Meet the Five Amateurs Playing in the Masters
AUGUSTA, GA (April 5, 2017) -- Masters week is upon us and it is time to meet the five amateurs in the field at Augusta National Golf Club.
The group is led by reigning U.S. Amateur and Asia-Pacific champion Curtis Luck of Australia. Currently, the top-ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Rankings, Luck has been busy playing on the European Tour over the last few months, teeing it up five-times and making three 36-hole cuts.
The 20-year-old made cuts at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic (T23; -5), Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (T49; -3) and ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth (T47; -4) where he eventually missed the 54-hole cut.
In 15 rounds on the European Tour since January Luck has turned in four sub-70 rounds with his best a, 7-under 65, coming in the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Last month Luck made his PGA Tour debut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
U.S. Amateur Runner-up: Since his run at the U.S. Amateur, Brad Dalke has represented Team USA as a member of the three player World Amateur Team Championship team and also as one of the 16 Walker Cup practice session participants.
Dalke, now a sophomore, played in all 13 Oklahoma events as a freshman with his best finish coming at the 2015 Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational where he finished second.
British Amateur Winner: Along with winning the British Amateur last year Scott Gregory finished as the runner-up at the Spanish International Amateur and also reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur.
In 2017 Gregory has played well so far winning the New South Wales Amateur while also making a run to the Australian Men's Amateur Round of 16.
U.S. Mid-Amateur Winner: Stewart Hagestad earned his way into the field by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur in dramatic fashion as he rallied from four holes down with five to play and then won on the first extra hole.
Last year for Hagestad also included a second place finish at the George C. Thomas Invitational, a tied for seventh showing at the Crane Cup and an invitation to the Walker Cup practice session held at his home course, Los Angeles Country Club.
Latin America Amateur Winner: The youngest player in the field is Latin America Amateur winner Toto Gana.
A freshman at Lynn University, Gana won the Latin America Amateur in a dramatic three-way playoff against JoaquĆn Niemann and Alvaro Ortiz.
A native of Chile, Gana has twice finished inside the top-10 this season for Lynn University.
ABOUT THE
The Masters
One of Golf's four professional majors
traditionally invites amateurs who have reached
the
finals of the US Amateur, or won the British
Amateur
or
the US Mid Amateur. Also included are
the winners of the relatively new Asia Pacific
Amateur
and Latin American Amateur.
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