Entered the Masters ticket lottery? This is how likely you are to get lucky
Ever wondered if you were wasting your time filling in that application form? Oddsmakers have now had a go at predicting the chances of nabbing a precious Augusta National ticket
It’s a tradition unlike any other. No, I’m not talking about the tournament. I mean the strange summer ritual when social media golfers share their collective pain – by posting the screenshot revealing they’ve been yet again rejected for Masters tickets in the annual lottery.
“We have completed the ticket selection process for the Masters Tournament and we regret to inform you that your application was not selected.”
Yes, I’ve had that painful email all too often. A little piece of me died with each rejection.
Masters ticket lottery odds: What are the chances of your name being selected?
I’ll wonder why I’m even filling in the application, but you’ve got to be in it to win it, right? I’ve often thought about the likelihood of success in the Masters ticket lottery.
Is it a needle in a haystack? What are the chances of my name being pulled out of the hat and getting me feverishly booking April flights to Georgia?
Now one bookmaker has had a go and estimated the odds of winning the Masters ticket lottery for a single-day tournament ticket to be just 0.55 per cent.
That’s about 1 in 200 in old money. Better numbers than winning the National Lottery – that’s currently estimated at just over 45 million to one – but worryingly close to the odds of falling to your death, which is 1 in 218 according to the National Safety Council.
Let that sink in. You’ve only got a slightly better chance statistically of seeing those luscious fairways by winning the Masters lottery than you have of tripping up and smacking your head on a kerb.
To work all this out, Bookies.com estimated 40,000 patrons each tournament day, with around 18,000 taken up by weekly badge holders.
With 22,000 theoretically up for grabs for each round, they took a punt on the number of applications – settling on two million every day.
While they admit there’s a pretty large margin for error, 0.55 per cent feels, anecdotally at least, as if it’s a figure that might have some legs.
After all, we all know some lucky sod that’s managed to bag a spot in the Masters ticket lottery. So, let’s keep trying. Next year is is definitely going to be our year…
Now have your say
Have you come up trumps in the ballot? Has the Masters ticket lottery pulled out your name? What was your experience like at Augusta National? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
- NOW READ: What is the Butler Cabin at Augusta?
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
