It’s official as Sweden’s Alex Noren will make a maiden Masters appearance next April.
Augusta National today released a list of 86 players who, at this stage, will tee-up in the 2017 Masters.
Noren qualified as being inside the top-50 on the World Rankings and was one of a dozen players to earn a place in the year’s first Major via the World Rankings.
Just short of 12 months ago, Noren headed into the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship ranked No. 97 in the world but ends 2016 as World No. 9 thanks to a stunning second half of the year when he captured four European Tour events in 11 starts.
Also to make his debut will be fellow Callaway star Thomas Pieters.
Alex Noren and his family celebrate a third of four victories in the space of 11 events his year. (Photo – European Tour)
The 2017 Masters Tournament will be contested at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., April 6-11, 2017, where England’s Danny Willett will return as the defending champion.
While there’s still time for players to qualify for the season’s first major, here’s an unofficial look at the 84 that are already exempt. Players qualifying under more than one category are listed under the first category of which they qualified.
CATEGORY 1: Masters Tournament Champions
Angel Cabrera (1)
Fred Couples (1)
Trevor Immelman, (1)
Zach Johnson (1, 3, 17)
Bernhard Langer (1)
Sandy Lyle (1)
Phil Mickelson (1, 3, 16, 17)
Larry Mize (1)
Mark O’Meara (1)
Jose Maria Olazabal (1)
Charl Schwartzel (1, 16, 17)
Adam Scott (1, 12, 16, 17)
Vijay Singh (1)
Jordan Spieth (1, 2, 11, 15, 16, 17)
Bubba Watson (1, 15, 16, 17)
Mike Weir (1)
Danny Willett (1, 11, 17)
Tiger Woods (1)
CATEGORY 2: U.S. Open champions (Five-year exemption)
Dustin Johnson (2, 11, 15, 16, 17)
Justin Rose (2, 11, 17, Olympic Gold Medalist)
Martin Kaymer (2, 5)
Webb Simpson (2)
CATEGORY 3: British Open Champions (Five-year exemption)
Ernie Els (3)
Rory McIlroy (3, 4, 11, 15, 16, 17)
Henrik Stenson (3, 17)
CATEGORY 4: PGA Champions (Five-year exemption)
Jason Dufner (4, 15, 16)
Jason Day (4, 5, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17)
Jimmy Walker (4, 16, 17)
CATEGORY 5: Players Championship Winners (Three-year exemption)
Rickie Fowler (5, 17)
CATEGORY 6: Current U.S. Amateur champion and runner-up
Curtis Luck (6, 8)
Brad Dalke (6)
CATEGORY 7: Current British Amateur Champion
Scott Gregory (7)
CATEGORY 8: Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion
No additional qualifiers
CATEGORY 9: Current Latin America Amateur Champion
TBD (Tournament played in January 2017)
CATEGORY 10: Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion
Stewart Hagestad (10)
CATEGORY 11: First 12 players (including ties) in previous year’s Masters
Daniel Berger (11, 15, 16, 17)
Paul Casey (11, 16, 17)
Matthew Fitzpatrick (11, 17)
J.B. Holmes (11, 13, 16, 17)
Soren Kjeldsen (11, 17)
Hideki Matsuyama (11, 14, 15, 16, 17)
Brandt Snedeker (11, 15, 16, 17)
Lee Westwood (11, 17)
CATEGORY 12: First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s U.S. Open
Jim Furyk (12, 17)
Shane Lowry (12, 17)
Scott Piercy (12, 17)
CATEGORY 13: First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s British Open
Steve Stricker (13)
CATEGORY 14: First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s PGA Championship
Branden Grace (14, 15, 17)
Brooks Koepka (14, 17)
Daniel Summerhays (14)
CATEGORY 15: Winners of non-opposite PGA Tour events from previous Masters to current Masters
Sergio Garcia (15, 17)
James Hahn (15)
Charley Hoffman (15)
Mackenzie Hughes (15)
Billy Hurley III (15)
Si Woo Kim (15, 16)
Russell Knox (15, 16, 17)
William McGirt (15, 16, 17)
Ryan Moore (15, 16, 17)
Rod Pampling (15)
Pat Perez (15)
Patrick Reed (15, 16, 17)
Brendan Steele (15)
Brian Stuard (15)
Justin Thomas (15, 16, 17)
Jhonattan Vegas (15, 16)
CATEGORY 16: Qualifiers for previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship
Roberto Castro (16)
Kevin Chappell (16, 17)
Emiliano Grillo (16, 17)
Kevin Kisner (16)
Matt Kuchar (16, 17)
Sean O’Hair (16)
Kevin Na (16, 17)
Gary Woodland (16, 17)
CATEGORY 17: Top 50 on final Official World Golf Ranking for previous calendar year
Rafael Cabrera Bello (17)
Bill Haas (17)
Tyrrell Hatton (17)
Byeong Hun An (17)
Yuta Ikeda (17)
Francesco Molinari (17)
Alex Noren (17)
Louis Oosthuizen (17)
Thomas Pieters (17)
Andy Sullivan (17)
Bernd Wiesberger (17)
Chris Wood (17)
CATEGORY 18: Top 50 on Official World Golf Ranking published week prior to current Masters
TBD on April 3, 2017
