The Masters: What is different at Augusta National? Everything to know ahead of the 2022 contest | Golf News

Sky Sports will show coverage from every day of tournament week exclusively live from Augusta National; watch The Masters live on Thursday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf, with full coverage of the opening round from 7.30pm

From changes to the course and the return of Masters traditions to notable absentees, we look at what is different at Augusta National for this year’s contest.

Augusta National longer than ever

The course will measure 7,510 yards in total for the 2022 contest, 35 yards more than it did 12 months ago, meaning the Georgia layout will be longer than at any point in the tournament’s history.

The tee at the par-four 11th – the start of the infamous Amen Corner – has been moved back an extra 15 yards, making the hole 520 yards, with the changes also seeing the fairway recontoured and several trees removed to the right of the fairway.

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Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth gives an update on the possibility of Tiger Woods making a return at the Masters

The added length means the 11th will play 10 yards longer than the par-five 13th, while the par-five 15th has also been pushed back 20 yards and gives ‘Firethorn’ a maximum length of 550 yards.

The Par-3 Contest is back!

The annual Par-3 Contest will return this year, having been cancelled in the previous two years due to Covid-19 protocols, with tournament participants and non-competing past champions all invited to compete.

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Matt Wallace and Shane Lowry were among the four players to make holes-in-one during The Masters Par-3 contest at Augusta National in 2019

The event is played on Augusta National’s nine-hole Par-3 course, measuring 1,060 yards, with no player ever winning the tournament and going on to claim the Green Jacket later in the week.

Some 100 holes-in-one have been recorded in the tournament’s history, including a record nine in 2016, while the event always produces plenty of light-hearted moments ahead of The Masters officially starting the following day.

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A new Honorary Starter

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have been Honorary Starters since 2010 and 2012 respectively, with two-time Masters champion Tom Watson joining them for the first time for this year’s ceremonial tee shots.

Watson, winner of the Green Jacket in 1977 and 1981 and a two-time champion in the Par-3 contest, becomes the 11th Honorary Starter since they were first introduced at The Masters in 1963.

Arnold Palmer served in that position from 2007 to 2016, the year of his passing, while Lee Elder – who died last November – became the first Black player to be an Honorary Starter ahead of the 2021 contest.

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Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play at The Masters, was warmly welcomed when he joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as a new Honorary Starter

No Mickelson at The Masters

For the first time since 1994, The Masters field is without three-time Green Jacket winner and reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson.

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Golf Channel contributor Eamon Lynch reflects on Phil Mickelson not featuring at The Masters and discusses how the players have reacted to his recent critical comments about the PGA Tour

The 51-year-old is taking a break from golf following the fall-out from his comments about the PGA Tour and a potential Saudi-backed rival circuit, and he has yet to tee it up since the Saudi International tournament in February.

Mickelson made his Masters debut in 1991 and has made 27 consecutive appearances since 1995, winning the event in 2004, 2006 and 2010. The left-hander will be noticeably missed by the Augusta patrons.

The patrons return in full

For the first time since Tiger Woods’ success in 2019, the patrons will be allowed to attend in maximum numbers at Augusta National.

No patrons were on site when the 84th Masters was staged in November, having been moved from its traditional date due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all three majors that year being played behind closed doors.

A “limited number” were able to attend last April to see Hideki Matsuyama make major history, although Covid-19 protocols prevented patrons coming out in full force. Although Augusta National never release official attendance figures, it is widely expected they will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Watch The Masters throughout the week exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf.