Chinese whispers over Zhang's Augusta entry
Player A is a former world number four and European number one. He has won two European Tour titles in the last seven months and finished seventh on the last year's Order of Merit.
He is a Ryder Cup star trying to earn a place in this year's European team and the Masters is one of the biggest tournaments towards that. He is ranked just outside the world's top 60. And he is 30 years old.
Player B is 38. He's not in the world's top 150 and might never be. He's not trying for the Ryder Cup. He's never played in a major. He tried to qualify for The Open in 1998, but did not make it.
Player B is the one with the Augusta place and Player A doesn't have one, unless a special invitation is issued.
Player A is Lee Westwood, Player B is Lian-Wei Zhang, who becomes the first Chinaman to tee off in the Masters.
The powers-that-be at Augusta have decided on 17 ways of getting into the exclusive field for the first major of the season, plus an add-on which reads: "The Masters Committee, at its discretion, also invites international [that means non-American] players not otherwise qualified".
Colin Montgomerie called the Zhang invitation "a commercial decision" and when John Daly thought on Sunday he would not qualify he did as it turned out the American had something to say too. Daly, a believer that the Masters should go back to having all US Tour winners of the year in the line-up, said: "I don't make the rules, but I think they should if they want the strongest field. The players who win here are the best players."
Padraig Harrington has spared a thought for Westwood, though.
"Anybody who is capable of winning a major should be there and Lee is definitely capable," he said.
