After much public speculation about whether the Masters might alter its criteria for invitation given the controversial arrival of LIV Golf last year, the tournament responded by leaving its qualification standards in place for 2023 while offering the unexpected addition of two special invitations.
The Masters invited amateur Gordon Sargent, the reigning NCAA men’s champion, and Kazuki Higa, a six-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, to be first-time participants on April 6-9 at Augusta National Golf Club.
Sargent, who won the NCAA individual title as a Vanderbilt freshman with a birdie on the first playoff hole, is the first amateur since Aaron Baddeley in 2000 to accept a special invitation to the Masters. He’s also the first American player to receive a special exemption that was previously exclusive to international players.
There has been discussion about the Masters potentially offering a spot to the NCAA individual champion, as it does for the winner and runner-up in the U.S. Amateur. The tournament did not announce such a change in inviting Sargent. Club and tournament chairman Fred Ridley said in December that “any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future tournaments will be announced in April.”
Though there was no mention of the ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, Sargent and Higa could be seen as prime targets for the Saudi-backed league. With both having accepted spots in the Masters, the invitations could be seen as a subtle nudge of support toward the game’s traditional structure.
16 players on the LIV Golf tour – including past champions Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio García, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel – have been invited to tee it up in April.
Higa won four times on the Japan Golf Tour in 2022 and led the tour’s Order of Merit. He stood at a career-high 68th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“The Masters Tournament prioritizes opportunities to elevate both amateur and professional golf around the world,” Ridley said in a statement. “Thus, we have extended invitations to two deserving players not otherwise qualified. Whether on the international stage or at the elite amateur level, each player has showcased their talent in the past year. We look forward to hosting them at Augusta National in April.”
In December, Augusta National announced that all players who qualify under the “current criteria” will be invited to the 2023 Masters. That means 16 players on the LIV Golf tour – including past champions Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio García, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel – have been invited to tee it up in April.
"Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April,” Ridley said in the December announcement.
The Masters has 80 players qualified to compete in April. Players still can earn their way into the Masters by winning a non-opposite PGA Tour event before the Masters or being ranked among the top 50 in the world in the week before the tournament. This week’s Latin America Amateur Championship winner also can expect an invitation, giving the 2023 field seven amateurs.
Ron Green Jr.