Reigning major champions Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka among a strong LIV Golf League contingent heading to The Masters this month; Watch all the action from Augusta National exclusively live from April 11-14 on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 4 April 2024 13:04, UK
LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia has issued an early warning to the rest of The Masters field, saying those from the Saudi-backed circuit are "coming for that Green Jacket".
Garcia is one of 13 players from the LIV Golf League scheduled to tee it up at The Masters from April 11-14, exclusively live on Sky Sports, with the Spaniard holding a lifetime exemption to the event after his dramatic play-off victory at Augusta National in 2017.
Jon Rahm will return as defending champion after last year's four-shot victory over fellow LIV Golf League members Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, who went onto win the PGA Championship the following month.
Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel all feature as former recipients of the Green Jacket, while Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith qualify as major winners from the previous five years.
Tyrrell Hatton earned his spot after qualifying for the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship last August and Adrian Meronk is in thanks to finishing 2023 inside the world's top 50, while Joaquin Niemann accepted a special invitation following three top-five finishes on the DP World Tour.
The 13 players heading to The Masters gathered for a joint photo ahead of the latest LIV Golf League event in Miami, with Garcia posting it on his X account alongside a caption backing the group to impress at Augusta National.
Garcia's positivity was backed by five-time major winner Koepka, who held two-shot leads after the second and third rounds last year before finishing tied-second. He said: "I like the chances [of a LIV winner]. A lot of guys playing well."
On his own chances of winning, which would move him three-quarters of the way to a career Grand Slam, Koepka added: "This is kind of my time. Usually, March 1 is kind of my 'go' for Augusta, and then I crank things up. This whole week is just to see what I've done the past two, three weeks, whatever, how many weeks we've had off and see where everything is at."
There are currently 88 players set to feature at The Masters, with one final spot available to the winner of the Valero Texas Open, leaving just over 14 per cent of the major field coming from the LIV Golf League.
"There is quite a few major champions in LIV and there is a few that are major champion quality golfers," defending champion Rahm said. "So just pure numbers, if you go with math, wouldn't be the highest, but I'm confident that one of us can get it done this year."
Niemann followed a fifth-placed finish at the Australian PGA Championship by winning the ISPS Handa Australian Open a week later in December, with the Chilean unable to break back inside the world's top 50 despite adding a tied-fourth finish at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and claiming third at the International Series Oman.
The 25-year-old has also won twice in the first four events of the LIV Golf League season, with Niemann confident of building on his impressive form in recent months and challenging for a maiden major victory.
"It has been a good start of the year," Niemann said. "If I keep playing the way I'm playing, I know I'm going to have a good chance to win. I'm going to be excited to get there, play good golf, and obviously these guys, also they won a few already. It's nice to be around them and to play against them. It's pretty good for me."
Wall-to-wall coverage from the tournament begins at 2pm over the first two rounds on Thursday April 11 and Friday April 12, with Featured Group action and regular updates from around the course available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.
There will be lots of extra action throughout all four days via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, along with Sky Q and Sky Glass, providing plenty of bonus feeds and allowing you to follow players' progress through various parts of Augusta's famous layout.
Sky Sports Golf will show extended build-up content over the weekend and occasional live updates from the course before the global broadcast window starts at 8pm for the third round and 7pm for the final day, with early action available throughout via the red button.
Who will win The Masters? Watch live from April 11-14 exclusively on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins with Featured Groups on Thursday April 11 from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, F1, Golf, England Cricket and so much more.
