For more than 30 years at the Masters, the loudest roars off Augusta National’s towering pines belonged to two men.
This week, for the first time since 1994, neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson will be there to summon them, leaving golf to quietly grapple with their absence.
For fans, it is a jarring reality. The first major of the year has long meant more than pristine fairways and Sunday drama. It has been defined by the electric energy that follows these two as they make their way around the course.
Woods, 50, remains on an indefinite break while recovering from a recent car crash, while Mickelson, 55, stepped away due to a family health matter.
Their absence will be felt at every corner, including two empty seats at the Champions Dinner, where former Masters winners gather in the Augusta National clubhouse.
“Obviously there’s two that won’t be with us this year, which is a shame, but hopefully they will be with us in the future, and I’m sure they will be with us in the future,” defending champion Rory McIlroy told reporters.
Even when both men were well past the prime of their careers, their presence alone was enough to send fans scrambling for a glimpse, stretching over gallery ropes, screaming their names, hoping just to make contact.
As 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose put it this week: “Whether they’re 1,000 in the world or 500 in the world, or whatever current rankings may be, their stature is way more elevated than that in the game of golf and always will be.
“Yeah, it’s always a loss to not have either of them in a field anywhere.”
The circumstances of their absences could hardly be more different.
Woods, who won the most recent of his five Masters in 2019, withdrew from this year’s tournament following a rollover crash less than two weeks ago. He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and entered a plea of not guilty.
Three-time Masters winner Mickelson, meanwhile, bowed out late last week, saying he will be sidelined for “an extended period of time” due to a personal health matter in his family.
For Australian Jason Day, who credits Woods for why he first picked up a club, the weight of the moment is deeply felt.
“The reason why I play golf is because of this tournament and Tiger,” Day said. “It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everyone look on, kind of down on him.”
Woods and Mickelson sat atop the golf world beginning in the late 1990s and through the 2010s. Between them, they produced a highlight reel that could fill a museum.
But the Masters, of course, has a way of producing its own drama, the kind that has fans hanging on every shot regardless of who is in the field.
The 2018 champion Patrick Reed was clear about what the sport loses when heavyweights like Woods and Mickelson are absent.
“Let’s be honest, without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in events, when they both step away, honestly I feel it hurts the game of golf,” he said. “But at the same time, we want them to come back and be healthy and ready to go.”
