Weekly Read Fore! Things: Historic Lost Leads and the Masters Field Grows

Augusta National's invitation to NCAA champion Gordon Sargent could be a sign of things to come.

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Fore! Things

1. Jon Rahm shot 63 but the story at Kapalua was Collin Morikawa, who looked so solid through three rounds, then somehow squandered a six-shot 54-hole lead. Morikawa was nine strokes ahead of Rahm after one hole.

2. The last time a player squandered a six-shot 54-hole lead: Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship in August.

3. The Sony Open this week is the first full-field event of 2023, with 19 of the 39 players who competed at the Sentry Tournament of Champions making the short trek to Honolulu for the longtime event which celebrates Sony’s 25th year of sponsorship.

4. Hideki Matsuyama is the defending champion, and if you get a chance to check out the shot he hit up to set up his playoff victory a year ago, do so. Jordan Spieth at No. 14 his the highest-ranked player in the world to play the Sony, followed by No. 15 Tom Kim. Others in the field are Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Corey Connors and Keegan Bradley.

UNREAL SHOT. 😳

Hideki delivers a beauty from 277 yards out on the first playoff hole! pic.twitter.com/qT8ByiAVrm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 17, 2022

Fore! More Things

1. Japan’s Kazuki Higa and Vanderbilt NCAA champion and Gordon Sargent were granted special invitations to the Masters, the first time Augusta National has extended such invites since 2019. The practice has previously only been used for international players, making Sergeant the first player to be so rewarded.

2. The addition of Higa and Sargent brings the field to 80 players. The remaining qualification criteria are the winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship this month, winners of PGA Tour events with full FedEx Cup points—there are 12 more prior to the Masters—and the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking a week prior to the tournament. That means the field size is not likely to go beyond 90 players.

3. Sargent’s invite has led to legitimate speculation that the Masters will make the NCAA individual champion an annual invitation. The tournament has always been big on amateurs and it would be another way to draw attention to a great collegiate tournament.

4. There are 87 days until the first round of the Masters.