Augusta National announced Thursday that reigning NCAA individual champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt has accepted a special invitation to play in the Masters.
The club also said that Kazuki Higa, the 2022 Japan Tour Order of Merit winner, has been added to the field. He won four times last year and is currently ranked inside the top 70 in the world.
Sargent, a 19-year-old sophomore at Vanderbilt, is the first amateur to accept a special invitation to the Masters since Aaron Baddeley in 2000.
It’s a significant milestone for college golf, with the NCAA champion being recognized on a broader scale.