China's Lian-Wei Zhang invited to 2004 US Masters

BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2004 US Masters | General | 20 Mar 2004

Hootie Johnson, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced that Lian-Wei Zhang has been issued a special invitation by the Masters Committee.

With the addition of Zhang, the current Masters field is 98 players which includes 40 international golfers. At this time, a total of 91 golfers are expected to start this year’s Tournament.

In 2003, Zhang made history becoming the first Chinese golfer to win on the PGA European Tour when he birdied the final hole at Laguna National Golf & Country Club to grab the Caltex Masters by one stroke over Ernie Els. In 2003 he also won the China Open, and in 2002 successfully defended his title at the Macau Open. He finished second last year on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and is three-time Chinese Amateur champion.

“Lian-Wei Zhang has proven his ability on the European Tour and in Asia,” Johnson said. “We are excited to have an outstanding representative from China in our field.”

Several opportunities still remain for players to compete in this year’s Masters. Invitations may also be issued to those not qualified to date who:

• Win The Players Championship in 2004
• Finish among the 10 leaders on the 2004 Official PGA Tour Money List published during the week prior to the Masters
• Finish among the 50 leaders on the 2004 Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the Masters

Source – US Masters