Seventeen-year-old Abel Gallegos of Argentina shot a final-round 67 at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Club in January to win the Latin America Amateur Championship. With the trophy, Gallegos received a coveted invitation to the 2020 Masters.
In his first time playing the Latin American Amateur Championship, Gallegos finished at 4 under and beat runner-up Aaron Terrazas of Mexico by four strokes.
The teen says watching countryman Angel Cabrera win a green jacket in 2009 is one of his earliest memories of watching the Masters on TV. Cabrera sent Gallegos a congratulatory text after his win in the LAAC.
Here’s a look at the players who will make their Masters debut at Augusta National Golf Club during Round 1 on April 9, 2020.
Abel Gallegos
Abraham Ancer
Ancer was second at The American Express in January, shooting a course-record 63 on Sunday. It was the second time he finished runner-up in a PGA Tour event, following the Northern Trust where he was just one shot behind winner Patrick Reed. Ancer made it into the Tour Championship field last year to qualify for his first Masters, and also qualified by virtue of being within the top 50 in the final OWGR for 2019.
John Augenstein
As runner-up at last year’s U.S. Amateur, the Vanderbilt senior makes his way to Augusta National for the 2020 Masters. Augenstein was part of the Walker Cup team last year and one of only four Americans to play in all four matches. His 4-and-3 win over Thomas Plumb clinched the matches at Royal Liverpool.
Cameron Champ
The winner of the 2019 Safeway Open will make his Masters debut after an emotional victory last September at Silverado Resort and Spa’s North Course. Early in the week Champ commuted to the course from his family’s home in Sacramento, about an hour away, so he could spend time with his Pops, Champ’s grandfather who introduced him to the game. Champ dedicated his Safeway win to Grandpa Mack, who passed away about a month later after battling stomach cancer.
Tyler Duncan
Duncan beat Webb Simpson in a playoff to win the RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour title. He birdied three of the final four holes to reach the playoff and won with a birdie on the second extra hole. In the tournament’s second round, Duncan went low with a 61 to take a two-shot lead. The RSM victory qualified him for the Masters.
Lanto Griffin
Griffin also earned a spot in the Masters with his first PGA Tour victory, at the Houston Open. The 31-year-old has two victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, both coming in playoffs. In Houston, Griffin won by one shot over Scott Harrington and Mark Hubbard.
Max Homa
Homa won his first PGA Tour title at last year’s Wells Fargo Championship, earning a spot in the Masters field. He held a share of the lead with Joel Dahmen and Jason Dufner after 54 holes and went on to beat Dahmen by three strokes with a final-round 67. In 2020 Homa got off to a strong start, with three top-10 results in four weeks, including a T-5 at the Genesis Invitational in early February.
Sungjae Im
He qualified by virtue of getting into the Tour Championship and finishing within the top 50 in the final OWGR of 2019. The 21-year-old South Korean player was the only rookie to make the Tour Championship field in 2019. Im made 35 starts on tour, finishing in the top 10 seven times. With a T-3 at last season’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, Im qualified for the British Open at Royal Portrush.
Jazz Janewattananond
Janewattananond finished No. 40 in the OWGR in 2019, qualifying for the Masters by getting himself into the top 50. Last year he won the Indonesian and Thailand Masters on the Asian Tour to finish the year. The 24-year-old Thai player made a name for himself at last year’s PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, tying for 14th.
Sung Kang
Kang earned his first PGA Tour victory last May at the AT&T Byron Nelson, with help from a second-round 61 at Trinity Forest. His victory came in his 159th start on the PGA Tour. He became the second Korean-born player to win the Byron Nelson, joining Sangmoon Bae. In February, Kang tied for second at the Genesis at 9 under, two shots behind winner Adam Scott.
Jason Kokrak
Kokrak makes his Masters debut after qualifying for last year’s Tour Championship field. Last year he finished T-2 at the Valspar Championship, the third time in his career he has been a runner-up in a PGA Tour tournament. Playing in the Masters has been “one of my all-time dreams,” the 34-year-old told Golf Channel last August.
Nate Lashley
Lashley won the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Championship in Detroit after being the last player to get into the field. He went wire to wire to win by six shots over Doc Redman. Lashley failed to advance from the Monday Qualifier and got in as an alternate when David Berganio Jr. withdrew on Wednesday. In 2020, Lashley tied for third at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Lukas Michel
The Australian won the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Colorado Golf Club to qualify for the Masters. He beat Joe Deraney, 2 and 1, in the final to become the first international player to win the U.S. Mid-Am.
Sebastian Munoz
Munoz beat Sungjae Im in a playoff to win the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 27-year-old Colombian, who played his college golf at North Texas, also finished third at the RSM Classic.
Andy Ogletree
The U.S. Amateur champion returned to Georgia Tech after a whirlwind summer that included a stop at Royal Liverpool for the Walker Cup. Ogletree rallied from 4 down to beat John Augenstein, 2 and 1, in the U.S. Amateur final.
C.T. Pan
Pan went front trailing Dustin Johnson by two strokes to winning the RBC Heritage with a 4-under 67 on Sunday. His first PGA Tour win came in his 79th start. After reaching the FedExCup playoffs for the third consecutive year, Pan made his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Melbourne, where he teamed with Hideki Matsuyama to beat Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson twice.
Victor Perez
The French player won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for his first European Tour victory. He qualified for the Masters by getting into the top 50 in the final OWGR of 2019. Perez tied for second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January with Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick at 17 under. They were two shots behind winner Lee Westwood.
J.T. Poston
He shot a final-round 8-under 62 to win the 2019 Wyndham Championship by one stroke over Webb Simpson. His first PGA Tour win came in his 77th start on Tour. Poston became the first player since Lee Trevino in 1974 to win without making a single bogey in a 72-hole stroke play event.
Andrew Putnam
Putnam finished inside the top 50 in the final OWGR of 2019 to qualify for the Masters. Last season he had three top-10 results on the PGA Tour, including T-4 at the WGC-HSBC Champions. After his T-10 at The American Express, Putnam missed cuts in his next two events.
James Sugrue
The Irish amateur beat Scotland’s Euan Walker in the 36-hole final at Portmarnock to win the British Amateur championship. He missed the cut by one shot at the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush.
Nick Taylor
Taylor went wire to wire at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his second PGA Tour win. He was paired with Phil Mickelson in the final round, and survived a double bogey 7 on the 14th before going on to win. With a final-round 70, Taylor finished four shots ahead of Kevin Streelman.
Erik van Rooyen
The South African finished in the top 50 in the final OWGR of 2019 to earn a spot in the Masters field. Last August van Rooyen won the Scandinavian Invitation for his first European Tour title.
Matthew Wolff
Playing on a sponsor exemption, Wolff won the 3M Open at the age of 20. He holed a 26-foot eagle putt from off the green on the 72nd hole to win by one over Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa.
