Joaquin Niemann and Nicolai Hojgaard received special invitations to the Masters earlier this week.
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The 2025 Masters field will be at least 2 names longer in 2025.
Earlier this week, Augusta National announced extended special invitations to two young professional players, LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann and Nicolai Hojgaard of the PGA Tour, to compete in the 2025 edition of golf’s first major.
Of course, this is the time of year for Masters invitationals. Augusta National distributes its long-awaited green cards in the mail around the holidays, securing most of the field before the rest of the golfing world has caught up in the new year. But Niemann and Hojgaard were obvious additions because they weren’t EXPECTED players in the field who have not qualified under any of the pre-existing Masters criteria for tournament invitations.
And how did Hojgaard and Niemann get onto the field, you ask? Well, because the Masters is one invitingmeaning Augusta National can choose who it wants to invite at its leisure, even if those players haven’t made it to the Masters’ established criteria for tournament participants.
Talk of special invitations has never been particularly foreign to the Masters, but it’s gotten louder in recent years as LIV Golf burst onto the scene, disrupting the natural order of golf’s “world rank” and coveted major championships. that they offer.
In the past, players like Niemann, who plays for LIV’s Torque GC, could have entered the Masters because of PGA Tour wins or a high enough world ranking to receive an exemption from the OWGR. Now, however, with LIV not receiving world ranking points or automatic major bids for winners, most LIV players earn invitations to the Masters through exemptions that allow past grand champions. That doesn’t help a player like Niemann, a 26-year-old winless in his major championship career but who, most in the golf world agrees, has the competitive pedigree to compete on the biggest stages.
This has seen Niemann compete year-round in OWGR-certified events and qualifiers across the globe in addition to his LIV schedule, with the hope that such starts will boost his resume to include major championships. These efforts worked in 2024, when Niemann was invited to a identical special exception in Mastersand also earned invitations to the PGA Championship and the Open.
“In support of Augusta National’s efforts to develop interest in golf globally, deserving international players who have not otherwise qualified have been invited throughout the tournament’s history,” Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said in a post announcing the decision. “The tradition continues as we welcome Nicolai and Joaquin back to the Masters, as both players have showcased their talent while competing around the world. We look forward to their arrival this April.”
Now, at ’25, he’ll be joined by Hojgaard, a young PGA Tour/DP World Tour pro and former Ryder Cupper hopeful whose 2024 season left him seeking an exemption from the Masters. The 2025 Masters begins at Augusta National on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
