Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced Wednesday that Joaquin Niemann, Thorbjørn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune have all accepted special invitations into the 2024 Masters field. Since 1999, the Masters has extended special invitations 15 times, but this is only the second instance of three players receiving special invitations. The other came in 2008. 

The 2024 Masters field now stands at 83 players with upcoming winners on the PGA Tour and those who finish inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings the week prior still eligible to receive invites.

“The Masters Tournament has a long-standing tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified,” Ridley said. “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, a former winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, which is run by Augusta National, has been hard at work trying to accrue enough OWGR points to earn an invitation into the Masters. Teeing it up in this week’s Asian Tour event in Oman, the world No. 81 sought to inch closer to the top-50 cutoff as his home circuit, LIV Golf, is still ineligible to receive world rankings points. 

The 25-year-old qualified for the 2024 Open with his victory at the Australian Open on the DP World Tour this past winter but was in jeopardy of missing the other three majors. After winning LIV Golf Mayakoba, Niemann lamented about his access to major championship fields.

“I want to win majors, but I’ve got to get in first,” said Niemann.

Augusta National heard his pleas, and the young Chilean is now in the field for the year’s first major championship. It will mark his fifth appearance in the Masters with his best result coming last year when he finished T16.

Olesen will make his fourth career start at the Masters and first since 2019. The Dane has been playing fantastic golf on the DP World Tour with a win in his last start and five top 10s in his last seven worldwide appearances. A member of the 2018 Ryder Cup team, Olesen appears keen on returning to top form.

While Niemann and Olesen will return to Augusta National, Hisatsune will be making his first trip. The young man from Japan has been racing through tours, first ascending from the Japan Golf Tour to the DP World Tour. Winning the French Open in 2023, Hisatsune finished inside the top 10 of the Race to Dubai to earn his PGA Tour card for 2024. He recently finished T11 at The American Express.

The 88th Masters will take place from April 11–14.