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Christmas is around the corner, but Santa has already delivered the gift to the doorsteps of some of the best golfers in the world. Ahead of the festivities, golfers who have received their 2023 Masters' invitations from the Augusta National golf course have shared them on their official social media handles.
The festival brings a lot of happiness to the players in the top 50 of the world rankings. Flaunting their tour invitation, Adrain Meronk started the fun by sharing it on his Twitter account.
The Polish golfer, who moved into the top 50 after winning the Irish and Australian Opens, posted an invitation card to the Masters with a caption saying:
"Perfect Christmas present."
He added:
"The Masters, here I come."
The LIV Golf players also got an opportunity to play at the Masters. Earlier this year, the PGA Tour suspended players who joined the rival series. However, a few days ago, it was announced that golfers playing for the Saudi-backed series would also be competing at the 2023 Masters.
They have also shared their invitation on social media. Kevin Na, current world No. 47, has also received an invitation to play at the major tournament in April. Sharing the card on Instagram, he wrote:
"Already excited to play in 2023 The Masters. Perfect Christmas gift. "
LIV Golf member Patrick Reed also posted a beautiful snap with the invitation card. He wrote:
"Christmas came early this year!! Thank you, The Masters. I can't wait to see you all in April."
The Masters is scheduled to begin on April 7, 2023.
"Our focus is to honor the tradition"- Fred Ridley on The 2023 Masters
For the first time since the inception of the Saudi-backed Series, PGA Tour and LIV Golf players will come together to play on the same course. The biggest event of the year will be held in April, but the invitations have already been sent to players competing in the championship.
Fred Ridley, Chairman of the Masters and Augusta National, released a statement about the upcoming tournament, as reported by Golf Digest. He wrote:
"Regrettably, recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it."
He added:
"our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers. Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament."
Ridley also talked about changes to the invitational criteria in the future. He wrote:
"As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the Tournament each year, and any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future Tournaments will be announced in April."
The 2023 Masters Tournament includes the name of many LIV Golf players. Reed, Dustin, Phil, Bubba, and Charl Schwartzel already have lifetime exemptions to play in the Masters.
Meanwhile, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Broock Koepka, Joaquin Nieman, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak, Abraham Ancer, and Louis Oosthuizen qualified based on their rankings and the last five years' championships.
