LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann has accepted a particular invitation to play the Masters together with Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, Augusta Nationwide stated on Wednesday.
Chile’s Niemann stated after his victory within the LIV season-opener in Mexico — the place he shot a first-round 59 — that he hoped to have an opportunity to contend in majors despite the fact that his world rating has dropped as a result of LIV occasions don’t carry world rating factors.
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He was already certified for the British Open due to his victory within the Australian Open in December, and Masters officers cited that Australian triumph in asserting they’d prolonged an invite to the 25-year-old to play in a fifth Masters.
“The Masters Event has a longstanding custom of inviting main worldwide gamers who will not be in any other case certified,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley stated in a press release.
“In the present day’s announcement represents the event’s continued dedication in direction of creating curiosity within the sport of golf internationally.”
Niemann, who first performed the Masters in 2018 as the highest ranked newbie on this planet, has made the reduce in three of 4 Masters appearances.
He has top-five finishes in every of his three European Tour begins this season, together with his playoff win within the Australian Open.
With LIV golfers nonetheless banned from the US PGA Tour Niemann has used European Tour occasions to attempt to bolster his rating, which now stands at 81st — outdoors the highest 50 that may routinely qualify for the Masters.
Hisatsune, 21, is ranked 78th. He spent a yr on the Japan Golf Tour earlier than qualifying for the European Tour, the place he gained the French Open and completed excessive sufficient within the Race to Dubai to earn a spot on the US PGA Tour.
He’s the primary Japanese participant to be named the European Tour’s rookie of the yr.
Olesen is an eight-time winner on the European Tour. He has performed in three earlier Masters, however this will likely be his first since he was cleared in December 2021 of costs of sexually assaulting a lady on a transatlantic flight.
A London courtroom cleared him of costs of shoving an airline employee, touching a lady’s breast and urinating on one other passenger’s seat, actions he stated he couldn’t bear in mind after taking sleeping medicine with alcohol.
The three invites carry the sphere to 83 gamers. Golfers can nonetheless qualify by profitable one of many seven remaining PGA Tour occasions earlier than the Masters, which will likely be held April 11-14.
The highest 50 on this planet golf rankings as of April 1 may even qualify.bb/mw