Battle begins to meet Hootie’s target

AUGUSTA National have left themselves open to criticism on many fronts over the years, most recently in 2003 when becoming involved in an infamous row over their discrimination against women.

The green jackets are set in their ways and will never be bullied into making changes. However, they cannot now be accused of failing to recognise how the game is developing and that their own American golfers no longer have the scene to themselves. When the club released their initial list of entries for this year’s renewal on April 7-10, 42 of the 96 players were from overseas! Hootie Johnson, chairman of the Masters tournament, went so far as to announce a special invitation to Shingo Katayama, leader in 2004 of the Japanese Tour money list, but not qualified for Augusta on that basis. He also revealed that several opportunities remain for the inclusion of further names who either win the Players Championship at Sawgrass in March; finish among the ten leaders on the 2005 US Tour money list in the week prior to the Masters or figure among the top 50 in the world rankings at the end of March.

The third category will be of considerable interest to a number of players, including Irishmen Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell. It’s a pity Johnson failed to note that only two members of last year’s triumphant European Ryder Cup team, McGinley and Colin Montgomerie, didn’t qualify for the Masters under their standard criteria and offer them an invitation on the same lines as that tendered to Katayama.