The Masters Gives Out Special Invitations To Three Deserved Players, Including LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann

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Augusta National has announced that three players have accepted special invitations to compete in the 2024 Masters in April. Joaquin Niemann is one of the three players to receive a special invite, which, given his affiliation with LIV Golf, could be seen as controversial to some.

Thorbjorn Olesen, fresh off a win on the DP World Tour, as well as Ryo Hisatsune, last year's rookie of the year on the DP World Tour, are the other two players who accepted special invitations into this year's Masters.

"The Masters Tournament has a long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified," Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, said. "Today’s announcement represents the Tournament’s continued commitment towards developing interest in the game of golf across the world. We look forward to welcoming each player to Augusta National this spring."

All three players, including Niemann, earned these special invites. 

Niemann is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, won the Australian Open in December, and won LIV Golf Mayakoba earlier this month. However, given his not-so-stellar run in major championships a year ago and the fact that LIV does not receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, the Chilean, currently ranked 81st in the world, had not met the qualification requirements to get into the 2024 Masters.

Niemann was consistently ranked inside the Top 30 throughout the majority of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and is without question still a Top 30 or so player in the world despite the OWGR system saying otherwise.

He made headlines following his LIV win in Mayakoba earlier this year when he mentioned on the broadcast that he wasn't in any of this year's major championships despite playing great golf. Augusta National seems to have taken notice given his special invitation, which could set the precedent for the three other major championships to extend special invites moving forward this year. 

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The Masters' official statement welcoming the three players to the field did not mention LIV Golf.

At the end of the day, Augusta National wants the best players in the world competing in the Masters each year, and Niemann, Olesen, and Hisatsune undoubtedly strengthen the field.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.