Officially, the Masters remains an invitation event, but there is a set of qualifying criteria that determines who is included in the field.

Twelve other professionals were appearing in their first Masters: Erik Compton, James Hahn, Brian Harman, Morgan Hoffmann, Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, Shane Lowry, Noh Seung-yul, Brendon Todd, Cameron Tringale, Bernd Wiesberger and Danny Willett.

Top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking list on March 30, 2015 20. International invitees Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Kevin Streelman won the par 3 contest on Wednesday in a playoff over Camilo Villegas, after both finished at 5-under par.

[9] Opting out in the previous ten years, Tiger Woods played in his first par 3 contest at the Masters since 2004.

[11] Rory McIlroy, looking for his third consecutive win in a major and the career grand slam, opened with a round of 71 (−1), as did defending champion Bubba Watson.

[12] Friday, April 10, 2015 Jordan Spieth increased his lead to 5 shots after 36 holes with a bogey-free round of 66 (−6).

[13] Dustin Johnson became the first player in Masters history to record three eagles in a round and moved into a tie for third place.

His total of 200 broke by one stroke the record previously held by Raymond Floyd in 1976 and Tiger Woods in 1997.

Spieth got as low as 18-under during the round, tying Woods for lowest score in relation to par in tournament history, before a double bogey at the 17th.

[16] Justin Rose birdied five holes on the back nine, including four in a row, to equal the best round of the day with a 67 (−5) and move into second place.

[17] Sunday, April 12, 2015 Jordan Spieth equaled the tournament scoring record after a round of 70 (−2) gave him a four-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose and his first major championship.