LIV’s Joaquin Niemann Is One Of Three Players To Receive A Special Invitation To The Masters

Joaquin Niemann competed exterior LIV Golf in his offseason and obtained one thing cash can’t purchase. He was amongst three gamers given a particular invitation Wednesday to play within the Masters.

Augusta National additionally invited 21-year-old Ryo Hisatsune, the primary Japanese participant to be European tour rookie of the 12 months, and Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark.

Nieman had mentioned when he received the LIV Golf opener in Mexico, “I want to win majors, but I’ve got to get in first.” The 25-year-old from Chile had fallen effectively exterior the highest 50 on the planet rating as a result of LIV doesn’t get world rating factors.

The Masters is April 11-14.

Niemann was the one participant from the Saudi-funded LIV Golf to obtain the invitation, which was extra about his victory within the Australian Open and his willingness to play tournaments exterior the LIV Golf League in a bid to get rating factors.

Augusta National didn’t supply an invite to Talor Gooch, who has received thrice within the LIV Golf League because the Masters was final performed. The membership sometimes reserves particular invites for worldwide gamers who are usually not PGA Tour members and don’t have entry to all the factors, similar to profitable or reaching the Tour Championship.

In its announcement, Augusta National solely talked about Niemann’s win within the Australian Open and his two different high 10s in European tour-sanctioned occasions. The membership didn’t cite his win at LIV Golf Mayakoba.

“The Masters Tournament has a long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified,” Masters Chairman Fred Ridley mentioned. “Today’s announcement represents the tournament’s continued commitment towards developing interest in the game of golf across the world.”

Niemann received the Australian Open in December, together with ending fifth within the Australian PGA. He joined the European tour after profitable the Australian Open, a co-sanctioned occasion, and tied for fourth within the Dubai Desert Classic, 4 photographs behind Rory McIlroy.

He began his third season on LIV with a 59 at Mayakoba and ultimately received in a playoff over Sergio Garcia, his first title within the Saudi-backed league with solely 54 gamers.

“It kind of hurt me a little bit not being in the majors and I think also helped me to get motivation to kind of earn my spot back into the majors, into the elite players,” he mentioned in Mayakoba.

The particular invitation prolonged to Niemann means the Masters could have 13 gamers with LIV Golf, together with defending champion Jon Rahm. Ten of them are both former Masters champions or have received a serious within the final 5 years.

Niemann, who was No. 18 on the planet when he joined LIV in September 2022, is now No. 81. He is enjoying within the Asian Tour’s International Series in Oman this week, although he wouldn’t have had an opportunity to get into the highest 50 on the planet due to the weak area.

Niemann tied for sixteenth within the Masters final 12 months in his fourth look. He performed in 2018 as an beginner, incomes his spot within the area by profitable the Latin America Amateur Championship.

This is the fifteenth time the Masters has awarded particular invites since 1999, when it first started utilizing the world rating as a part of the factors. The solely different time it awarded three in a single 12 months was 2008 to Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Liang Wen-Chong of China.

Hisatsune spent one 12 months on the Japan Golf Tour earlier than qualifying for the European tour. He received the French Open and completed excessive sufficient on the Race to Dubai to earn considered one of 10 spots on the PGA Tour. His finest end in 4 begins on the PGA Tour this 12 months was a tie for eleventh within the American Express Championship. He is No. 78 on the planet rating.

Olesen is an eight-time winner on the European tour who performed within the 2018 Ryder Cup.

His invitation comes simply over two years after a London court docket cleared him on costs of grabbing a girl’s breast, shoving a cabin crew member and urinating on a passenger’s seat on a British Airways flight from Tennessee after a World Golf Championships occasion. He mentioned he has no reminiscence of his conduct after ingesting alcohol and taking sleeping tablets.

The invites carry the sector to 83 gamers. The solely different method for gamers to qualify is to win one of many seven PGA Tour occasions earlier than the Masters or being within the high 50 on the planet within the April 1 rankings.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)