ZIMBABWE’s number one professional golfer Brendon De Jonge will miss the prestigious United States Masters when it tees off at Augusta National Golf Club tomorrow (Thursday) after failing to meet the qualifying standards.
SPORTS REPORTER
The Masters Tournament, also known as The US Masters, is one of four major championships in professional golf after the Open Championship, the US Open and the PGA Championship.
The tournament will run from tomorrow to Sunday with a prize fund of $8 million and the winner walking away with a whopping $1 440 000. De Jonge, ranked on position 73 on the official world golf rankings, needed to be in the top 50 on the rankings before last Monday’s cut-off date to stand a chance of making the cut.
The Harare-born golfer also had a final chance to snatch the last invitation at the Masters by winning the Valero Texas Open at the weekend, since the winner of the tournament stood a chance to earn a final invitation to Augusta National.
De Jonge was in contention for the coveted title after the opening 36 holes, trailing the leaders by just two shots, but fell by the way side in the final two rounds, eventually settling for a tie for position 22 while the final ticket went to Northern Ireland’s Martin Laird.
De Jonge will, however, be happy with his perfomance as he managed to make his 10th cut of the season after firing rounds of 70, 67, 77 and 69 to earn a cool $55 889 and take his earnings to $674 658.
While Zimbabwe will not be represented at the US Masters, there will be a strong South African presence during the four-day event.
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A total of eight South African players form part of the star-studded field led by 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, 2012 Open Champion Ernie Els, Brendan Grace, George Coetzee, Louis Oosthuizen, Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman and Richard Sterne.
