On Wednesday morning, Masters tournament organizers announced that two special invitations had been accepted.
Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark will join the field for the first major of the year, which will be held April 10-13 at Augusta National Golf Club.
“In support of Augusta National’s efforts to develop interest in golf around the world, throughout the history of the Tournament, distinguished, unqualified overseas players have been invited,” said Masters president Fred Ridley. “The tradition continues as we welcome Nicolai and Joaquin back to the Masters as both players have showcased their talent while competing around the world. We look forward to their arrival in April.”
This is the second year in a row that Niemann has received a special invitation. Niemann, 26, who joined LIV Golf two years ago, is coming off a season in which he has won twice and finished in the top six six times on the Saudi-backed circuit. He also recently won the Saudi International on the Asian Tour and is ranked 71st in the Official World Golf Rankings, although LIV is still not scoring points in the world rankings.
Niemann, who made his Masters debut in 2018 after winning the Latin America Amateur, has competed at Augusta National five times and finished in the top 25 in each of the past two editions.
Hojgaard, 23, played his first Masters tournament last year and briefly led on Saturday before falling to a T-16 finish with no chance of an automatic comeback.
With these two additions, the number of invited players at Masters tournaments now stands at 87 invited players, including former champion Bernhard Langer, who is set to compete for the final time, and Angel Cabrera, who has not competed in a Masters tournament since 2019 due to legal issues and two years in prison in his native Argentina. Cabrera was released in December 2023, although he did not receive a visa to enter the US until May, which forced him to miss last year’s Masters.
“Angel is certainly one of our great champions,” Ridley said in January 2024. “As we all know, he has been unable to compete in the Masters tournaments for the last few years due to legal reasons. We are currently in constant contact with Angel’s representatives. He is currently unable to enter the United States. There is no visa and I know this process is being worked on. We certainly wish him all the best and will certainly welcome him back if he can clarify these legal issues.”
Also to be added are the winner of the Jan. 16-19 Latin American Amateur, upcoming winners of full-field PGA Tour events and any players who have not yet qualified who finished in the OWGR top 50 in the week before the tournament.
