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Thirteen LIV Tour golfers will be among the 89 golfers competing for a green jacket when the 88th Masters Tournament begins Thursday.
Down from the 18 invited last year, here are the 13 LIV participants and how they qualified for this year’s tournament:
Bryson DeChambeau | 2020 U.S. Open victory
DeChambeau made this year’s Masters field via the five-year exemption earned with his dominant six-stroke win at the 2020 U.S. Open.
Augusta National has been a challenging course for DeChambeau over his seven appearances, and he has yet to best his T-21, the low amateur finish in 2016.
Sergio Garcia | Past champion
Garcia is one of seven LIV members to own a lifetime Masters invite as a past champion. He won his green jacket and his first and only major victory in a 2017 playoff over Justin Rose. Garcia was also a past low amateur winner in 1999.
Tyrrell Hatton | Top-50 ranking
Hatton is one of two LIV members to qualify for this year’s Masters based on a top-50 ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking. With the LIV tour now excluded from the OWGR rankings, Hatton will need to find another way to get in next year.
Dustin Johnson | Past champion
Johnson earned his invite in style, winning the 2020 Masters while shooting a record-low 20-under 268.
Brooks Koepka | 2023 PGA champion
Last year’s runner-up in Augusta, Koepka secured another five years of Masters invites with his win at the 2023 PGA Championship – the first win in a major for a LIV player.
Adrian Meronk | Top-50 ranking
The 2023 Seve Ballesteros Award winner on the DP World Tour (European Tour), Meronk moved to the LIV tour in January and returns for his second Masters appearance this week. He missed the cut last year as the tournament’s first participant from Poland.
Phil Mickelson | Past champion
There was once a time when Mickelson was viewed as a talented golfer who was great at everything except competing in majors. And then, 20 years ago, after failing to win in the first 46 majors he played in, Mickelson broke through at Augusta to win the Masters and forever cement his legacy. He has since won three additional Masters tournaments and six majors and will go down as one of the all-time greats.
Joaquin Niemann | Special invitation
Niemann fell short of meeting any of the 20 official automatically qualifying criteria. Even if a golfer fails to fulfill any automatic qualifications, though, he can still earn a special invitation to the tournament. That’s how Niemann and two other players (Thorbjorn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune) earned their spots to play this week.
Jon Rahm | Past champion
In 2023, Rahm played hero for the PGA Tour, beating LIV golfer Brooks Koepka, who tied for second. Last year’s hero will retiurn to the site of his triumph, but he’s now on the LIV side of the global golf divide.
As reigning champ, Rahm was charged with designing the menu for Tuesday night’s champions dinner, settling on a meal honoring his grandmother and his Basque heritage.
Patrick Reed | Past champion
One of the most polarizing players in golf, Reed claimed his lifetime invite by squeaking out a one-stroke win over Rickie Fowler at the 2018 Masters.
Charl Schwartzel | Past champion
In 2011, Schwartzel became the third South African to win the Masters. He entered the final round four strokes back but earned the green jacket with a furious finish, including birdies on the final four holes, to win by two strokes over Jason Day.
Cameron Smith | 2022 Open Championship winner
Smith has one of the more impressive Masters resumes you’ll see from someone yet to win the tournament. He has three top-five finishes in his seven appearances and is the only golfer to score in the 60s at Augusta in all four rounds. He achieved that feat in 2020, when he tied for second at -15, losing by five strokes to LIV’s Dustin Johnson, who shot a record-low 20 under to win the tournament.
Bubba Watson | Past champion
Watson is one of only 17 players to have won the Masters more than once, winning it all in 2012 and again in 2014. He is also one of only five left-handed golfers to win at Augusta National.
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