Kristoffer Reitan of Norway and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark aren’t just PGA Tour rookies for next year—they’ve already secured invitations to golf’s most prestigious tournament.
Both earned their Masters spots by winning last week. Neergaard-Petersen made an incredible par save on the 18th hole to capture the Australian Open, which comes with an automatic invitation to Augusta National.
“As soon as I watched that tournament, it was the first event that I was like, ‘If I one day be a professional golfer, that’s the event I want to play.’ So it’s a dream come true and I can’t wait for April,” said Neergaard-Petersen, an Oklahoma State alum.
Reitan, meanwhile, held on for a wire-to-wire victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The win catapulted him to No. 33 in the world rankings, ensuring he’ll be among the top 50 players who receive Masters invitations at year’s end.
Only two official events remain this year: the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa and the Mauritius Open.
According to world ranking expert “Nosferatu” on X, 10 other players not yet qualified for the Masters will stay in the top 50 by year’s end. That includes two Americans who weren’t even on a main tour when 2023 began—Michael Brennan and Johnny Keefer. Brennan earned a Korn Ferry Tour card, received a sponsor exemption to the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert, and won. Keefer was named Korn Ferry Tour player of the year with two wins among his seven top 10s.
With spots still to be awarded to winners of the South African Open and Latin American Amateur early next year, the Masters field currently stands at 86 players who are exempt and expected to play.
McIlroy Claims Sixth Golfer of the Year Award
Team Europe won the Ryder Cup on American soil for the first time in 13 years, yet finished second in voting for the Association of Golf Writers’ prestigious Golfer of the Year award.
That’s how extraordinary Rory McIlroy’s season was.
McIlroy was the overwhelming choice of British media, claiming the award for the sixth time. He completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters (becoming the first European to do so), captured his seventh Harry Vardon Trophy as Europe’s top player, won the Irish Open before home crowds, and added victories at The Players Championship and Pebble Beach.
There was also his performance at Bethpage Black, where he went 3-1-1 despite verbal abuse from spectators, helping Europe secure the Ryder Cup.
FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood finished third in the voting behind the European Ryder Cup team.
Gerard’s Masters Chase
Ryan Gerard was tantalizingly close to a Masters invitation. He sat at No. 49 in the world before missing the cut at Sea Island in the final PGA Tour event of the season, dropping to No. 53. The top 50 at year’s end receive Masters invitations.
Now he’s taking one last shot.
Gerard will play in the Mauritius Open next week, the final tournament of 2023 that awards world ranking points. He qualified for the field as a winner of a European tour event with at least a $2 million purse—he won the Barracuda Championship opposite The Open, an event co-sanctioned by the European tour.
It’s a long journey to Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean about 700 miles from Madagascar. But Gerard is no stranger to travel. In just the last four months, he’s competed in Ireland, England, Japan and Abu Dhabi. The ultimate destination, though, is Augusta National.
Q-School’s Final Shot
The last chance for a full PGA Tour card starts this week at Q-School, where five cards await 176 players. For the first time, there will be a playoff to determine the final spot if necessary.
The PGA Tour says this year’s top-five finishers will have greater certainty in their schedules and “equitable playing opportunities,” a result of only the top 100 in the FedExCup—down from 125 players—keeping full status.
Last year’s Q-School graduates weren’t exactly deprived of playing time, though. The six players who earned cards averaged 26 tournaments in 2023, with three of them playing in 29 events.
Takumi Kanaya was the only Q-School graduate who finished in the top 100 in the FedExCup standings (at No. 99).
Cole Sets the Pace
Eric Cole doesn’t believe in time off. He started the season by playing seven tournaments in a row. After missing the Masters, he teed it up in the next 10 straight events.
When the season ended, Cole led the PGA Tour by playing in 32 tournaments. He skipped only four tournaments for which he was eligible: the Mexico Open, Rocket Classic, Scottish Open and the Bank of Utah Championship.
Despite his iron-man schedule and playing in all eight signature events, Cole managed just four top 10s and finished 76th in the FedExCup standings.
Seven players competed in 31 tournaments, with Sam Stevens being the only one from that group to finish among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup.
Divots
Martin Couvra, winner of the Turkish Airlines Open with six top-10s, is the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European tour. He’s just the second French player to win the award after Olivier Edmond in 1998… Will Zalatoris opened with a 75 in the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week, his first tournament since back surgery in May. He played the rest of the event 10 under par and finished 15th… Kristoffer Reitan’s Nedbank Golf Challenge victory gives Norway two players in the top 50 of the world ranking for the first time. The other is Viktor Hovland… Colt Knost has been promoted to analyst for CBS Sports, joining the network’s “super tower” alongside host Jim Nantz, lead analyst Trevor Immelman and fellow analyst Frank Nobilo.
Stat of the week
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood were the only players to start and finish the year in the top 10 in the world rankings.
Final word
“No, nothing.” — Hideki Matsuyama when asked if there was something else he enjoyed as much as winning golf tournaments.
