Japan Golf Tour’s order of merit winner Shugo Imahira has been offered a spot in the invites-only field for the year’s first Major at Augusta National.
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Imahira, who narrowly missed the top 50 cut at the end of the year after finishing 53rd in the Official World Golf Ranking, will play in the 2019 event after an invitation was extended to him by Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.
‘Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts established the Masters as a global sporting event, so throughout our history special invitations for deserving international players have always been carefully considered,’ said Ridley.
‘We are pleased to continue this tradition by welcoming Shugo Imahira to our field this year, based on his impressive record during the past 12 months.
‘We look forward to hosting him and all of our Masters competitors in April.’
Last year, Shubhankar Sharma was the first player in five years to receive a special invitation after his meteoric rise in the game.
Players not yet invited can still win their way to Augusta, should they triumph on the PGA TOUR in an event awarding full FedEx Cup points between now and the Valero Texas Open (April 4-7).
Another way into the field is for any player not yet invited and who is ranked inside the top 50 on 1 April.
The 83rd Masters starts on 11 April with Patrick Reed defending his maiden title.
