Augusta National and Masters Tournament President Fred Ridley announced today that both Kazuki Higa and Gordon Sargent have for the first time accepted invitations to participate in the first men’s major of the year.
“The Masters Tournament prioritizes opportunities to improve golf for both amateurs and professionals around the world,” said Ridley. “Thus, we have extended the invitation to two deserving athletes who have no other qualifications. We are looking forward to hosting it at Augusta National in April.”
Both players will be on a field attended by most of the world’s best players, including players from LIV Golf.
Ridley announced in December that LIV golfers who already qualified for the Masters could enter the tournament, not hiding their frustration with Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed startup circuit.
“Unfortunately, recent actions have divided professional men’s golf and diminished the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacy of those who built it.
“While we are disappointed by these developments, our focus is to honor our tradition of gathering a field of outstanding golfers this April. The 2023 Masters Tournament.”
This means that the strongest field exists, and both Higa and Sargent get the chance to experience Augusta National for the first time.
Higa is a four-time winner of the Japan Golf Tour in 2022 and last year earned the medal that 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama earned in 2013.
Sargent is the current NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Champion and is currently a sophomore at Vanderbilt University. He became the first freshman to win an individual title since 2007 and is ranked No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.He was the first amateur to accept a special invitation since Aaron Baddeley in 2000. .
The Masters will kick off on April 6th and will be held for the 87th time this year.