The Masters extended its reach to elite amateurs on Thursday when it extended a special invitation to NCAA Champion Gordon Sargent, the first time an amateur had received such an invitation in more than 20 years.
Augusta National also extended a special invitation to Kazuki Higa, who won four times on the Japan Golf Tour and topped the money list last year.
“The Masters tournament prioritizes opportunities to improve both amateur and professional golf around the world,” said Chairman Fred Ridley. “Whether on the international stage or at elite amateur level, every player has demonstrated their talent over the past year. We look forward to hosting her at Augusta National in April.”
Sargent is ranked No. 3 in the world amateur rankings and is part of a growing list of young American college stars.
As a freshman at Vanderbilt, he has won the NCAA singles title last year with a birdie on the first hole in a four-way playoff over Eugenio Chacarra, Parker Coody and Ryan Burnett. He was also selected for the Palmer Cup, matches between college players from the United States and Europe.
The Masters has a long history of catering to elite amateurs and once invited the Walker Cup team up until the late 1980s. It is currently inviting the US Amateur Champion and runners-up, the UK Amateur Champion, the US Intermediate Amateur Champion and the winners of the Asia Pacific and Latin American Amateur events that it has helped create.
The last amateur to receive a special invitation was Aaron Baddeley of Australia in 2000, who was 18 when he beat a field with Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie to win the Australian Open.
The invites bring the current field to 80 players. The only way to qualify now ahead of the April 6-9 tournament is to win a PGA Tour event that offers full FedEx Cup points, or finish in the top 50 in the world rankings a week before the Masters to be.
Higa’s invitation was expected. The Masters has a history of inviting international players who have had excellent seasons without regular PGA Tour access. The last special invitation in 2019 went to Shigo Imahira from Japan.
Higa is ranked No. 68 in the world and his four Japan Golf Tour victories include the Dunlop Phoenix in November, one of the strongest fields of the year in Japan.
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