By Mike Blum

Thanks to some strong late season showings in tournaments in Australia, South Africa and southern California, several international players added their names to the list of invitees for the 2010 Masters.

A total of 17 golfers – only two of them Americans – qualified for the 2010 Masters by ending the ‘09 season among the top 50 in the World Rankings. The lone Americans in the group are Anthony Kim and Ben Curtis, with Curtis hanging on to the 50^th spot in the rankings by a slim margin.

Among those who moved into the top 50 late in 2009 was Adam Scott, who earned his trip to Augusta with a win in the Australian Open. Fellow Aussie Michael Sim, the No. 1 player on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, also played his way to Augusta with back-to-back top-6 finishes in Australia to close out the ’09 schedule.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell was a beneficiary of the Tiger Woods scandal, receiving a last minute invitation to play in Tiger’s World Challenge event in California after Woods withdrew. McDowell finished second to jump from outside the top 50 in the rankings into the top 40.

Edoardo Molinari tied for fourth in the final official event of ’09 in South Africa, and moved up to 49^th to join his brother Francesco Molinari in the 2010 Masters field. Francesco also earned his invitation via the World Rankings. Denmark’s Anders Hansen locked up his spot with back-to-back third place finishes in South Africa.

After holding down a spot in the top 50 for most of 2009, long-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros fell to 51^st at the end of the year, and will need to move back into the top 50 at the end of March to qualify for Augusta.

Winners of PGA Tour events awarding full FedExCup points that precede the 2010 Masters will qualify for the tournament, along with the top 50 in the World Rankings at the conclusion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in late March.

Excluding former Masters champions who are not expected to compete in Augusta this year, there are currently 91 golfers qualified for the 2010 tournament. Included are six amateurs, among them Korea’s Chang-won Han, who won the Asian Amateur, and Byeong-Hun An, the U.S. Amateur champion.

Among the players just outside the top 50 in the World Rankings at the end of 2009 are Europeans Peter Hanson and Alexander Noren, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Canada’s Stephen Ames.

Top PGA Tour members not yet qualified include Justin Rose, K.J. Choi, Bubba Watson, Ben Crane, Paul Goydos, Brandt Snedeker, Stuart Appleby, Boo Weekley, J.B. Holmes and Woody Austin, and Georgians Davis Love, Jason Bohn, Charles Howell, Jonathan Byrd and Troy Matteson.

Qualifiers for the 2010 Masters:

1. Masters champions: Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mark O’Meara, Ben Crenshaw, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Ray Floyd.

2. Last 5 U.S. Open champions: Lucas Glover, Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Campbell.

3. Last 5 British Open champions: Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington.

4. Last 5 PGA champions: Y. E. Yang.

5. Last 3 Players champions: Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia.

6. Top 24, 2009 Masters: Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell, Shingo Katayama, John Merrick, Steve Flesch, Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, Sean O’Hair, Jim Furyk, Camilo Villegas, Tim Clark, Todd Hamilton.

7. Top 8, 2009 U.S. Open: David Duval, Ricky Barnes, Ross Fisher, Soren Hansen.

8. Top 4, 2009 British Open: Lee Westwood, Chris Wood.

9. Top 4, 2009 PGA: Rory McIlroy.

10. PGA Tour FedExCup winners after 2009 Masters: Brian Gay, Jerry Kelly, Rory Sabbatini, Nathan Green, Ryan Moore, Heath Slocum.

11. Top 30, 2009 FedExCup points list: Scott Verplank, Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, David Toms, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Nick Watney, Steve Marino, Kevin Na, Marc Leishman, Luke Donald, John Senden.

12. Top 30, 2009 PGA Tour money list: Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar, Ian Poulter, John Rollins, Justin Leonard.

13. Top 50, World Rankings, end of 2009: Martin Kaymer, Anthony Kim, Robert Allenby, Robert Karlsson, Yuta Ikeda, Ryo Ishikawa, Soren Kjeldsen, Adam Scott, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Oliver Wilson, Anders Hansen, Simon Dyson, Michael Sim, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari, Ben Curtis.

Amateur qualifiers: Brad Benjamin (Public Links champion); Matteo Manassero (British champion); Byeong-Hun An (U.S. champion); Ben Martin (U.S. runner-up); Nathan Smith (Mid Am champion); Chang-won Han (Asian champion).

(Note: Players are listed in the primary category in which they qualified. Woods qualified in 11 of the 12 categories for professionals, Mickelson qualified in 9. No other player qualified in more than 5.)

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