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Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership has invited reigning NCAA Division I men’s champion Gordon Sargent and Kazuki Higa of Japan to compete within the 87th Masters, bringing the sphere for the April main to 80 gamers.
Sargent, 19, a sophomore at Vanderbilt, birdied the primary gap of a four-man playoff in Could to turn into the primary freshman since 2007 to win the person title on the NCAA championship. The golfer from Birmingham, Alabama, is third within the World Beginner Golf Rating and is the primary newbie to simply accept a particular invitation to the Masters since Aaron Baddeley in 2000.
Higa, 27, has received six instances on the Japan Golf Tour, together with 4 this previous season. He completed first in Japan’s Order of Advantage and is 68th within the Official World Golf Rating. It is going to be his second begin in a serious championship; he missed the lower on the a hundred and fiftieth Open Championship at St. Andrews this previous July. Higa tied for thirty sixth on the Zozo Championship in October.
“The Masters Event prioritizes alternatives to raise each newbie {and professional} golf world wide,” Augusta Nationwide chairman Fred Ridley mentioned in a press release. “Thus, we now have prolonged invites to 2 deserving gamers not in any other case certified. Whether or not on the worldwide stage or on the elite newbie stage, every participant has showcased their expertise prior to now yr. We look ahead to internet hosting them at Augusta Nationwide in April.”
Gamers have extra alternatives to qualify for the Masters, which is scheduled for April 6-9. The winner of the upcoming 2023 Latin America Beginner Championship can be invited to hitch the sphere, as will winners of upcoming PGA Tour occasions that award full-point allocation for the Tour Championship and any of the highest 50 gamers within the Official World Golf Rating printed the week earlier than the Masters who have not in any other case already certified.
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