A prayer or two is necessary for many players before they navigate their way through Amen Corner at the Masters. The sport's top players are getting set for the 89th edition of

Every hole is important at the Augusta National Club, but few areas are as iconic and memorable as Amen Corner. It is an area of the course which has derailed many of the top players' campaigns. and Jordan Spieth are two recent examples of players whose hopes of lifting the Masters were all but ended at the corner. As the sporting world prepares for the first golf major of the year, Express Sport takes you through Amen Corner and why it is so significant.

Amen Corner is a corner of Augusta National Golf Club where holes 11, 12 and 13 are. The eleventh hole is called 'White Dogwood', which is a huge 505-yard, par four which has been gradually increased in size. Initially, it was only 455 yards, until it was increased to 490 in 2006 and then stretched by another 15 yards in 2017.

The 12th hole is the Golden Bell, the shortest hole of Amen Corner at only 155 yards, but one that has seen many of the greats falter. Phil Mickelson once described it as "that lovely little devil of a hole".

Last but not least is the 13th hole, that is known as 'Azalea', which is 545 yards long and a par 5. Between 1930 and 2023, the hole was only 510 yards, but was extended significantly to keep up with the ever-increasing hitting distance a player can record.

The first person to label the Augusta tripartite as 'Amen Corner' was the famous sports writer Herbert Warren Wind. He first coined the name during an article he wrote in Sports Illustrated, shortly after the 1958 Masters.

The title 'Amen Corner' derives from an old jazz number called 'shouting at Amen Corner' and he used it shortly after the tight battle between Arnole Palmer and Ken Vanturi. Wind used the phrase, stating players often said a prayer going into the corner and give thanks if they emerge from the trio of holes unscathed.

Wind wrote: "At the farthest reach of the Augusta National course-down in the Amen Corner where Rae's Creek intersects the 13th fairway near the tee, then parallels the front edge of the green on the short 12th and finally swirls alongside the 11th green."

Locals in Augusta used to joke that the hole has ruined the lives of more men than marriage and moonshine, such is its difficult nature and capacity to change a golfer's chances of winning. While it has dented many players, few felt its wrath more than Spieth at the 2016 Masters.

After dropping a shot on the 11th hole while holding a strong lead, Spieth had a disastrous time at the Golden Bell, dropping a quadruple bogey, which all but ended his hopes of retaining the Masters. McIlroy will also empathise with Spieth, having endured his own nightmare at Amen Corner.

Going into the section, McIlroy held a four-shot lead in 2011 and looked to be in a strong position. His Masters ended with him not only surrendering the lead, but dropping all the way down to 15th.