Gary Player, the first international player to win the Masters, was one of just 13 golfers in the 1961 field who was from outside of the United States. The South African, who would go on to play in 52 Masters and win the event three times, has seen enormous change over those years, perhaps none as big as the growth of the game around the world.
When the 82nd Masters commences next week at Augusta National, there will be 46 international players in the field (with the possibility of one more based on the Houston Open), marking the 12th straight year that Americans will be outnumbered by players from outside the country.
It should come as no surprise that six of the last 10 winners have hailed from outside of the U.S., and many of this year's favorites are non-Americans. Here are some of our notable international players in the field:
Sergio Garcia (Spain)
The defending champion would join fine company in winning back-to-back Masters: Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02). And there's no reason to think he can't prevail. After setting the record for most attempts (18) before a first green jacket, Garcia, 38, has four top-10 finishes in six starts this year and is ranked ninth in the world.
Justin Rose (England)
The tough-luck playoff loser to Garcia a year ago, Rose has four top-10 finishes at Augusta in his past six appearances. The 2013 U.S. Open champion and 2016 Olympic Gold medalist, Rose, 37, has been a constant contender for the better part of the past six months. Ranked fifth in the world, he won three times overseas, including back-to-back at the WGC-HSBC Champions and Turkish Airlines Open. Recently, he tied for fifth at the Valspar Championship and was third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
By now, you know the deal: McIlroy, 28, needs the Masters to complete a career Grand Slam, and Augusta National has proven to be a frustrating place for him. He has been top 10 in each of the past four years, but not a true back-nine contender. In 2011, he held the 54-hole lead, was still in position to win with nine holes to play, but shot a final-round 80. His recent victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational came at the perfect time, after 18 months without a win.
Jason Day (Australia)
The 2015 PGA Championship winner is tough to figure based on a very limited schedule to date. He won the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff, tied for second at Pebble Beach and has played only twice since, including the WGC-Match Play, where he did not make it out of group play. Day, 30, has also not been a contender at the Masters since finishing second in 2011 and third in 2013, but his length and overall game makes him a threat at a place where he has now competed seven times.
Jon Rahm (Spain)
He was on the verge of taking over the No. 1 ranking from Dustin Johnson earlier this year after winning the CareerBuilder Challenge, but has since cooled off, with no top-10 finishes. Still, at No. 3 in the world, with a tie for 27th in his first appearance at the Masters a year ago and the power game that seemingly fits Augusta National, it would be unwise to count him out. Rahm, 23, has four professional wins, all in just over a year.
Paul Casey (England)
His record is much stronger than two PGA Tour victories suggest, including the recent Valspar Championship. He also has 12 European Tour victories and a strong record at Augusta National, where he first played in 2004. Casey, 40, has five top-10 finishes at the Masters. He was sixth last year and has risen to 13th in the world.
Alex Noren (Sweden)
The former Oklahoma State golfer has 10 European Tour titles and has contended often of late on the PGA Tour, losing in a playoff to Day at the Farmers Insurance Open and finishing third last week at the WGC-Match Play. The only negative is just one start at Augusta National, a missed cut last year. But Noren, 35, did tie for sixth at The Open last year and is ranked 14th in the world. He also has not missed a cut in his past 12 worldwide fields.
Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)
A five-time PGA Tour winner, Matsuyama, 26, got his start at the Masters by twice winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur -- the grow-the-game initiative started by the Masters Tournament Foundation. He has been fifth, tied for seventh and tied for 11th the past three years and has contended at several majors, finishing no worse than 14th in any of the four last year. The issue for Matsuyama is the wrist injury that kept him out for more than six weeks earlier this year.
Tommy Fleetwood (England)
He missed the cut in his only Masters appearance a year ago, but Fleetwood has steadily shown he deserves to be considered among the game's top players. Now ranked 11th in the world, the 27-year-old has won twice in the past year, including in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, and was fourth at the 2016 U.S. Open.
Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
The 2016 Open champion is typically on the short list of contenders at the Masters, but he has never had a top-10 finish at Augusta National. In 12 appearances, Stenson, 41, has missed four cuts and his best finish was a tie for 14th in 2014. Augusta National has frustrated him at times, but he's too good of a ball-striker to dismiss. And he has been in the top 8 in three of his past five starts.
Notables
Danny Willett (England): Just two years removed from winning the Masters, Willett has slumped to 258th in the world due to injury woes. Willett, 30, missed the cut or withdrawn from 10 of his past 16 worldwide starts.
Shubhankar Sharma (India): A two-time winner on the European Tour, Sharma, 21, received a special invitation from the Masters and will become just the fourth player from India to play in the tournament.
Joaquin Niemann (Chile): The 19-year-old amateur earned a spot in the field by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in his home country in January.
Yuxin Lin (China): A 17-year-old lefty, Lin earned his spot in the Masters with a 3-3-3 finish at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in October.
Haotong Li (China): A two-time winner on the European Tour, his second victory came at the Dubai Desert Classic in February, when he overtook McIlroy to win by a stroke. Li, 22, earned his spot in the Masters by finishing third last year at The Open at Royal Birkdale.
Adam Scott (Australia): How do you leave the 2013 Masters winner out of any such discussion? Scott, 37, has slipped to 61st in the world and hasn't posted a top-10 finish since last June.