Masters field stands at 91
Ernie Els and Retief Goosen enter the 2012 season without any assurances of playing in the Masters Tournament.
The field for the Masters took shape Monday after the final official week of golf tournaments around the world. Among the criteria for an invitation is to be among the top 50 in the world ranking at the end of the season.
Els, a three-time major champion who has suffered plenty of heartaches at Augusta National Golf Club, fell to No. 56 in the final ranking. Els has been eligible for the Masters every year since his debut in 1994. Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champion, is at No. 53.
Jim Furyk narrowly claimed a spot in the Masters, to be played April 5-8, when he finished at No. 50. Furyk began the year at No. 5 in the world.
Others who got into the Masters through the world ranking were Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Alvaro Quiros, K.T. Kim, Simon Dyson, Sang-moon Bae, Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Els and Goosen still can get in by winning a PGA Tour event before the Masters (except those tournaments held opposite World Golf Championships), or by getting into the top 50 in the world ranking published the week before the Masters.
Others who have yet to qualify include Ryo Ishikawa (No. 51), Ben Crane (No. 54), Ryan Moore (No. 57), Matteo Manassero (No. 58) and Robert Allenby (No. 59). Further down the ranking are Anthony Kim (No. 75) and Camilo Villegas (No. 89).
The field for the 76th Masters is at least 91 players, depending on how many former champions choose to compete. The Masters has the smallest field of the four majors, and the club prefers that no more than 100 players tee it up.
A year ago, the field going into the new season also was at 91 players, and there were 99 players in the final field. The last time the Masters field topped 100 players was in 1966, when there were 103 competitors.
Players Qualified for Invitation to the 2012 Masters Tournament
Tommy Aaron (1)
Aaron Baddeley (15,17)
Thomas Bjorn (13)
# Keegan Bradley (4,15,16,17)
Jack Burke Jr. (1)
Jonathan Byrd (15,17)
Angel Cabrera (1,2,11)
#* Patrick Cantlay (6-B)
Billy Casper (1)
# Kevin Chappell (12)
K.J. Choi (5,11,15,17)
Stewart Cink (3)
Tim Clark (5)
Darren Clarke (3)
Charles Coody (1)
Fred Couples (1,11)
Ben Crenshaw (1)
Jason Day (11,12,15,17)
Luke Donald (11,15,17)
Jason Dufner (14,15,17)
Nick Faldo (1)
Ross Fisher (11)
Raymond Floyd (1)
Doug Ford (1)
# Harrison Frazar (16)
Sergio Garcia (12)
# Robert Garrigus (12)
Lucas Glover (2,16)
Bob Goalby (1)
Bill Haas (15,16,17)
Anders Hansen (14)
Peter Hanson (12)
Padraig Harrington (3,4)
Charles Howell III (15,17)
Trevor Immelman (1,11)
Fredrik Jacobson (15,16,17)
Dustin Johnson (13,15,16,17)
Zach Johnson (1)
Robert Karlsson (14)
Martin Kaymer (4)
#* Kelly Kraft (6-A)
Matt Kuchar (15,17)
Martin Laird (15)
Bernhard Langer (1)
#* Randal Lewis (10)
Sandy Lyle (1)
#* Bryden Macpherson (7)
Hunter Mahan (15,17)
* Hideki Matsuyama (8)
Graeme McDowell (2)
Rory McIlroy (2,11)
Phil Mickelson (1,13,15,17)
#* Corbin Mills (9)
Larry Mize (1)
Edoardo Molinari (11)
Kevin Na (15)
Jack Nicklaus (1)
Sean O'Hair (16)
Mark O'Meara (1)
Geoff Ogilvy (11,17)
Louis Oosthuizen (3)
Arnold Palmer (1)
Ryan Palmer (11)
Gary Player (1)
Chez Reavie (17)
Justin Rose (11,15,16,17)
Rory Sabbatini (15)
Charl Schwartzel (1,15)
Adam Scott (11,15,16,17)
John Senden (17)
# Webb Simpson (15,16,17)
Vijay Singh (1,15,17)
Brandt Snedeker (11,15,16,17)
Craig Stadler (1)
# Scott Stallings (16)
# Brendan Steele (16)
Henrik Stenson (5)
Steve Stricker (11,15,16,17)
David Toms (14,15,16,17)
Bo Van Pelt (11,15,17)
Scott Verplank (14)
Nick Watney (15,16,17)
Bubba Watson (15,16,17)
Tom Watson (1)
Mike Weir (1)
Lee Westwood (11,12)
Mark Wilson (15,17)
Gary Woodland (15,17)
Tiger Woods (1,2,4,11)
Ian Woosnam (1)
Y.E. Yang (4,12,17)
Fuzzy Zoeller (1)
# Denotes first Masters
* Denotes Amateur
Number after each name indicates the basis of qualification. The Masters Committee, at its discretion, also invites international players not otherwise qualified.
1. Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
2. US Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
3. British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
4. PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
5. Winners of The Players Championship (Three years)
6. Current US Amateur Champion (6-A) (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and the runner-up (6-B) to the current US 7. Amateur Champion
8. Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)
9. Current Asian Amateur Champion
10. Current US Amateur Public Links Champion
11. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion
12. The first 16 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
13. The first 8 players, including ties, in the previous year's US Open Championship
14. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's British Open Championship
15. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship
16. The 30 leaders on the Final Official PGA Tour Money List for the previous calendar year
17. Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
18. Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship
19. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
20. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament
Source: The Masters Tournament
