The white overalls worn by caddies, the par-3 contest the day before the tournament and of course the Green Jacket awarded to the winner.
No tournament does tradition quite like the US Masters, and one such tradition is inviting winners back to play every year. The US Open only invites the last 10 winners back; The Open invites all past winners under the age of 60. For the US Masters, a win represents a lifetime invitation.
Of course, many get to an age where they're no longer playing competitively and success is finishing anywhere but last, but there are plenty of seniors who return each year and seem to defy their age. Fred Couples, who won his first senior major in 2011, recorded four top-20s in his next five Augusta appearances, and even made the weekend as recently as 2023.
Jose Maria Olazabal, whose last non-Masters major was at the 2013 US Open, made the cut in 2024. Even Phil Mickelson, 13 years removed from his last US Masters win, recorded a remarkable T2 finish in 2023.
One legend who won't be teeing it up at Augusta this year, however, is Bernhard Langer.
None have defied time quite like the German, who won the US Masters in 1985 and 1993. Langer dominated the seniors tour shortly after joining, winning a record 12 major titles, including the US Senior Open in 2023 at the age of 65, holding off Steve Stricker who is nine years his junior.
Langer was expecting to play his final Masters in 2024, but a torn Achilles delayed his curtain call by a year. Returning in 2025, an emotional Langer prepared for his final walk across the Hogan Bridge. Now 68, even the seemingly ageless Langer has finally found the gruelling Augusta National too much, admitting he was needing 3-woods into par-4s last year.
Langer would go on to miss the cut by one shot in his final outing, but over those first two rounds, he shot the same 36-hole score as Dustin Johnson and Russell Henley, and outscored the likes of Sergio Garcia, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Robert MacIntyre, Cameron Young and playing partner Will Zalatoris (by five shots, no less).
It will leave 66-year-old Couples as the oldest player in the 2026 tournament.
