A Masters without Tiger and Phil
Mickelson takes extended leave for 'family health' while Woods seeks personal health
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson collected three straight green jackets from 2004-06 (David Cannon, Getty Images)
O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco led a slow-speed chase down the freeways of Los Angeles. Tonya Harding plotted to kneecap her figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. Ukraine gave up all its nuclear weapons on the promise that Russia would respect its sovereignty. Nelson Mandela became the first black president of post-Apartheid South Africa. Kurt Cobain and John Candy died. The “Chunnel” and Amazon opened for business. Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King and Dumb and Dumber played in theaters. Friends debuted on TV. The average price of gas was $1.11.
1994 was a pretty eventful year. It was also the last time the Masters took place with neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson in the field at Augusta National.
A few days after five-time champion Woods (1997, 2001-02, 2005 and 2019) officially withdrew from the Masters to seek treatment following DUI charges after a rollover accident, three-time Masters winner Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010) announced that he was withdrawing from the Masters and stepping away for an extended period “as my family navigates a personal health matter.”
That leaves the 2026 Masters without the two biggest golf stars of their generation for the first time in more than three decades. In 1994, Woods won his first of three straight U.S. Amateur titles to qualify for his first Masters in 1995 while Mickelson missed the tournament after breaking his leg in a March skiing accident.
José María Olazábal won the first of his two green jackets in 1994.
Woods, 50, hasn’t played an official event since the 2024 British Open. The 55-year-old Mickelson — who became the oldest player to win a major at the 2021 PGA Championship and finished runner-up at Augusta in 2023 — has also missed four of the five LIV Golf events this year citing his family’s health matter.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods played a practice round together in 2018 (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Mickelson did play in LIV Golf’s most recent tournament in South Africa, leading to speculation he would tee it up at the Masters for the 32nd time.
But the six-time major winner announced Thursday that he will “be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter. I have great respect for Augusta National Golf Club and it is definitely the most special week of the year. I wish everyone the best of luck and will be watching.”
Mickelson has made 28 cuts in 31 appearances at the Masters, with 16 top-10 finishes, including his three victories. Only three years ago, Mickelson shot a final-round 65 to briefly get into contention before finishing in a tie for second with Brooks Koepka, four strokes behind winner Jon Rahm.
Woods first played in the Masters in 1995 as an amateur but this year is missing the event for the sixth time dating to 2014 when he withdrew for the first time as a pro after undergoing his first of now seven back surgeries.
With the withdrawals this week of Mickelson and Woods, the field is now at 91 players, with the possibility of this week’s winner of the Valero Texas Open getting an invitation if he is not already exempt.