Masters Champions Still Alive: A Statistical Overview

As of mid-2025, 19 former Masters champions are still living. That number includes everyone from Gary Player (89) down to Hideki Matsuyama (33). But “still alive” can mean different things. If you’re tracking who could actually tee it up at Augusta National this year, the list shrinks to about 12—the rest have retired from competitive play and attend only as honorary participants. Below is the breakdown with the data you need, plus how to verify a champion’s status and what the numbers mean for fans, bettors, and the tournament itself.

How Many Living Masters Champions Are There Right Now?

The exact count changes whenever a past winner dies. As of April 2025, here are the living champions sorted by age, with their current playing status:

Name	Masters Wins (Years)	Age	Status
Gary Player	3 (1961, 1974, 1978)	89	Retired; ceremonial appearances only
Jack Nicklaus	6 (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986)	85	Retired; hits ceremonial tee shot
Tom Watson	2 (1977, 1981)	76	Retired; played occasional senior events
Ben Crenshaw	2 (1984, 1995)	73	Retired; course designer, not competing
Bernhard Langer	2 (1985, 1993)	68	Active on PGA Tour Champions
Nick Faldo	3 (1989, 1990, 1996)	68	Retired from competitive play
Fred Couples	1 (1992)	67	Active on PGA Tour Champions; plays occasional PGA events
Jose Maria Olazabal	2 (1994, 1999)	59	Active on DP World Tour and senior circuits
Phil Mickelson	3 (2004, 2006, 2010)	55	Active on LIV Golf
Mike Weir	1 (2003)	55	Active on PGA Tour Champions
Tiger Woods	5 (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019)	49	Active on PGA Tour (limited schedule)
Zach Johnson	1 (2007)	49	Active on PGA Tour
Bubba Watson	2 (2012, 2014)	47	Active on LIV Golf
Sergio Garcia	1 (2017)	45	Active on LIV Golf
Adam Scott	1 (2013)	44	Active on PGA Tour
Patrick Reed	1 (2018)	35	Active on LIV Golf
Jordan Spieth	1 (2015)	31	Active on PGA Tour
Hideki Matsuyama	1 (2021)	33	Active on PGA Tour
Dustin Johnson	1 (2020)	41	Active on LIV Golf

Total: 19 living champions. Of those, 12 are still competing on a major professional tour (PGA, LIV, or Champions) with the ability to play in the Masters if they choose. The other 7 are retired or have stopped playing competitive rounds.

Applicability Boundary

This count represents every winner from 1961 onward who is still alive. If you include earlier winners, there are none—no champion from the 1930s–1950s survives. The number also changes if you define “still alive” as “able and likely to play in the next Masters.” For that narrower group, use the “Active” column above. The Masters itself invites every living winner, but many decline due to age, injury, or lack of competitive interest.

Age Distribution and What It Means for the Tournament

Oldest: Gary Player (89). He last competed in 2023, making the cut at 87—the oldest player ever to complete 36 holes at Augusta. Youngest: Jordan Spieth (31). He won in 2015 at age 21.

Clusters:

• 5 champions are 70 or older (Player, Nicklaus, Watson, Crenshaw, Langer).
• 6 are in their 50s or 60s (Faldo, Couples, Olazabal, Mickelson, Weir, Garcia).
• 8 are under 50 (Woods, Johnson, Scott, Watson, Reed, Spieth, Matsuyama, Johnson).

Practical implication for fans: The younger cohort means the “living champions club” is likely to stay above 15 members for at least another decade. Only one champion over 80 (Player) is in the high-risk age bracket. For bettors, however, the active under-50 group includes several players who could contend again (Spieth, Matsuyama, Scott). The older retirees lower the odds of any past champion winning—but a healthy Tiger Woods at Augusta remains a long-shot wildcard.

Trade-off to watch: The five champions over 70 play a ceremonial role, not a competitive one. Their presence at the Champions Dinner and the par-3 contest adds history, but they won’t affect the leaderboard.

How to Verify a Champion’s Status

If you need to confirm whether a specific Masters champion is still alive or planning to play, use these steps:

1. Check the official Masters website (masters.com) → “Past Champions” page. It lists every winner and includes a “Playing Status” column that notes if a champion has passed away or is inactive.

2. Look at the most recent Masters entry list (published in March/April). Any champion who intends to play will appear. If a name is missing, they either declined or are not competing.

3. Cross-reference with the PGA Tour or LIV Golf schedule. For active players, check their tournament commit list on pgatour.com or livgolf.com.

4. For older champions, use a reliable obituary database (e.g., Legacy.com, Wikipedia’s list of Masters champions). Note that Wikipedia is updated frequently but may lag by a day or two. The Masters official site is the most authoritative source.

Example: To verify Gary Player’s current status, go to masters.com → “Past Champions” → Filter by “Gary Player” → Status shows “Honorary Starter.” That confirms he is alive but not an active competitor.

What the Living Champions Count Means for Fans and Bettors

The number of living champions affects three things:

• Champions Dinner attendance. Every living winner is invited to the Tuesday-night dinner. In 2025, 19 were invited—down from 26 in 2000. Fewer elders means a more intimate (and less nostalgic) event.
• Ceremonial tee shots. The Masters gives honorary starter duties to the oldest living champions. Currently Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus handle the first tee on Thursday. When they are gone, no champion from the 1960s will remain.
• Field size and special exemptions. The Masters reserves one spot for any past champion who chooses to play. With fewer living champions, that spot becomes less significant for the field overall. However, the tournament can still invite international qualifiers and amateurs to fill the gap.

For bettors: Don’t assume a past champion in the living list means they’re competing. Of the 19, only about 10–12 typically enter each year. The Masters does not require them to play—they can skip indefinitely and still hold a lifetime invitation. So if you’re checking odds for “past champions to win,” filter to the active younger ones only.

Common Misconceptions and Limitations

• “All 19 living champions will play in the Masters.” False. Many have not competed in years. For example, Jack Nicklaus last played a competitive round in 2022. The Masters invites them, but they are not obligated to tee it up.
• “The number never changes much.” It changes roughly every 1–2 years when an older champion passes. Between 2020 and 2025, the count dropped from 21 to 19. Expect continued slow decline.
• “The count includes every winner from 1934.” No. The earliest living champion is from 1961. All winners from 1934–1960 are deceased.
• “A living champion can’t win again if they’re old.” While unlikely, it’s not impossible. Bernhard Langer won the 2023 Masters? No—he won the 2023 U.S. Senior Open. No champion over 50 has won the Masters since Jack Nicklaus in 1986 (age 46). The odds are extremely low but not zero.

What to do if you need the absolute latest count: Check the Masters website the week of the tournament. The official media guide updates the living champions roster right before the first round. For real-time breaking news (e.g., a champion’s death), follow a reputable golf news outlet like Golf Digest or the Associated Press.

The 19 living Masters champions represent the living history of the tournament, from the 1960s to the present day. Use the table above as your quick reference, and verify any specific player’s status through the official sources before making decisions based on their participation.