s dad, suggested to his kid to always hit driver — “if he’s ever going to amount to anything and be something in golf, he’s got to learn to hit his driver” — and he did, and Lakeside coached him into being accurate with it, lest he run out of golf balls. Very little, of course, mimics Augusta National, but, then again, ANGC doesn’t have a Gorilla Car Wash just yards off one of its fairways.  

Driver is also what Holtz went with last September on the 16th hole at Troon Country Club, during the championship match of the U.S. Mid-Amateur. In 2024, he’d had his amateur status reinstated — he wanted “just to talk some crap to my boys” in local am events — and the Mid-Am was his first USGA event. He advanced into match play. Or one-on-one, to the basketball player. He knew how to play that, and he kept winning. In the 36-hole title match, he was up two on the 34th tee, a 308-yard par-4 that’s driveable if you’re accurate and costly if you’re not. His opponent, hitting first, came up just short and was in a birdie spot. 

Holtz then cut a driver onto the green. He left behind his tee. He was 8 feet from the hole. 

He made that and won.   

Holtz said he doesn’t remember the swing of the driver or the putter, but he remembers the flight and the roll. He remembers his lip strangely quivering. When the match ended, he remembers squeezing Jeff, his caddie then, too. No one, though, remembers much of the hours that followed, except that there was no way anyone was flying back in the morning. 

Everyone knew where their boy was headed. To Augusta.

“When we stand in line to get our picture taken every year we’ve gone,” Liz said, “Brandon repeatedly says something along the lines of like, ‘Man, I’d love to get back there and see what that is. Like, I’d love to get back there and check that out. I’d love to hit a ball and blah, blah, blah.’ 

“And we’ve jokingly said, ‘Maybe you will someday. Maybe you will.’” 

BRANDON HOLTZ SAYS HE’S GOING TO WIN THE MASTERS. He would accept being low amateur — there are six at Augusta this year — but he wants the green jacket. “You show up anywhere just looking to get second,” he said, “then you probably shouldn’t be there anyway, you know?” But there’s a problem. 

Don’t ask him what his jacket size is. 

“Shoot, I don’t even know,” Holtz said. “I think it’s like 46 long. I got a couple of them in there, but I’m not a real fancy dresser. I’m more of a sweatshirt and jeans guy.”

Shouldn’t he know the fit going in? 

“I did have to — I’m pretty sure I had to fill it out in my application. I’m pretty sure it’s a 46 — 44 or 46. But I want it big too, like I like it big. If it’s a little bigger, at least I can fit in it, right?”

Here, a Brandonism works well: We’re going to burn that bridge. Seventy-two holes precede the winner’s ceremony. A first-ever Masters tee ball, too. On Hole 1 of Day 1, the hope will be to aim a touch left, then fade a drive that will carry the bunker on the right. “He’ll be excited,” Jeff said, “and if he takes a deep breath, blows it out like he’s shooting a free throw and smokes it, he’ll carry the bunker, have a little maybe 8-iron, 9-iron in and hit it right to the front.” If there’s a concern, it’s putting. Augusta’s curvy greens can be unsettling — Jon Rahm, you may remember, four-putted the 1st during Round 1 in 2023 before going on to win — and during Holtz’s first practice round, he, too, four-putted the 1st. Still, when Jeff told his son that he would find a caddie more familiar with the breaks, both Brandon and Liz told him, “Hell no, Grandpa,” so the 22-year badge holder with silver, shoulder-length hair will be on the bag. “So yeah, is it my job to tell him, no, it breaks two inches versus one inch on that putt?” Jeff said. “No, my job is to, ‘Hey, keep it light. Hey, look around, enjoy this and now focus.’”

Then shoot. 

Why might Holtz’s story resonate more than similar ones that have come before it? Other unheralded golfers, after all, have driven down Magnolia Lane. But have any to this level of relatability? A 39-year-old family man and real estate agent, who was once a college basketball player, who then traveled the country as a mini-tour golf pro just trying to break even, is going to play the Masters, an event where he once sat behind the 6th green and made closest-to-the-pin beer bets. 

The story it tells is simple, in an extreme way.  

You just never know.

“I think this story is a reason for a lot of people who are continuing the journey that I’m on that they want to do,” Holtz said. “That 37-, that 35-year-old that maybe gave up but had the ability, try to get him, man. I don’t know. It’s an unreal moment to talk about. It’s an unreal moment that I’m going to be there. 

“But live it. You only live once.”

And do so your way. With what you would want to eat. 

If Holtz is sure he can win the Masters, what would he serve at his Champions Dinner?

“Oh man, people have asked me this,” Holtz said. “I’m a big — I love stuffed crust pizza. I don’t know if stuffed crust pizza will make that list, but man, I could definitely get down on stuffed crust pizza.

“Really lately, sushi. I’ve kind of been into some of the fried sushi. I’ve got to have the staple, the Illinois staple of cheese balls. Honestly, it’d be a variety of things — get a flavor of a lot of different things, right. It’s your dinner. 

“Make it your dinner.”

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Tiger Woods’ return to Augusta National will have to wait until 2027.

Following a two-car crash last Friday that led to his DUI arrest, Woods announced that he was “stepping away” to seek treatment and “focus on his health.”

“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” Woods said in a statement released on X. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery. 

“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger and more focused place, both personally and professionally. I appreciate your understanding and support, and ask for privacy for my family, loved ones and myself at this time.”

Prior to the crash and subsequent DUI arrest, Woods had been ramping up his rehab from October back surgery in hopes of teeing it up at Augusta National this week. The 15-time major champion recently made his TGL season debut in Jupiter Links’ championship loss to Los Angeles Golf Club and said he had been pushing as hard as possible to get his body ready.

“As I said, I’ve been trying,” Woods said after his TGL debut about playing the Masters. “Just this body is — it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying. I’ve been trying for a while. I’ve had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I’ve had to fight through and it’s taken some time. I keep trying. I want to play. I love the tournament. I’ve loved being there since I was 19 years old. It’s meant a lot to me and my family over the years. I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that’s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner.”

News

Three days later, Woods crashed his car on a two-lane road in Jupiter, Fla. The crash came after Woods attempted to overtake a turning truck with a trailer attached. Woods flipped his Range Rover on its side after making contact with the trailer. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed Woods “sweating profusely” and appearing “lethargic and slow,” according to an affidavit obtained by GOLF. Woods was given a field sobriety test. He blew “.000” on the breathalyzer but refused to take a urine test. He was charged with Driving Under the Influence and pleaded not guilty.

After Woods’ announcement that he would be seeking treatment, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley released a statement in support of the 82-time PGA Tour winner.

“Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament fully support Tiger Woods as he focuses on his well-being. Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt her in Augusta.”

Woods did not play in last year’s Masters after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in March. He has not played in a tournament since the 2024 Open Championship.

The 2026 Masters will be the first Masters without Woods or Phil Mickelson since 1994. Mickelson announced last Thursday that he would “be out for an extended period of time” as he and his family “work through a personal health matter.”

The 2026 Masters begins on Thursday, April 9.

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Bryson DeChambeau was looking ahead. 

To everything. 

He’d just played four-over golf after taking the lead through 56 holes at last year’s Masters, but if he left discouraged, you couldn’t discern that. In fact, DeChambeau gave reporters this thought after his round:

“I’m excited for the rest of my life.”

And that includes another visit to Augusta National this week. 

How DeChambeau plays, and whether he holds onto his enthusiasm after last year’s stumble, make him one of the most intriguing Masters entrants, and perhaps the most interesting LIV participant. On the LIV Golf circuit this year, he’s won two times. In the three other majors last year, he had a pair of top-10 finishes. 

But excitement often can be a fickle thing. 

With that, here are the 10 LIV Golf players who will be at this year’s Masters (and seven LIV Golf players who won’t be). 

10 LIV Golf players in Masters field 

– Bryson DeChambeau, qualified through his 2024 U.S. Open win

– Sergio Garcia, qualified through his 2017 Masters win 

– Tyrrell Hatton, qualified through his tied-for-fourth finish at last year’s U.S. Open

– Dustin Johnson, qualified through his 2020 Masters win 

– Tom McKibbin, qualified through his win at last year’s Hong Kong Open

– Carlos Ortiz, qualified through his tied-for-fourth finish at last year’s U.S. Open

– Jon Rahm, qualified through his 2023 Masters win

– Charl Schwartzel, qualified through his 2011 Masters win

– Cameron Smith, qualified through his 2022 Open Championship win

– Bubba Watson, qualified through his 2012 and 2014 Masters wins

7 LIV Golf players who aren’t in Masters field 

– Phil Mickelson: The three-time winner withdrew last week due to a “personal health matter.”

– Thomas Detry: He was ranked 58th in the world last week. The top 50 players received invites. 

– David Puig: He was ranked 79th in the world last week. 

– Elvis Smylie: He was ranked 82nd in the world last week. 

– Laurie Canter: He was ranked 98th in the world last week. 

– Anthony Kim: Earlier this year, he authored perhaps LIV Golf’s biggest story when he won the league’s Adelaide, Australia, event, two years after he returned to golf following a 12-year absence. 

– Joaquin Niemann: Last year, he won five times on the LIV tour.  

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Zach Johnson says he blacked out. 

Maybe you did too. 

During the third round of last year’s Masters, Johnson shot a round of six-under 66, which vaulted him into a tie for 10th entering the final day. But the 2007 Masters winner was stunned. Coming into Augusta National, he’d seen fair-at-best results. 

“I don’t want to say I’ve seen it coming because that’s not what I’m trying to — I’ve seen the work and the results of hitting the face and seeing the line on putts,” Johnson said. “Not this week, but weeks prior I’ve seen it.

“It just hasn’t showed.”

Oddsmakers saw that, too, and Johnson was listed at a whopping 600-1 to win. Which means you probably stayed away. 

But if you somehow were in on a Johnson top-10 bet, which he secured during the final round?

Blackout. 

They happen. Should you be in search of something similar this year, you’ve clicked on the correct article. Below, members of our staff have each made a long-shot selection to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. It’s an enjoyable endeavor for us. Deploy it as you wish. 

On to our analysis.

Masters sleeper picks to watch for 2026

Alan Bastable 

Sleeper pick: Min Woo Lee, +4,000. Might be unfair to call the 25th-ranked player in the world a “dark horse,” but I don’t hear a lot of pundits talking up MWL as a green-jacket threat. He’s been excellent on Tour this season with seven cuts made in seven starts and three top-10s, and he’s made the weekend in three of his four Masters starts. This year, I expect him to contend on the weekend.

Josh Berhow 

Sleeper pick: Russell Henley, +5,500. Henley very quietly finished top 10 in each of his past two major starts, and he’s had four top 10s in his past six major starts after just one in the previous 38. The point? He’s getting better on the big stage, and his game is in a good spot — top 20s in five of his seven starts this year and ranks 31st in SG: Approach and 14th in SG: Putting.

James Colgan 

Sleeper pick: Keegan Bradley, +15,000. It feels like the golf gods owe him one after the way the Ryder Cup knocked him down in September. A Bradley win after all he’s been through over the past six months would be one of the best comeback stories in the sport.

Connor Federico  

Sleeper pick: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, +25,000. Which of this year’s Masters rookies is most likely to succeed? The winner at Australia’s Augusta National feels like a good bet. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen makes his first Masters start via a thrilling win in December’s Australian Open. The Dane vaulted into contention with his understanding of angles and strategy at Royal Melbourne, another Alister Mackenzie masterpiece, where every hole requires elite shotmaking and focus. The success Neergaard found at this World Top 10 course will help him again at another this April. Understanding is one thing, but execution is most important. With a crowd of 30,000-plus Aussies pulling for Cam Smith, Neergaard delivered an unlikely up-and-down to secure the biggest win of his career. He’s got what it takes in the big moments, but at the very least, I’ll be taking him to make the cut in his first Masters appearance. 

Alex Gelman 

Sleeper pick: Fifa Laopakdee, +100,000. Yes, it’s a massive long shot but don’t sleep on the junior from Arizona State. He punched his ticket to the Masters after winning the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur. He started his career at ASU by winning his first tournament and already has four collegiate wins, including a win three weeks ago at the Desimone Classic. 

Jack Hirsh 

Sleeper pick: Si Woo Kim, +6,600. His game sets up really well for Augusta, where lots of run-out should help equalize his length disadvantage. His game has been trending all year, and he’s missed just one cut in eight Masters appearances.

Jessica Marksbury

Sleeper pick: Jason Day, +6,600. Not only does Day have two top-6 finishes this season (including a runner-up at the American Express), he’s also played well many times at the Masters, with five career top-10 finishes.

Zephyr Melton 

Sleeper pick: Maverick McNealy, +10,000. Mav has played some steady golf this year, missing just one cut and finishing in the top 30 in every other event but one. He finished middle of the pack in his debut last year, but he’s got the game to stay in it over the weekend.

Nick Piastowski 

Sleeper pick: Jacob Bridgeman, +8,000. Let’s go back to the strokes gained stats, where we’ll find Jacob Bridgeman among the leaders in the putting category. The winner must navigate Augusta’s sloping putting surfaces. 

Josh Schrock

Sleeper pick: Adam Scott, +6,600. Due to the small field, there aren’t a ton of good “sleeper” options. I’d probably take Rickie Fowler if he was in the field, but, alas, he’s not. So we’ll go with Scott, who played well at Riviera and has great course history at Augusta. Honorable mention to Jason Day. 

Josh Sens

Sleeper pick: Jason Day, +6,600. Yeah, I know. A past major winner at 66-to-1 isn’t exactly a sleeper. But I don’t see the point of going much lower on the board at the Masters, where long shots have about as good a chance of winning as I do of earning an overnight in the Crow’s Nest. A true dark horse simply isn’t going to come out on top at Augusta so I’m not going to waste a wager on one. As I see it, Day is as far down on the betting board as anyone with an outside chance at the green jacket. He’s got a strong track record here, including a T8 last year, and a T6 last week on a tough course was another good showing in what has been a decent season so far.

Sean Zak 

Sleeper pick: Jake Knapp, +6,600. Knapp has been flying less under the radar recently, but he’s been one of the five or six best golfers in 2026. 

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