Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, Japan's Ryo Hisatsune and Chile's Joaquin Niemann have accepted invitations to compete in the 2024 Masters; watch the opening men's major of the year live from April 11-14 on Sky Sports Golf
Wednesday 21 February 2024 14:28, UK
LIV Golf League member Joaquin Niemann is among the list of three players who have accepted special invites from Augusta National to compete in the 2024 edition of The Masters.
Niemann will make his fifth appearance at The Masters this month, live from April 11-14 on Sky Sports, having impressed on both the DP World Tour and in the LIV Golf League over the past few months.
The Chilean has dropped down the world rankings since switching from the PGA Tour in 2022, with no points available at LIV Golf events, but has registered top-five finishes in his last three starts - including victory in December's Australian Open - on the DP World Tour.
Niemann also won the LIV Golf season opener in Mayakoba, where he carded an opening-round 59 before defeating former Masters champion Sergio Garcia in a play-off, where he said after his victory: "I want to win majors, but I've got to get in first."
Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen - winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour - and Japan's Ryo Hisatsune, the DP World Tour's Rookie of the Year, have also been given invitations to feature in the opening men's major of the season.
Fred Ridley, chair of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, said: "The Masters Tournament has a long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified.
"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."
Niemann, who was inside the world's top 20 when he joined LIV Golf but is now outside the top 80, has made the cut in three of his previous four appearances at The Masters and finished tied-16th in last year's contest.
Olesen features for the first since 2019 and Hisatsune will make his tournament debut, with 83 players currently scheduled to compete in the 2024 Masters.
The only remaining ways for players to qualify are to win a PGA Tour event before The Masters or get inside the world's top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) before April 1.
Jon Rahm will return as defending champion after last year's four-shot victory over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, while Rory McIlroy has another opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam and land a first major win since 2014.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the majors in 2024! Watch The Masters exclusively live from April 11-14 on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the majors, PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more on NOW.
