20 Reasons We’re Excited for the 2025 Masters 20 Days Out

Spring is here, which means better weather across the country, both professional and recreational golf seasons are off and running, and of course, it’s NCAA tournament time. If all that wasn’t enough, the 2025 Masters is just 20 days away. With that in mind, here are 20 reasons we’re excited for this year’s action at Augusta National.

1. Rory McIlroy is in arguably the best form of his career. A long-awaited win at the Masters would make him the sixth career winner of golf’s grand slam, joining Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, and Tiger Woods.

2. Augusta National will be the first major test for Xander Schauffele as he continues his return from injury. I’m excited to see how much of 2024 Schauffele we’ll see at the Masters. In his first two events back on Tour, Schauffele has finished T-40 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 72nd at the Players Championship (last among those who made the cut).

3. Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National. That’s all I need to say.

4. Players are always looking for an advantage, so we could see some alternate lines taken off the tee this year (especially if there are fewer trees on property). As Cameron Hurdus pointed out, Bryson DeChambeau got creative and hit down the 14th fairway from the trees on No. 13 last year. Maybe he’ll hit into one fairway from nine tee (man, we sure are spitballin’ aren’t we?).

5. Hey Will Zalatoris, you back?

6. Phil Mickelson put some pressure on Joaquin Niemann with some recent social media comments, but frankly the 26-year-old is past due for a top-10 finish at a major. He’s first in the LIV Golf standings for 2025 so far with two wins in four starts, if that means anything.

7. Speaking of Phil, Lefty said he’s trending and has his eyes fixed on the Masters, but we’ve heard “it’s close,” “we’re building,” and “best shape of my life” a few times before. His lone major top 10 over the last three seasons was his phantom T-2 at the 2023 Masters mixed among six missed cuts over 10 starts. But just imagine if he contends again.

8. Brooks Koepka has earned the right to be considered a major contender, no matter his form. He’s been hit-or-miss so far on the 54 Tour, but we’ve learned that LIV form doesn’t account for much, especially with Koepka.

9. Min Woo Lee has one top 10 (a T-5 at the U.S. Open) in 13 major starts so far in his career. I’m betting that Dr. Chipinski’s short-game prowess will be on full display this year.

10. Sergio Garcia, whose Fireballs have won three straight LIV Golf team titles this season, has made his desire to play on the Ryder Cup team this fall crystal clear. He could stamp himself as a legitimate contender for Team Europe with a solid showing at Augusta.

11. On the flip side, captain Keegan Bradley could do the same for Team USA …

12. As coined by my colleague PJ, I’m ready for Ludvig Aberg Electric Boogaloo Part II. The young Swede was in the mix late last year in his Masters debut before a costly double bogey on the par-4 11th. I can’t wait to see what he does this year.

Ludvig Aberg at the 2024 Masters. (Photo: Fried Egg Golf)

13. When the Masters Media Guide for 2025 was released, no notable changes to the course were listed. That said, I’m curious to see how many trees on the property were lost after Hurricane Helene blew through the south.

14. The race for low amateur was a crawl last year after Neal Shipley was the lone amateur to make the cut. We have a great crop of young talent this year with Jose Luis Ballester, Evan Beck, Justin Hastings, Noah Kent, and Hiroshi Tai.

15. I wonder which of the elderly champions will complain the most about Scottie Scheffler’s Champions Dinner menu.

16. El regreso del pato. Angel Cabrera returns!

17. Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer’s last appearance at Augusta National was supposed to be in 2024 before he tore his Achilles playing pickleball two months prior. This year he puts to bed a career at Augusta National that featured 41 starts and nine top 10s. Auf wiederseh’n, Bernie.

18. Brendan Porath is requesting an adult in the room to comment on distance rollback again to re-orient us after some of the recent whining and lobbying attempts. Seconded.

19. Bring back the bluster! Last year we were reminded how fun Augusta National can be when some crazy conditions are at play. Watching the world’s best be tested by both the course and conditions makes for a fun major. More of that please (just not so much that it delays play or blows down trees).

20. The struggle is very, very real for Max Homa right now. He’s always been a player who’s openly in touch with their emotions, so maybe the good vibes from his green jacket chase last year will kick him into gear in 2025.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.