Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley announced Wednesday that LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann and 2023 Ryder Cup star Nikolaj Hojgaard have received invitations to the 2025 Masters Tournament.
This year's Masters will be Niemann's fifth consecutive appearance at Augusta National, with his best finish being a tie for 16th two years ago. Niemann, 26, joined LIV Golf in 2022 when he was a top 20 player in the world. Since then, his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has plummeted, but Niemann has made it a priority to play 72-hole events around the world to maintain his ranking. He is currently 71st in the OWGR, but Ranked 15th in data golf. Niemann finished the calendar year on a high note, finishing tied for ninth at last summer's Olympics. He finished in the top 10 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and the Australian Open before winning the Asian Tour event in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Heigaard will be competing in the Masters for the second time. Last year, the young Dane sat at the top of the leaderboard after each of the first three rounds. He held the lead briefly on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately finished tied for 16th. Heigo shot a 4-over 76 on Sunday, opening the final round with a double bogey. Even on the famous par-3 12th hole, he made a quadruple-bogey seven strokes. Despite this, Heugaard had a solid 2024 season, as evidenced by his seventh-place finish at the Olympics. He also ended the DP World Tour season with his fifth consecutive top 25 finish. But the best part of all is that Nicolai's twin brother Rasmus, who won the Irish Open at Royal County Down in September, will be making his Masters debut this year. This will be the first time a pair of twins will compete in the same tournament.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
