Max Homa Will Play Alongside Tiger Woods on Thursday and Friday at The 88th Masters

Experts from Golf Digest and CBS Sports rank the chances of three Cal golfers playing Augusta National

Cal alum Max Homa, seeking his first major title, will tee off alongside golf royalty when the 88th Masters gets under way at Augusta National on Thursday morning.

Homa will play with five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods and Jason Day, the three teeing off at 10:24 a.m. PDT.

Collin Morikawa is part of the day’s final threesome, joined by Dustin Johnson and Tommy Fleetwood at 11 a.m.

A third former Cal golfer in the field, Byeong Hun An, tees off with Lucas Glover and Harris English at 6:24 a.m.

Friday’s second-round tee times include Homa, Woods and Day going off at 7:18 a.m. PDT, Morikawa’s group at 7:54 a.m. and An’s threesome at 9:36 a.m.

Defending champion Jon Rahm and 2022 Masters winner Scottie Scheffler are the favorites, with Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele also projected to be serious contenders.

Where does that leave the three Golden Bears, and in particular, Morikawa and Homa?

Both have slipped in recent months, Morikawa dropping from No. 13 to 20 in the official world golf rankings since the end of 2023, and Homa sliding from No. 7 to 11. An, who has three top-10 finishes in 2024, actually has climbed from No. 60 to 44 since the calendar flipped.

Here’s how Keith Stewart of Golf Digest and Kyle Porter of CBS Sports rank the Masters chances of Cal’s three entries:

COLLIN MORIKAWA: The 27-year-old won the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 British Open, but has skidded from a career-best No. 2 world ranking he held after finishing fifth at the 2022 Masters. Morikawa has just one top-10 finish in 2024 and has missed the cut twice in seven starts.

* Golf Digest’s Stewart ranks Morikawa as the No. 23 player in the field and lists his odds of winning at 44-to-1: “I started my ranking with 25 names—players I have seen this spring out on tour and those we know from LIV. Morikawa wasn’t on it. One of the best iron players in the world, he has lost strokes on approach in three out of his past four starts. Unfortunately, the driver is not much better. The two-time major champion has higher than usual odds for a reason.”

* CBS Sports’ Porter ranks Morikawa at No. 13 entering play Thursday: “Morikawa has played in four Masters, and though I never really envisioned him as a tremendous Augusta National player, it makes sense that he is because of his terrific iron play. In those four Masters, he has two top 10s and stands as one of just seven golfers to play all 16 rounds and have a strokes gained number over 2.0 (elite). Others include Rahm, Scheffler, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Shane Lowry. If he wasn't struggling so much (no top 10s) outside of this course, he would be in the top five.”

MAX HOMA: The 33-year-old won twice each during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons but has just a single top-10 finish in 2024. Homa is still looking for his first win at a major and hopes to improve on last year at Augusta, where he tied for 43rd place, his best finish ever at the Masters.

* Golf Digest’s Stewart ranks Homa as the No. 23 player in the Masters field and gives him 50-to-1 odds of winning: “Max Homa has missed the cut in eight of his past 15 majors. That’s a tough record to swallow entering the year’s most predictable setting. Tenth in the world rankings, he sits outside the top 20 on my list. I just need to see more than two rounds under par in 12 tries going around Augusta National.”

* CBS Sports’ Porter puts Homa in the No. 28 slot in his pre-tournament rankings: Homa has been good with his iron play at Augusta National but terrible almost everywhere else. I refuse to believe this is a bad spot for him as it rewards precise, elite iron play, which is his greatest strength. Also, if you can win at Riviera (where Homa has four consecutive top 10s, including a victory), you can win at Augusta National. For Homa, it's about finding the balance between not caring enough and caring too much (which is where he sometimes finds himself).”

BYEONG HUN AN: At 32, An is still seeking his first victory on the PGA tour. He is playing Augusta for the first time since 2020 and has a best finish of tying for 33rd place in 2017. An does not appear in the power rankings of Stewart, who ranked only the top 50 players.

* CBS Sports’ Porter ranks An at No. 48: “The late addition to the event with the best chance of winning. An is a ball-striker savant who is having an amazing year with five top 21s so far in 2024.”