Wiratchant, Ishikawa added to 2013 Masters Tournament field

Two international players have been added to the 2013 Masters Tournament field.

Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and Ryo Ishikawa of Japan recently accepted invitations, Augusta National Golf Club and Masters chairman Billy Payne announced Friday.

The current Masters field now consists of 85 players who represent 21 countries and includes 16 first-time participants and six amateurs.

“Through our established qualifications, and invitations to select international players not otherwise qualified, we historically bring together a collection of the world’s top players, and this year is no different.” Payne said in a prepared statement. “The Masters has long established a tradition of supporting the global game, and we were excited to extend invitations to Thaworn Wiratchant and Ryo Ishikawa, who we hope will provide added interest and enthusiasm for golf in Asia through their participation in the Tournament.”

Wiratchant, who won the 2012 Asian Tour Order of Merit, will be making his Masters debut. The 46-year-old holds the Asian Tour record for most career victories, having won for the 15th time at the Hero India Open last October, a co-sanctioned European PGA Tour event.

Ishikawa, 21, will me making his fifth consecutive start at the Masters. In his final five starts of 2012, he closed out the season on the Japan Golf Tour by collecting his 10th career win and recording three additional top-10 finishes.

Golfers can still get into the Masters, which will be held April 8-14.

They can win a PGA Tour event that awards a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship prior to the 2013 Tournament, or they can finish in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the Masters.

Both Wiratchant (No. 68) and Ishikawa (No. 75) are ranked outside of the top 50 in the world rankings.