The Masters Invitees

Augusta National will once again be parked with golf enthusiasts who will compete for The Masters title on April 7-13 for the 2008 Masters Golf Tournament. Those who will be watching this tournament will brace themselves for the exciting events to be played by famous top golfers all over the world.

The Masters Golf Tournament started last 1934. since then, it has become a famous golf tournament in the world. It is so prestigious not everybody who wants to join  in the competition can do so. Instead, the players to The Masters are invited by the Masters Tournament Committee.

In the United States alone, several golfers were already invited to play in The Masters. The list of golfers include last year’s Champion, Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Drew Weaver, Brett Wetterich, Steve Lowery, Jerry Kelly, Todd Hamilton, Raymond Floyd, and many more.

From Europe, we have Nick Dougherty, Luke Donald, Niclas Fasth, Anders Hansen, Soren Hansen, Robert Karlsson, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Henrick Stenson, Lee Westwood, Ian Woosnam, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Jose Maria Olazabal.

On the other hand, there are also Australian golfers who will be joining The Masters. They are Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Geoff Ogilvy, Nick O’Hern, Adam Scott, and John Senden.  Moreover, we also have golfers coming from Africa which include Tim Clark, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelmen, Rory Sabbatini, Gary Player, and Richard Sterne.   Furthermore, there are also invitees coming from Asia. They are Shingo Katayama K. J. Choi and Toru Taniguchi.

However, The Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club announced last January 21, 2008 the inclusion of three international players who received special invitations to play in The Masters. These three golfers are Lian Wen-Chong of China, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Jeev Milkha Singh of India.

According to the committee, these three special invitees are successful, accomplished, and talented golfers worthy to play in The Masters. Lian Wen-Chong was the winner of the 2007 Singapore event in a playoff on the PGA European Tour and became the first  Chinese player to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title. On the other hand, Prayad Marksaeng had already won six Asian Tour victories. He was voted Asian Golfer of the Year in 1997 and became the first from his country to qualify for the British Open. Meanwhile, Jeev Milkha Singh played his first Masters tournament in 2007 and became the first Indian golfer to qualify in the European Tour.

No matter where you’re coming from, The Masters Golf Tournament only invites the best among the best golfers in the world to compete in this prestigious title. Who will win the title this year? We’ll find out in 2008 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta National.  For master's badges, housing and hospitality call 404-444-4444.