It’s a strong and tangible goal to have at the beginning of each season. If a tour player hasn’t enjoyed the priceless moment of opening the posted invitation to the Masters, he still has very clear opportunities to make that happen.
The first is to win a fully allocated PGA Tour event, all the way through the two Texas tournaments leading up to Augusta – this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open and next week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Both Stephan Jaeger and Akshay Bhatia, respectively, pulled off that feat last year because they weren’t otherwise qualified for the Masters.
The same thing could happen this year, with the other option being a jump into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which has to be accomplished by next Monday. Already this PGA Tour season, Jaeger, Daniel Berger and former LIV Golf member Laurie Canter have accomplished the leap after starting the year outside 50th. (Canter, who won the DP World Tour’s Bahrain Championship earlier this year, opted not to play in this week’s Indian Open and remains in an edgy spot at 48th.)
The opportunity, of course, figures to come with its share of nerves – especially for those so close to breaking into the bubble. And there are a couple of prime examples of that, with hot-handed veteran Michael Kim vying to reach Augusta for only the second time in his career and Ben Griffin so close to making his first drive down Magnolia Lane.
Conversely, there are past major-championship standouts who need very strong performances or a win in Houston – few more notable than Rickie Fowler, who has been on the outside of Augusta’s OWGR top-50 bubble cut in three of the past four years after playing in 10 consecutive Masters. Fowler nearly never had to worry about such things when, in 2018, he lost his chance for Augusta immortality by a single shot to Patrick Reed.
Nothing less than a win in the next two weeks would do the trick for Fowler, but others have a better chance at the top 50 if they can post some very low numbers or a very high finish in Houston. Here’s a look at what they need to do.
Michael Kim
Current OWGR: 52nd
Needs: Top-50 finish
Houston Open record: 7 starts (most recent in 2024); 0 top-10s; best finish: T-12, 2017
Outlook: If anybody deserves to get into the Masters on current form, it’s Kim. In an impressive run that has pushed him from 156th in the OWGR at the beginning of the year to now being on the cusp of the top 50, Kim has five top-15 finishes in 2025, highlighted by nearly notching his second tour win and placing second in the WM Phoenix Open. His current OWGR spot is his best ever, and Kim has credited his turnaround to the work he started last year with coach Sean Foley. After being the low amateur in the 2013 US Open at Merion, the former Nicklaus and Haskins Award winner has seen few major starts, with only six as a pro, and Kim missed the cut in his only Masters appearance in 2019.
Ben Griffin
Current ranking: 53rd
Needs: Outright 28th or better
Houston record: 2 starts (most recent in 2024); 0 top-10s; best finish: T-16, 2023
Outlook: This figures to be a nervy week for the 28-year-old. He’s trying to get into his first Masters, and he’s given himself a good chance because of back-to-back T-4s in the Mexico Open and Cognizant. But… Griffin, who has already made 11 starts this year, has stumbled a bit in the past two outings, missing the cut in both the Players and Valspar while not breaking 70. The upside: he seems to like Memorial Park, with T-16 and T-36 finishes, respectively, in the past two years.
Si Woo Kim
Current ranking: 66th
Needs: Outright third or better
Houston Open record: 5 starts (most recent in 2024); 0 top-10s; best finish: T-13, 2016
Outlook: Last September, it looked like the four-time tour winner would qualify for his ninth Masters through the world ranking, standing 50th after a T-16 in the DP World Tour’s BMW Championship. But after a T-6 in the next start in the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship, Kim hasn’t notched a top-20 finish since. If he misses the Masters, it will be only the second time in his past 33 chances that Kim has not qualified for a major. The 29-year-old is having a good season, with four top-25s, but has sniffed only one top-10 (falling short with a 12th at Pebble Beach).
Jake Knapp
Current ranking: 85th
Needs: Win or outright second
Houston Open record: 1 start (2024); 0 top-10s; best finish: missed cut
Outlook: In his rookie season a year ago, Knapp earned his way into his first Masters with a February victory in the Mexico Open and had a T-55 at Augusta. This year, the 30-year-old has proven to be a consistent performer, recording four top-25s in eight starts. He also was showing good form on the Florida Swing with a T-6 in the Cognizant and T-12 in the Players before missing the cut (74-77) in the Valspar.
Rickie Fowler
Current ranking: 105th
Needs: Win
Houston Open record: 7 starts (most recent in 2018); 3 top-10s; best finish, T-3, 2017
Outlook: Fowler’s current ranking outside the top 100 and his frequent absences from recent Masters are a reflection of how far he’s fallen from his peak majors season of 2014, when the Californian posted four top-fives. Fowler got into last year’s Masters, finishing T-30, because of his win in the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic, after missing three straight trips to Augusta by failing to finish inside the world top 50. The 36-year-old will have to shake off shooting 82-79 at the Players Championship.
