Joaquin Niemann will play in the 2024 Masters Tournament for the fifth time in his career, thanks to a special invitation. The Chilean LIV Golf star will join two other top international players at Augusta National who are not otherwise exempt.
The Masters Tournament announced this Wednesday, February 21, that it has extended three special invitations to as many international players, who have agreed to join the field for the prestigious event. Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen will join Joaquin Niemann on the sponsor’s exemption.
This is the second major of the season that Joaquin Niemann will be playing in. Earlier in 2024, Niemann won the DP World Tour’s Australian Open, which earned him a spot in the field for The Open Championship 2024.
In his four previous appearances at Augusta National, Joaquin Niemann has only missed the cut once (2018, when he competed as the reigning Latin American Amateur champion). His best finish came in 2023, when he tied for 16th.
Joaquin Niemann, 25, is one of the most successful young players in the world of golf today. He joined LIV Golf in 2022 as captain and owner of the Torque GC team. He has eight top-10 finishes in 19 tournaments on the circuit, including his recent victory at the LIV Golf Mayakoba.
Joaquin Niemann previously played four seasons on the PGA Tour, where he won twice (2019 Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and 2022 Genesis Invitational).
Who will join Joaquin Niemann at The Masters thanks to special invitations?
Ryo Hisatsune, 21, has been a professional since 2020. In 2021, he won three tournaments on the Japanese Tour and a year later won a spot on the DP World Tour via the Q-School. In 2023, he won the DP World Tour’s Open de France and one of 10 cards awarded by the PGA Tour to the top players on the circuit, no otherwise exempt.
In 2024, he has played four PGA Tour events with a T11 at The American Express as his best result. The Masters 2024 will be his debut in the majors.
Thorbjorn Olesen, 34, has been playing professionally since 2008. He has 15 career professional victories, eight of them on the DP World Tour, where he currently plays. His most recent victory was at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January 2024.
Olesen has played in three editions of The Masters with good results. He has never been cut and finished T6 in 2013.