It is often said there is no substitute for experience at Augusta National but that doesn't stop those contesting the Masters Tournament for the first time from trying to win the Green Jacket.
Of the 95 players in the field for the first Major Championship of the season, five are DP World Tour members who will be taking their first trip down Magnolia Lane.
Here, we take a look at the men who are dreaming of becoming just the fourth player to win on debut at Augusta National, after Horton Smith, Gene Sarazen and most recently Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Laurie Canter
Age: 35
Official World Golf Ranking: 50
Career wins worldwide: 2024 European Open, 2025 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship (both DP World Tour)
Part of England’s winning side at the 2010 European Amateur Team Championship, he won the European Open in Germany last year for his first career DP World Tour victory and hasn't looked back. He climbed into the world's top 50 for the first time at the start of last month, following his runner-up finish at the Investec South African Open Championship. Having won his second DP World Tour title in Bahrain a month earlier, the result continued a stellar start to the year on the Race to Dubai as he topped the International Swing Rankings. Since prior to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic – where he was in the mix for a Rolex Series win before finishing solo third at Emirates Golf Club – he has climbed more than 80 places in the Official World Golf Ranking in a less-than three-month stretch. After missing the cut on his debut at THE PLAYERS on the PGA TOUR, he faced an anxious wait to see whether he remained in the top 50 over the following weeks. One of seven Englishmen set to tee it up at Augusta, he can now look forward to fulfilling one of his lifelong ambitions.
Thomas Detry
Age: 32
Official World Golf Ranking: 27
Career wins worldwide: 2016 Bridgestone Challenge (HotelPlanner Tour), 2018 ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf with Thomas Pieters for Belgium, 2025 WM Phoenix Open (PGA TOUR)
A graduate of the HotelPlanner Tour in 2016, a season in which he remarkably made every cut, Detry is now reaping the benefits of dedication and belief in his game. Long touted as a future star of European golf, he made a career breakthrough as he won his first PGA TOUR title in style at the WM Phoenix Open in February. In doing so, he became the first Belgian to win on the PGA TOUR. This came after several near-misses on both sides of the Atlantic over recent years. He becomes the fourth player representing Belgium to compete in the Masters, joining Flory Van Donck, Nicolas Colsaerts and his good friend Thomas Pieters. Last year saw him register his best result at a Major, finishing tied fourth at the US PGA Championship. It was through that performance that he earned his coveted invite to Augusta where he, like so many others, will hope to further his chances of making the European Ryder Cup team at Bethpage later this year.
Rasmus Højgaard
Age: 24
Official World Golf Ranking: 55
Career wins worldwide: 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, 2020 ISPS HANDA UK Championship, 2021 Omega European Masters, 2023 Made in HimmerLand, 2024 Amgen Irish Open (all DP World Tour)
After seeing his twin brother Nicolai make his debut last year, this time it is Rasmus' turn as the pair become the first twins to play in the same Masters. History is something the Danish duo are well versed at creating, having become the first brothers to win back-to-back events on the DP World Tour as 20-year-olds in 2021. Precocious talents, the brothers are in their first year together as dual members of the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR. After watching Nicolai play in Europe's winning Ryder Cup team in 2023, shortly before suffering the heartache of narrowly missing out on earning his PGA TOUR card, Rasmus responded with a consistent campaign on the DP World Tour last year, highlighted by his fifth tour title at the Amgen Irish Open. With two runner-up finishes in addition, alongside five further top tens, he finished second only to Rory McIlroy in the season-long Race to Dubai Rankings. A lot of attention will be on the Højgaards this week, but based on how they have coped with scrutiny already in their careers, it is unlikely to faze Rasmus.
Thriston Lawrence
Age: 28
Official World Golf Ranking: 70
Career wins worldwide: 2015 Ras Al Khaimah Classic (MENA Golf Tour), 2019 Vodacom Origins of Golf at Stellenbosch (Sunshine Tour), 2022 Joburg Open, 2022 Omega European Masters, 2023 Investec South African Open Championship (co-sanctioned by DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour), 2023 BMW International Open (DP World Tour)
The South African finished tied fourth in The Open at Royal Troon last year to earn his spot in this year's field, while his standing as a member of the world's top 50 would also have been good enough. Across his 26 starts on the DP World Tour last year, he registered a season-high ten top tens. Among those were five runner-up finishes, including at the BMW PGA Championship as part of the Rolex Series. His consistency earned him dual membership status for 2025, and while he is yet to show his ability on the PGA TOUR so far this year, he doesn't have to look back far for positive Major memories. Having claimed four DP World Tour titles in less than a three-year span from 2021 to 2023, during which time he was named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 2022, he is not shy when in contention to win.
Aaron Rai
Age: 30
Official World Golf Ranking: 28
Career wins worldwide: 2017 Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9, 2017 Barclays Kenya Open, 2017 Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge (all HotelPlanner Tour), 2018 Honma Hong Kong Open, 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investements Scottish Open (both DP World Tour), 2024 Wyndham Championship (PGA TOUR)
The son of an Indian father and a Kenyan mother, Rai's rise to the PGA TOUR owes much to his graft in his formative years as a professional on the PGA EuroPro Tour and then the HotelPlanner Tour, where he won three times in 2017 to earn promotion to the DP World Tour for 2018. It was only with his Rolex Series win at the Genesis Scottish Open in 2020 that the Englishman broke into the world's top 100 but from there he hasn't looked back. After earning his PGA TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in 2021, he has since established himself on both sides of the Atlantic. He enjoyed a career-best season in 2024, winning his first PGA TOUR title at the Wyndham Championship, while qualifying for the lucrative Tour Championship as the only player in the field to do so without playing a Signature Event. Widely known for wearing two gloves and often using castle tees, he arrives at Augusta National bidding to better his previous best finish in a Major of tied 19th in both the 2021 Open and 2024 U.S. Open.
