LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann amongst 3 to get Masters invites

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

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

Nieman had mentioned when he received the LIV Golf opener in Mexico, “I wish to win majors, however I’ve obtained to get in first.” He had fallen effectively outdoors the highest 50 on the earth rating as a result of LIV doesn’t get world rating factors.

The particular invitation prolonged to Niemann means the Masters can have 13 gamers from LIV Golf, together with defending champion Jon Rahm. Ten of them are both former Masters champions or have received a significant prior to now 5 years. LIV Golf had 18 gamers within the 2023 Masters.

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

Augusta Nationwide didn’t supply an invite to Talor Gooch, who has received 3 times within the LIV Golf League because the Masters was final performed. The membership sometimes reserves particular invites for worldwide gamers who will not be PGA Tour members and haven’t got entry to all the standards, comparable to profitable or reaching the Tour Championship.

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

“The Masters Event has a long-standing custom of inviting main worldwide gamers who will not be in any other case certified,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley mentioned. “At present’s announcement represents the event’s continued dedication in direction of growing curiosity within the recreation of golf the world over.”

The Masters is April 11-14.

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 completed fourth within the Dubai Desert Traditional.

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

“It sort of damage me a bit bit not being within the majors and I feel additionally helped me to get motivation to sort of earn my spot again into the majors, into the elite gamers,” Niemann mentioned in Mayakoba.

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

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

That 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 standards. The one different time it awarded three in a single yr was 2008 to Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Liang Wen-Chong of China.

Hisatsune spent one yr 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 yr was a tie for eleventh within the American Specific Championship. He’s No. 78 on the earth 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 prices of grabbing a lady’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 Championship occasion. He mentioned he has no reminiscence of his habits after ingesting alcohol and taking sleeping tablets.

The invites convey the sector to 83 gamers. The one different means 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 earth within the April 1 rankings.