Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The winner of the Australian Open will earn a place in the Masters field after the Augusta tournament confirmed they will again award invitations to winners of six select national opens.
The deal is part of an alignment with The Open Championship’s Qualifying Series that also means a spot in the British Open for December’s Australian champion.
“The Masters Tournament has a longstanding history of assembling an international field, so we embrace this opportunity to highlight the global nature of the game of golf,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said. “Today’s announcement reinforces our shared commitment with The R&A to offer pathways for players from around the world to earn their place in the Masters and The Open.”
Players who qualified for this year’s Masters through the criteria include Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Australian Open), Chris Gotterup (Scottish Open), Marco Penge (Spanish Open), Naoyuki Kataoka (Japan Open), Tom McKibbin (Hong Kong Open) and Casey Jarvis (South African Open).
Winners of each of those six national opens will again earn invitations to the Masters. Kataoka entered the Japan Open ranked 500th in the world before earning his first invitation to play at Augusta.
Players can earn spots in The Open at St Andrews next year through the 19 events in 15 countries that are included in The Open Qualifying Series.
The Australian Open is at Royal Melbourne GC from December 4-7.
