The 2024 Masters is inching closer and closer, and news about this year’s tournament is starting to trickle out. But Wednesday saw the biggest news yet: Augusta National is offering an invite to LIV Golf pro Joaquin Niemann.
The surprising announcement came Wednesday morning at 8:28 a.m. ET via a post on the official Masters X account. Along with Niemann, two otherwise unqualified pros were also given Masters invites: Thorbjørn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune.
In a statement, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said the special invites were part of a “long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified” for the Masters
“Today’s announcement represents the [Masters] Tournament’s continued commitment towards developing interest in the game of golf across the world,” Ridley wrote in the statement. “We look forward to welcoming each player to Augusta National this spring.”
At No. 58 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Denmark’s Olsesen is just short of the top-50 ranking needed to earn a Masters spot on his own. He still has time to sneak into the top 50, as long as he keeps up his strong recent play.
Japan’s Hisatsune is ranked No. 78 and earned his special invite as a result of being named DP World Tour Rookie of the Year in 2023.
Which leaves us with Niemann. The 25-year-old Chilean pro left the PGA Tour for LIV in the summer of 2022. He played in the 2021 and 2022 Masters as a PGA Tour member, then qualified for the 2023 Masters via his world ranking, where he finished T16.
But since LIV events don’t offer world ranking points, Niemann has seen his position plummet to No. 81, well outside the top-50 needed to tee it up at Augusta.
Niemann has shown great performance on LIV and has shown a high level of determination to compete in and win major tournaments.
He has made significant efforts to accumulate world ranking points, even participating in the Australian swing towards the end of last year and achieving victory at the Australian Open.
In January, he participated in the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic and achieved a T4 finish. Niemann is currently participating in the Asian Tour International Series event in Oman this week with the intention of increasing his world ranking points.
However, following Augusta’s announcement, Niemann will no longer require the points to secure a spot in the Masters. He may still need to earn points for other major tournaments he aims to qualify for this season.