© Getty Images Sport – Manuel Velasquez / Stringer
Recognized for his recent performances and victories, Joaquin Niemann, among the leading players of the LIV Golf whose tournaments are not yet recognized for the world ranking, has been invited to participate in The Masters, the first male Major of 2024 scheduled from April 11th to 14th at Augusta (Georgia, USA).
The Chilean, who won the Australian Open on the DP World Tour last December and recently triumphed in Mexico at the LIV Mayakoba, an event of the Arabian Super League, is currently ranked outside the top 50 (currently 81st) and not yet qualified for the prestigious Augusta event.
Niemann, along with Danish Thorbjorn Olesen and Japanese Ryo Hitsasune, both members of the DP World Tour, received invitations.
Niemann, results
Joining them at the highly anticipated Major, alongside the defending champion Jon Rahm of Spain, will be Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, and Niemann among the big names of LIV Golf.
Of the current 54 champions from the Arabian Super League, 13 are confirmed to participate in the next edition of The Masters. The tournament was founded in 1934 as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament by Bobby Jones, who was also the course designer along with Alister Mackenzie, and Clifford Roberts, a New York investor.
In 1939, the tournament changed its name to the current one, and since 1940, it has been held every year in the first full week of April. The event attracts the best professionals from around the world as well as amateurs who hold the titles of champion of the United States and Britain.
The selection criteria are very strict, even more so than other majors, resulting in a field of around 100 participants, compared to about 160 in other major tournaments. Past winners of the Masters are automatically invited, as well as winners of the last five editions of other majors, the last three editions of the Players Championship, the top four finishers in each major of the previous year (but the top 12 from the last Masters), the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking from the previous year, the top 50 players of the current year (as of the week before the tournament), qualifiers for the previous year’s Tour Championship, and champions of Amateur tournaments.
Among the multiple winners of this tournament are Jack Nicklaus, who won it 6 times (the last in 1986 at the age of 46), and Tiger Woods, who won it 5 times (the first in 1997 at the age of 21 years and 3 months, making him the first player of color and the youngest to win in the tournament’s history).
In 2017, Sergio García managed to win the Masters after participating in 73 majors without a victory, defeating Englishman Justin Rose in a playoff.
