The 1994 Masters, A World Without Phil Mickelson
By Sean McCann
The 2022 Masters Tournament is already generating plenty of discussion and headlines with just over a week to go until the opening round. As Augusta, Georgia, is preparing to host the most prestigious golf tournament yet again, we now know notable players that will be participating this year, and one, in particular, that won’t be. Phil Mickelson, the 2004 Masters Champion, will not be present at Augusta for the first time since 1994.
With 28 years of memories and champions in between, let’s take a look at the World the last time Lefty didn’t compete for the Green Jacket.
The Masters before Phil Mickelson
Before we dive into the golf-related history, we need to understand the World from 1994. Bill Clinton was the President of the United States, Apple had just come out with its first laptop, and the Dallas Cowboys were in the midst of their 3 Super Bowl victories in 4 years. Okay, now let’s flashback to the 1994 PGA Tour.
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1994 Master’s Champion: Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain): -9
Notable participants: Tom Kite (4) Ernie Els (T-8), Tom Watson (13), Greg Norman (T-18)
Not only does the 1994 field look unrecognizable, but the purse then compared to today illustrates the inflation that sports have seen throughout the years. When Olazabal came out victorious, he took home total winnings of $360,000, with the total purse for the field coming in at $2 million. Fast forward to today, the winner come April 10th will walk away will a shocking $2.07 million, more than the entire purse from 1994. The total purse this year calculates to $11.5 million, almost 6 times what it was back then.
When the 1994 Masters took place, the top golfers in the world (and their ages) looked a lot different than they do today:
1. Nick Price- 37 years old
2. Greg Norman- 39 years old
3. Nick Faldo- 37 years old
4. Bernhard Langer- 37 years old
5. Jose Maria Olazabal- 28 years old
1. Scottie Scheffler- 25 years old
2. Jon Rahm- 27 years old
3. Collin Morikawa- 25 years old
4. Victor Hovland- 24 years old
5. Patrick Cantlay- 30 years old
Based on the lists above, it’s evident that the generation of the youth is upon us, with the top golfers reaching the heights of their careers at such a young age. Oh, and want to feel old? Everyone from the current Top 5, except Cantlay, wasn’t even born when the 1994 Masters took place. Yeah, that’s crazy.
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Sure, the World was a lot different when Phil Mickelson missed his last Masters. He was fresh off his successful NCAA career at Arizona State University, looking for his first PGA victory, which evidently came in 1993 at Torrey Pines Golf Club. Now in 2022, Lefty is simply looking for a way back onto Tour after his controversial comments about Greg Norman’s new Super Golf League potentially cost him this year’s participation at the Masters.
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Regardless of who is or isn’t in the field when the first round begins on Thursday, April 7th, be prepared for four days of drama, heartbreak, and celebration at the historic Augusta National.