An Era Ends at Augusta: The First Masters Without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson Since 1994

The roars that echoed off Augusta National’s towering pines for three decades — the kind that made the ground shake and television sets worth watching — belonged to two men more than any others. Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson. Between them, eight green jackets. Between them, a combined presence at the Masters stretching from Mickelson’s 1986 amateur appearance through every tournament since Woods turned professional in 1996.

This week, for the first time since 1994, neither man is at Augusta National. Golf is quietly reckoning with what that means.

How It Happened

The circumstances surrounding each absence are starkly different. Tiger Woods, 50, announced last week that he was stepping away from competition to seek treatment following a DUI arrest in Florida on February 27. Woods was charged with driving under the influence near his Jupiter Island home. He released a brief statement saying he would “seek treatment and focus on my health,” offering no timeline for his return.

For Mickelson, 55, the situation is tied to a personal family health matter that has kept him out of competition for most of the 2026 season. Mickelson missed the first four LIV Golf events of the year before returning briefly at LIV South Africa, where he finished T48 in the 54-man field. Days after that return, he announced via social media that he would not be at Augusta. “Unfortunately, I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter,” Mickelson wrote.

What This Moment Actually Means

The last time Woods and Mickelson were both absent from the Masters was 1994 — a year when Woods was a senior in high school and Mickelson had broken his leg in a skiing accident. The two players have never missed the tournament in the same season during the span of Woods’ professional career. That streak ends this week.

Their combined record at Augusta National tells the story of an era. Woods has won the Masters five times (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019) and Mickelson three times (2004, 2006, 2010). Together they account for eight of the last 29 green jackets — more than a quarter of Masters victories since 1997 have gone to one of two men.

The reaction among younger players and fans at Augusta this week has been relatively muted — not out of disrespect, but because the generational shift is genuine. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau are now the faces of the tournament. Many patrons filling Augusta’s pristine grounds this week grew up watching this era of golf, not the previous one. Time moves on, even at Augusta National.

The Legacy Question

Woods looms large over the Masters regardless of whether he’s in the field. His 1997 win — a 12-stroke blowout that remains the most dominant performance in Masters history — redefined what Augusta National could look like when a transcendent talent arrived at his peak. His 2019 comeback win, after multiple back surgeries and years of personal turmoil, was arguably the greatest single moment in the history of professional golf.

Mickelson’s Masters career was defined by persistence. After four runner-up finishes before his first win in 2004, his iconic birdie on the 72nd hole that year — arms spread wide as he walked toward the green — is one of the enduring images of the modern game. He won two more jackets after that and remained a competitive force at Augusta into his 50s.

A Chapter Closing

The absence of both icons this week doesn’t diminish the 90th Masters. The leaderboard is loaded, the weather is perfect, and the storylines are rich — a defending champion chasing history, a perennial bridesmaid hunting redemption, first-timers daring to dream. Augusta National is bigger than any one player, even the greatest who ever played it.

But for those who spent years watching the roars that followed Woods around these grounds — or the theatrical joy that accompanied Mickelson’s signature moments — this week carries the weight of something ending. The era when Tiger and Phil were the gravitational center of every major championship is over, perhaps permanently. What remains is a sport moving forward, and a tournament that will endure long after any of its champions are gone.