The Masters: How Justin Thomas and others with Kentucky ties have fared at Augusta National

The 87th edition of the Masters is underway at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

How have Kentucky natives, and those who played their collegiate golf in the Bluegrass State, fared in the major over the years?

Here's a look at some of the most notable golfers with ties to the state who have competed in the first of golf's four majors of the year:

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Frank Beard

PGA Tour wins: 11

Major championship titles: 0

Best Masters finish: Tie for fifth (1968)

The skinny: Beard, who attended St. Xavier High, never captured a green jacket. But it was his best major: He made the cut 11 times in 12 tries, with eight top-25 finishes and four top 10s. Beard's best showing at Augusta was a tie for fifth (alongside Jack Nicklaus) in 1968, four strokes behind Bob Goalby's winning score of 11-under 277.

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Gay Brewer

PGA Tour wins: 10

Major championships: One (1967 Masters)

Best Masters finish: Won (1967)

The skinny: A three-time winner (1949 through 1951) of the KHSAA State Boys Tournament, Brewer carved out a successful career for himself on the PGA and Senior PGA (now Champions) tours. His crowning achievement: winning the Masters in 1967 by one stroke over another golfer on this list. Capturing the title that year was redemption for Brewer, who bogeyed the final hole in 1966 to fall into a three-way tie for the lead at the completion of 72 holes. He went on to lose in an 18-hole playoff to Nicklaus.

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J.B. Holmes

PGA Tour wins: Five

Major championship titles: 0

Best Masters finish: Tie for fourth (2016)

The skinny: Hailing from Campbellsville before going on to play at the University of Kentucky, two of Holmes' five career PGA Tour wins have come at the WM Phoenix Open (then known as the FBR Open). Though Holmes never had much success in major championships, he tied for fourth in the 2016 Masters, four shots behind Danny Willett.

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Bobby Nichols

PGA Tour wins: 12

Major championships: One (1964 PGA Championship)

Best Masters finish: Second (1967)

The skinny: A Louisville native who attended St. Xavier, Nichols was a successful PGA Tour player in the 1960s and 1970s. He won the 1964 PGA Championship, beating hometown hero Nicklaus (as well as Arnold Palmer) by three shots at Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Nichols nearly added a green jacket to his closet in 1967 but lost by one shot to Brewer, his close friend.

Kenny Perry

PGA Tour wins: 14

Major championships: 0

Best Masters finish: Tie for second (2009)

The skinny: A native of Franklin who later played at Western Kentucky, Perry was a fixture on the PGA Tour for nearly two decades. He never won a major but had three top fives. Perry held the 54-hole lead at the 2009 Masters, but he lost in a sudden-death playoff to Ángel Cabrera. After joining the senior tour, Perry has gone on to capture four major championships.

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Justin Thomas

PGA Tour wins: 15

Major championships: Two (PGA Championships in 2017 and 2022)

Best Masters finish: Fourth (2020)

The skinny: Arguably the best player the state has ever produced, Thomas has 15 PGA Tour wins (a tally that includes two majors) and spent five weeks as the world's top-ranked golfer — all before his 30th birthday. (He'll turn 30 on April 29.) Though he's made the cut at the Masters six times in seven attempts, he's rarely been in contention, with his best finish being fourth in 2020 when the Masters was held in November (instead of the traditional April date) because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Masters Tournament 2023: Kentucky ties at Augusta National Golf Club