While all eyes are on the green jacket at the 2026 Masters this week, at least six sets of eyes will be focused on something else. The Silver Cup, an honor bestowed upon the low amateur in each playing of the tournament, has served as a prize for the best amateur in the field and an indication of the bright future ahead for that golfer.
Before legends of the game like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson made their marks on this tournament in the form of winning — combining for 14 green jackets — they all had claimed low amateur honors first. The 90th Masters marks the 25th anniversary of Mickelson claiming the cup in 1991.
Parlaying low amateur honors into low professional honors (i.e., winning the tournament) is more common than one might believe. Sergio Garcia and Hideki Matsuyama have been the latest to do so with Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland posing as the best candidates to become the latest to join this list.
Notable low amateurs at the Masters
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Jack Nicklaus |
1960 |
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Phil Mickelson |
1991 |
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Tiger Woods |
1995 |
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Sergio Garcia |
1999 |
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Hideki Matsuyama |
2011 |
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Bryson DeChambeau |
2016 |
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Viktor Hovland |
2019 |
Low amateur honors is not a perennial award, however. From 2006-09, the Silver Cup was not earned at the Masters as no amateurs made the 36-hole cut at Augusta National. A similar run is unfolding right now as three of the last five Masters have not seen an amateur make the cut.
Neal Shipley was the most recent to win the Silver Cup winner in 2024. He stole the show alongside Woods over the weekend and earned his seat in Butler Cabin, where he immediately went viral for his facial expression.
Let’s look at the six amateurs who will tee it up Thursday at Augusta National and hope to add their names to those above.
2026 Masters field: Meet the amateurs
Ethan Fang
Age: 20
Home country: United States
College: Oklahoma State
Invitation: Amateur Championship winner
The highest-ranked amateur in the field at world No. 7, Fang enjoyed a memorable 2025 that saw him win the Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s and star as a member of winning teams at the NCAA Championship and Walker Cup. If he were to win low amateur honors, Fang would be the second man from Oklahoma State to do so in the last five times the Silver Cup has been awarded.
Jackson Herrington
Age: 19
Home country: United States
College: Tennessee
Invitation: U.S. Amateur runner-up
Played his best golf when it mattered at the U.S. Amateur as his finish at the Olympic Club was the bright spot in his 2025 season. He seems to be on a similar trajectory heading into Augusta as Herrington finished T6 at the Cabo Collegiate and T14 in the Pauma Valley Invitational. Augusta has been kind to left-handers in the past, and Herrington is the lone amateur to swing from the wrong side of the ball.
Brandon Holtz
Age: 39
Home country: United States
College: Illinois State
Invitation: U.S. Mid-Amateur winner
A patron of many Masters past, Holtz now has a chance to walk inside the ropes thanks to his U.S. Mid-Amateur victory at Troon Country Club in Arizona. He is a former college basketball player and a former professional golfer. He now works as a real estate agent for Remax.
Mason Howell
Age: 18
Home country: United States
College: Georgia (commitment)
Invitation: U.S. Amateur winner
The third-youngest to raise the Havemeyer Trophy, Howell was dominant in his 7&6 U.S. Amateur victory. His performance did not come out of nowhere, though; earlier that summerm he qualified for the U.S. Open at Oakmont with rounds of 63-63. He also played in the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he earned medalist honors. So far in 2026, Howell has been playing great golf with a podium finish at the Junior Invitational. He also produced rounds of 73-66 at the Houston Open on the PGA Tour, where he missed the cut by one.
Fifa Laopakdee
Age: 21
Home country: Thailand
College: Arizona State
Invitation: Asia-Pacific Amateur winner
The 23rd-ranked amateur in the world, Laopakdee made birdie on his final two holes of regulation to force a playoff at the Asia-Pacific Amateur before rattling off three straight in extra holes to prove victorious. He’s the first amateur to represent Thailand at the Masters. Recently, Laopakdee finished atop the leaderboard at the Desimone Invitational, which Arizona State won as a team.
Mateo Pulcini
Age: 25
Home country: Argentina
College: Arkansas via Oklahoma Christian
Invitation: Latin America Amateur winner
Just outside the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Pulcini emerged from a playoff at the Latin America Amateur Championship this January. This came after a 2025 that saw him enter the winner’s circle on three separate occasions on the amateur circuit. He played Division II golf for three seasons before finishing up his collegiate career as a Razorback.