Understanding Masters Champions Still Alive: A Practical Guide

As of early 2025, there are 23 living Masters champions (excluding honorary past champions who never won a green jacket). The oldest is Gary Player (89), and the youngest is Scottie Scheffler (28). This guide shows you how to confirm each champion’s status yourself, what pitfalls to avoid, and when to trust an official source.

What You’ll Need to Start

Before you build or verify a list of living champions, gather these resources:

• Official Masters website (masters.com) – publishes the annual past champions list and updates it after each tournament. The Champions Dinner photo from the Tuesday before the tournament is also a reliable visual check.
• Reliable sports database (e.g., PGA Tour media guide, ESPN golf section, Wikipedia for birth years only) – use these for birthdates and recent tournament appearances. Avoid fan-run blogs or forum posts.
• Current year and tournament schedule – the number of living champions changes whenever a winner dies or a new champion is crowned. Always reference the current season, not a cached page.

Having these on hand prevents you from relying on outdated blog posts or incomplete fan lists. For instance, a popular list from 2017 would still include Arnold Palmer (died 2016) and Jack Burke Jr. (died 2024), giving you two extra names.

Step-by-Step Method to Verify a Champion’s Status

Follow these four steps in order. The process is straightforward but requires care with details.

Step 1 – Identify the champion and their winning year(s).

Pull the full winners list from masters.com. Every green-jacket winner since 1934 is listed. Write down each name and the year(s) they won. Note: multiples (e.g., Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus) appear only once in your count.

Step 2 – Locate their date of birth.

Use the PGA Tour’s player profile or Wikipedia’s infobox. Record the birth year. This helps you gauge whether a champion is likely still alive (birth years after 1935 are almost certain living; pre-1930 require extra confirmation).

Step 3 – Confirm they are still alive.

Search for recent evidence:

• Did they play in the Par 3 Contest or Champions Dinner in the last two years? Augusta National posts photos and participant lists.
• Do they have a recent news article (e.g., a charity event, anniversary, or interview)?
• Is there an obituary or death notice on a major news site (e.g., AP, ESPN, Golf Digest)?

A champion is considered alive if you find activity within the past 12 months. For older champions like Gary Player (born 1935), cross‑check his last public appearance – he attended the 2024 Par 3 Contest.

Step 4 – Cross-reference with the current year.

If a champion’s birth year is more than 100 years ago (e.g., born before 1925), double‑check recent activity. No living champion was born before 1935 (Gary Player). If you see a name like “Byron Nelson” (died 2006) on an old list, delete it immediately.

Realistic branch:

If you find a name like “Adam Scott” missing from your personal list, check whether the official Masters site includes him – yes, he won in 2013. Some third‑party sources omit recent winners by mistake. If a name is new to you, verify it against the full winners’ list instead of assuming an error.

Concrete failure mode:

A common mistake is using a decade‑old printed list or a blog post that hasn’t been updated since 2010. That list would still include champions who have since passed away (e.g., Arnold Palmer died in 2016, Jack Burke Jr. in 2024). The symptom is seeing too many names. The cause is stale data. Safer move: always start from the current year’s official source, not an archived page.

Stop/escalate threshold:

Stop your DIY research if you cannot find a confirming source within the last six months for a champion you suspect may have died. For example, if a champion has not attended the Masters Champions Dinner for three consecutive years and no obituary exists, treat their status as unknown. Escalate to the official Masters media contact or the PGA Tour communications office for a definitive answer. This step is rare but necessary for champions who live privately, such as some older winners.

Verification Step – Confirm Your List Works

Before you consider your list final, perform one concrete check:

1. Count the names on your list.

2. Compare that number to the official “Living Champions” count published each April on masters.com (they typically list the number alongside the field of former winners invited to play).

3. If your count matches the official number, your list is likely correct. If it differs by even one, re‑run the steps – you almost certainly missed a champion or included a deceased one.

What success looks like:

Your final list includes exactly the same names as those shown in the Champions Dinner photo or the official past champions page for the current year. You should be able to verify each person’s age and recent activity with at least one credible source.

For example, the 2024 Champions Dinner photo included 23 former winners. If your list shows 24, you likely included someone who died before 2025 (like Jack Burke Jr., who passed away in January 2024). If your list shows 22, you may have omitted a living champion such as Angel Cabrera (who was not invited in 2024 due to legal issues but is still alive) – the official source will clarify those edge cases.

Common Mistakes That Skew Your List

Even careful researchers fall into a few traps. Watch for these:

• Confusing honorary members with actual winners. The Masters invites honorary non‑winners (e.g., former USGA presidents, Augusta National members) to the Champions Dinner. They are not “Masters champions” and should not be on your list. Stick only to green‑jacket winners.
• Assuming all early‑era champions are dead. That is generally true, but Gary Player (born 1935) is still alive. A quick birth‑year check avoids premature removal. Similarly, Ben Crenshaw (born 1952) and Tom Watson (born 1949) are still living and occasionally play in the tournament.
• Forgetting to update after the current year’s tournament. A new champion (e.g., the 2025 winner) becomes the 24th living champion immediately. Update your list within 24 hours of the final round. Also check for any deaths that occur during the calendar year – Augusta National usually updates the past champions page within a day of an obituary.
• Relying on a single social media post for status. A tweet saying “RIP” may be unverified. Always cross‑check with a major news outlet or the official Masters website before removing a name.

When to Rely on the Official Source Only

If you need 100% accuracy for betting, media reporting, or historical record, skip the DIY steps and use the official Masters website directly. Augusta National maintains the definitive list and updates it the same day a champion dies or a new winner is crowned. There is no faster or more reliable method.

For casual reference, the step‑by‑step process above gives you a list accurate enough for most conversations – just be aware that it can become stale within a few months. Setting a calendar reminder each February to re‑run the steps ensures your list stays current. If you are preparing a trivia night or a historical article, aim to check the official source within 48 hours of publication. That approach eliminates guesswork and keeps your information aligned with what Augusta National deems accurate.