Hometown hopes: Here are the 8 First Coast, South Georgia players in The Masters field

Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read

Masters week is here and the First Coast and Georgia’s Golden Isles, as usual, have strong representation at the Augusta National Golf Club.

There will be eight area players in the field, three from the First Coast and five from St. Simons Island, Ga. That’s keeping with the 10-year trend of an average of 7.3 area players in the Masters since 2013, with a high of nine in 2021 and 2016 and a low of four in 2013.

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Here are the locals at Augusta, with a history of their performance in the Masters and their primary category for an invitation:

Harris English, St. Simons Island

  • Category: Top 50 world golf ranking.

  • Masters record: Three starts, two cuts made. Best finish, tie for 21st in 2021.

Brian Harman, St. Simons Island

  • Category: Top 30, 2022 FedEx Cup.

  • Masters record: Four starts, two cuts made. Best finish, tie for 12th, 2021.

Cameron Smith, chipping on the 18th hole at Augusta National during the 2020 Masters, was the only player in tournament history to record all four rounds in the 60s that year.
Cameron Smith, chipping on the 18th hole at Augusta National during the 2020 Masters, was the only player in tournament history to record all four rounds in the 60s that year.

Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach

  • Category: PGA Tour winner.

  • Masters record: Eight starts, six cuts made. Best finish, tie for 17th in 2016.

Zach Johnson, St. Simons Island

  • Category: Past champion.

  • Masters record: 18 starts, 10 cuts made. Won in 2007 at 1-over 289, the highest winning score since 1956.

Keith Mitchell, St. Simons Island

  • Category: Top 50 world golf ranking.

  • Masters record: One start, one cut made. Tie for 43rd in 2019.

J.T. Poston, St. Simons Island

  • Category: PGA Tour winner.

  • Masters record: One start, missed the cut in 2020.

Vijay Singh, Ponte Vedra Beach

  • Category: Past champion.

  • Masters record: 29 starts, cuts made. Won in 2000, the second of his three major championships in a Hall of Fame career.

Cameron Smith, Ponte Vedra Beach

  • Category: British Open champion, 2022.

  • Masters record: Six starts, six made cuts. Best finish, 2nd in 2020. He became the only player in Masters history that year to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds, but still lost to Dustin Johnson.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Cameron Smith, Billy Horschel lead First Coast hopes in The Masters