 McIlroy and Rose are among the 88 players guaranteed a place at Augusta |
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and England's Justin Rose are among 15 players to seal a place at the Masters courtesy of their world ranking. The top 50 players in the end-of-year world rankings are invited to Augusta, with England's Ross Fisher, Luke Donald and Oliver Wilson also making the cut. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell will also be among those at Augusta. The Masters has several other criteria for qualifying, including former winners and results at recent majors. The South African Open brought the ranking events to a close for 2008, meaning any player in the world top 50 who had not already qualified for next year's event would automatically be invited. McIlroy finished joint third at Pearl Valley which sees him rise to 39th in the rankings, while South Africa's Richard Sterne won the event, capping an unlikely climb up the rankings.  | 606: DEBATE |
The 27-year-old was ranked 113 two weeks ago but victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, followed by the win in his home event, sees him move up 70 places to number 43. The Masters field is currently at 88 but players can still qualify by winning one of 13 more PGA Tour events or by getting into the top 50 in the rankings published a week before the Masters. Among those still not eligible are Scott Verplank, Davis Love III and J.B. Holmes, the only Ryder Cup player who could miss the first major of the year. The 73rd Masters takes place from 10-13 April 2009.
The 15 players not otherwise eligible for the Masters except for their top-50 ranking (GB & Ire unless stated):
Justin Rose
Martin Kaymer (Ger)
Ross Fisher
Luke Donald
Shingo Katayama (Jap)
Graeme McDowell
Rory Sabbatini (SA)
Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind)
Aaron Baddeley (Aus)
Rory McIlroy
Oliver Wilson
Richard Sterne (SA)
Soren Hansen (Den)
Lin Wen-Tang (Tai)
Soren Kjeldsen (Den)
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