In the 87th Masters Tournament, there are 16 players who are making their inaugural appearances at Augusta National this week, each with a diverse range of backgrounds and intriguing storylines.
Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, who was granted a special exemption, has successfully advanced through six tournaments, with a total of seven amateur players taking part in the competition.
Here’s a list of the rookies qualifying for the Masters 2023, and what patrons need to know about making their debuts at Augusta National and the status of the golfers.
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Samuel Bennett
Age: 23..
Height, weight: 5 feet 10 inches, 153 pounds.
Location: Madisonville, Texas.
College: Texas A&M University.
Invitation: Present US Amateur Winner.
This week, Brian Kortan, the coach of Aggie Golf, will enlist the services of Bennett, the 2022 SEC Player of the Year and the 6th-ranked individual in the World Amateur Golf rankings, as his caddie. Bennett, a senior at Texas A&M, must be informed about this.
Benjamin Carr
Age: 22.
Height, weight: 6 feet tall, 165 pounds.
Location: Columbus, Georgia.
University: Georgia Southern University.
Invitation: Current runner-up in the US Amateur competition.
For this week, Carr will be accompanied by Donald Cooper, a previous Augusta National caddie who achieved victory in a U.S. Open alongside Lucas Glover in 2009. Carr will be joining Jodie Mudd, Buddy Alexander, and Gene Sauers as the fourth golfer from Georgia Southern to participate in the Masters.
Aldrich Potgieter
Age: 18.
Place of Residence: South Africa.
Invitation: Present champion of the British Amateur.
Potgieter, who is currently ranked as the youngest player in the World Golf Amateur rankings at No. 32, grew up in Australia but was born in South Africa.
Harrison Crowe
Age: 21.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Invitation: Present champion of the Asian-Pacific Amateur.
Crowe had the opportunity to participate in a practice round on Monday alongside his fellow Australians Jason Day and Min Woo Lee. He is currently residing in a rental house with a group of 10 or 11 individuals, who are dividing six rooms amongst themselves, although he successfully claimed a room for himself. Crowe mentioned that a total of 20 family members and friends from Australia made the journey to watch him compete.
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira
Age: 23..
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
College: University of Arkansas..
Invitation: Presently, the champion of Latin American Amateur.
This week, Ruben Yorio, who served as Angel Cabrera’s caddie during his victorious 2009 Masters tournament, will be on the bag. Fernandez de Oliveira secured his spot in Augusta by triumphing in January at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico, shortly after narrowly missing out on a Masters qualification with a second-place finish in the 2022 Latin America Amateur Championship.
Matthew Clean
Age: 29….
Location: Belfast, Ireland.
Invitation: Present champion of the U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Top Masters Achievement: Initial debut.
The oldest participant in the field is the Mid-Amateur champion, who is 29 years old, as you should be aware. Being an optometrist and the first Irishman to ever win the Mid-Am, he holds that distinction.
Mito Pereira
Age: 28.
Height, weight: 6 feet tall, 196 pounds.
Address: Jupiter, Florida.
College: Texas Tech University.
Number of career wins: 6.
Invitation: 2022 PGA Championship’s Top 4. Final World Golf Ranking 2022’s Top 50.
He plays in the LIV Golf League. He lost in a seven-man playoff but finished tied for third place. He represented his native country of Chile in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Pereira secured his spot at the Masters last year with a third-place finish. Do you need to know more about Pereira?
Thomas Kim
Age: 20.
Height: 6’0.
Location: Seoul, South Korea.
Professional accomplishments: 2.
Invitation: If you have emerged victorious in a qualifying PGA Tour tournament since the 2022 Masters and secured a position within the top 50 of the ultimate World Golf Ranking in 2022, you are cordially invited.
The Official World Golf Rankings are positioned at No. 19 in the past 80 years. Prior to reaching the age of 21, the sole individuals to secure victories on the PGA Tour twice, alongside Tiger Woods, emerged triumphant at the Shriners Children’s Open in August and the Wyndham Championship in August, thereby becoming the most youthful professionals in the competition.
Kurt Kitayama
Age: 30.
Height, weight: 5 feet 7 inches, 170 pounds.
Chico, California.
University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Professional wins: 1.
Invitation: If you have emerged victorious in a qualifying PGA Tour tournament since the 2022 Masters and secured a position within the top 50 of the ultimate World Golf Ranking in 2022, you are cordially invited.
The DP World Tour has achieved two victories and he has competed in 11 diverse tours across the globe. In March, Kitayama emerged victorious in the tournament and secured his inaugural invitation to the Masters, recovering from a triple bogey on the ninth hole during the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Taylor Moore
Age: 29….
Height, weight: 5 feet 9 inches, 160 pounds.
San Angelo, Texas.
College: University of Arkansas..
Professional wins: 1.
Invitation: Won qualifying PGA Tour event since the Masters in 2022.
At Augusta National, Moore fulfilled a aspiration of participating by recovering from a collapsed lung while competing in the Korn Ferry Tour four years ago. On March 19, he pocketed $1,458,000 in prize money by triumphing in the Valspar Championship in Florida, securing a spot in the Masters as the most recent professional to accomplish this feat.
Adam Svensson
Age: 29….
Height, weight: 6 feet tall, 178 pounds.
Location: Surrey, Canada.
University: Barry University.
Professional wins: 1.
Invitation: Has won a qualifying PGA Tour event since the 2022 Masters.
Svensson made his first Major appearance, after leading his team to consecutive national titles in 2013 and 2014. He earned First Team All-America honors twice and achieved nine individual titles. He attended Barry College, a Division II institution located in Miami Shores, Florida, and secured a victory at Sea Island in November.
Sahith Theegala
Age: 25.
Height, weight: 6 feet 3 inches, 200 pounds.
Location: Spring, Texas.
College: Pepperdine University.
Professional wins: 1.
Invitation: Eligible for the 2022 Tour Championship. Top 50 Final Global Golf Ranking.
Theegala emerged as the foremost golfer in college by securing the Fred Haskins, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan accolades, positioning him as the fifth athlete in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. He honed his skills while frequenting public golf courses in Southern California and had the honor of teeing off the inaugural shot at the 2021 U.S. Open held at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Hailing from a family of Indian immigrants, he concluded his final year at Pepperdine University in 2020.
Ryan Fox
Age: 36.
Height, weight: 6 feet tall, 220 pounds.
Location: Auckland, New Zealand.
Professional wins: 0.
Announcement: Top 50 Final World Golf Ranking 2022.
In 2022, Fox came in second place in the DP World Tour season points competition behind Rory McIlroy and has competed for New Zealand in the Olympics on two occasions. Fox holds the distinction of being the oldest participant to make their professional Masters debut.
Adrian Meronk
Age: 29….
Height, mass: 6’5.
Residence: Poland.
Professional wins: 0.
Announcement: Top 50 Final World Golf Ranking 2022.
Meronk, the first Polish golfer to compete in the Masters, played college golf at East Tennessee State. In 2022, he made history by winning the Irish Open and becoming the inaugural Polish golfer to triumph on the European Tour. Additionally, he proudly represented his nation in the Olympics.
Kazuki Higa
Age: 27.
Height, mass: 5’2.
Location: Okinawa, Japan.
Invitation: Exclusive Invitation.
Higa might possibly hold the record for being the most petite golfer to ever participate in the Masters, standing at a mere 5-foot-2. Ian Woosnam, who emerged victorious and earned a green jacket in 1991, measures 5-foot-4, while the accomplished Gary Player, a three-time champion, stands tall at 5-foot-6. It is essential to have this information.
Gordon Sargent
Age: 19.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama.
University: Vanderbilt University.
Invitation: Exclusive invite.
Sargent engaged in a practice round with Justin Thomas. Sargent emerged victorious in the NCAA individual championship while competing as a freshman for Vanderbilt last season, making him the first to accomplish this since 2007. As the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Sargent required information.