A total of 99 players have been invited to the 2006 Masters Tournament, it was announced today by Hootie Johnson, Chairman of the Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club. The list includes 57 US and 42 international players. Among the field are five amateurs and 14 first-time participants.
In accordance with qualifications, invitations have also been sent to Honorary Invitees. The Masters Tournament will be contested April 3-9.
"Once again we have an excellent field comprised of outstanding US and international players," Johnson said. "Traditionally we have had thrilling Tournaments featuring the world’s best players. We’re hoping that happens again in 2006."
Several opportunities still remain for players to compete in this year’s event. Invitations may also be issued to those not qualified to date who:
The Masters Committee, at its discretion, also may invite additional international players not otherwise qualified.
For more information, contact Glenn Greenspan at 706-667-6705. Listed below are Masters first-time participants:
Jason Bohn (14) Picked up his first PGA Tour win at the 2005 B.C. Open aided by a final round 6-under-par 66 for a one stroke victory…finished second at the Deutsche Bank Championship where he was tied for the 54-hole lead…also T3 at Greensboro and was 35th on the Tour money list in his second season.
Bart Bryant (14, 16) In 2005 enjoyed his best year on the PGA Tour with two victories and a top-10 finish on the final money list…ended the year 24th on the Official World Golf Ranking after starting the season 139th…wins came at the Memorial Tournament and The Tour Championship…at The Tour Championship opened with an East Lake Golf Club course record 8-under-par 62 and posted all four rounds in the 60s.
Ben Crane (14, 16) Wire-to-wire winner at the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee… recorded four rounds in the 60s including a career-best 8-under-par 62 to win by four strokes…also in 2005 was T2 at the Booz Allen Classic and Bell Canadian Open and third at the 84 Lumber Classic.
Dillon Dougherty (6-B) Runner-up at the 2005 US Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club…lost to Italy’s Edoardo Molinari 4 and 3 for the title…collegiate golfer at Northwestern…won the 2004 Alister Mackenzie Collegiate…played in the 1998 and 1999 US Junior Amateurs, making match play in 1999.
Lucas Glover (14) In his second year on the PGA Tour, captured his first Tour title and earned a third-place finish…victory came at Disney with birdies on the last two holes, making a 40-foot putt from the fringe on No. 17 and a 100-foot bunker shot on the last hole to win…a total of seven top 10 finishes including T3 at New Orleans.
Kevin Marsh (9) Winner of the 2005 US Mid-Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Chattanooga…the 10 and 9 victory over Carlton Forrester was the largest margin of victory in the tournament’s history…enjoyed a 10-up lead after the morning 18 holes…a Mid-Am quarterfinalist in 2004…won 1996 Southern California Golf Association Amateur…captured four collegiate titles while attending Pepperdine.
Brian McElhinney (Ireland) (7) Winner of the 2005 British Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale…earned a 5 and 4 victory over John Gallagher in the 36-hole final…past winner of the Irish Amateur Match Play Championship…captured the British Amateur in only his second appearance in the event…member, 2005 Walker Cup Team.
Edoardo Molinari (Italy) (6-A) Winner of the 2005 US Amateur Championship…captured the title 4 and 3 over Dillon Dougherty at Merion Golf Club…joined Chick Evans (1916), Augusta National Golf Club co-founder Bobby Jones (1924, 1930), Gary Cowan (1966) and Chris Patton (1989) as amateur champions at Merion…finished 60th at the 2005 British Open in St. Andrews…first Italian to win the US Amateur and the first European golfer since 1911.
Clay Ogden (8) Winner of the 2005 US Amateur Public Links Championship…defeated Martin Ureta 1 up at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, OH…rallied from a four hole deficit after the first nine holes of the 36-hole final…gained the lead for the first time in the match at the 34th hole…defeated Michelle Wie 5 and 4 in the quarterfinals…plays collegiate golf at Brigham Young University.
Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) (14, 16) In 2005, earned his first PGA Tour victory capturing the Chrysler Classic of Tucson…defeated Kevin Na and Mark Calcavecchia in a sudden-death playoff…recorded his first top 10 in a major with a T5 finish at the British Open in St. Andrews…posted back-to-back top 10s in majors for the first time in his career with a T6 finish at the PGA Championship…also T3 last year at Disney.
Sean O’Hair (14, 16) Outstanding rookie season capturing one PGA Tour event and finishing runner-up in another…winner of the John Deere Classic which included a final round 6-under-par 65…also second at the Byron Nelson Classic…in his first start in a major, finished T15 at the British Open in St. Andrews…earnings of nearly $2.5 million was the second-most by a rookie in Tour history behind just over $3 million by Todd Hamilton in 2004.
Carl Pettersson (Sweden) (14) Completed the 2005 campaign with a win and a runner-up finish in his last two starts…earned his first PGA Tour title with a one-stroke victory at the Chrysler Championship in Tampa…also was T2 at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic…fired a course record-tying, career-best 11-under-par 61 on the Disney Palm Course during the Disney event.
Henrik Stenson (Sweden) (16) Finished eighth on the PGA European Tour Order of Merit in 2005…had runner-up finishes in Qatar, Scandinavia and the Linde German Masters…also third at the Malaysian Open and T3 at Johnnie Walker, Dunhill Links Championship and WGC-American Express Championship…two European Tour victories to his credit at the 2001 Benson and Hedges International Open and The Heritage in 2004.
Vaughn Taylor (14) Augusta resident earning his first trip to the Masters…played collegiate golf at Augusta State University…in defense of his 2004 Reno-Tahoe Open title, led wire-towire for a three stroke victory…his 267 total (21-under-par) set a tournament record by four strokes…started the 2005 campaign with a T8 showing at Mercedes and later added T5 at Wachovia and third at Deutsche Bank.
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