Goggin, Oosthuizen, Prayad, Quiros for Masters

2009-03-31

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Four international players received late invitations to the Masters by reaching the top 50 in the world golf rankings after weekend tournaments around the world.

Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, Australian Mathew Goggin, South African Louis Oosthuizen Spaniard Alvaro Quiros qualified for the season's first major championship that begins April 9 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Quiros, ranked 25th, was certain of his spot but the others had to fight to the finish.

Prayad got the job done with a brilliant final round 64 at the Asian Tour's Black Mountain Masters, moving to 47th in the rankings. He pulled out of last year's Masters with a bad back.

"I'm very happy," he said. "There were people who looked down on me after my withdrawal and said I would never be invited back so I wanted to prove very badly I could qualify on my own merit."

Goggin, ranked 49th, and Ooshuizen, ranked 50th, qualified despite mediocre performances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

"I'm looking forward to getting (to Augusta)," said Goggin, who will make his Masters debut. "You grow up watching (Greg) Norman and the lure of the Masters is special, the history there and no Australian player has won it."

American Davis Love is one player who probably will not be at the Masters after slipping from 47th to 51st in the rankings.

Love would have stayed in the top 50 if it had not been for countryman Pat Perez, who shared fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and jumped to 48th in the rankings. Perez was already in the Augusta lineup.

The Masters field stands at 96 players and will increase to 97 if the winner of this week's Houston Open is not already qualified, giving Love one last chance to qualify.