Past British Open champions Cameron Smith and Brian Harman lead area contingent in Masters

It's going to be a light contingent of First Coast and Golden Isles players in The Masters Tournament this week.

But two of them are past champions at the Augusta National Golf Club. And four of the five area players in the field are past major champions.

Masterful day: Lily Wachter of St. Augustine captures Drive, Chip and Putt title

Heading the list are the last two British Open champions, Brian Harman of St. Simons Island, Ga., and Cameron Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach. Every year they are eligible for The Masters they will be trying to join a long list of players who have won the oldest major (the Open began in 1863) and the youngest (the Masters started in 1934).

Thirteen players have done both, led by World Golf Hall of Fame members Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros. The last Open champion to then add a Masters to his resume was Nick Faldo in 1989.

Here are the area players in the 2024 Masters:

Harris English, St. Simons Island

Masters appearances: Four.

Best finish: A tie for 21st in 2021.

Notable: English has three top-10s in the U.S. Open.

Brian Harman, St. Simons Island

Masters appearances: Five.

Best finish: Tie for 12th in 2021.

Notable: Harman routed the field at Royal Liverpool last year for his first major championship, winning by six shots.

Zach Johnson, St. Simons Island

Masters appearances: 19.

Best finish: Won in 2007.

Notable: Johnson's 1-over 289 to win the Masters was the highest score since Jack Burke in 1956.

Vijay Singh, Ponte Vedra Beach

Masters appearances: 30.

Best finish: Won in 2000.

Notable: Singh's victory kicked off a stretch in which he finished tied for eighth or better in six of seven years at Augusta.

Cameron Smith, Ponte Vedra Beach

Masters appearances: Seven.

Best finish: Tied for second in 2020.

Notable: Smith became the only player to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds at Augusta in 2020 when he finished five shots behind Dustin Johnson.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Masters hopes among area players led by Cameron Smith, Brian Harman