Four more qualify for Masters field

Two first-timers are among the four late additions to the Masters Tournament field.

Satoshi Kodaira, of Japan, and Dylan Frittelli, of South Africa, are expected to join American Chez Reavie and Australian Cameron Smith in earning top-50 invitations to next week’s Masters when the Official World Golf Rankings are updated after the conclusion of Sunday’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

The late top-50 additions bring the Masters field up to 87 qualifiers, the fewest starters since 86 played in 1997. Sixteen qualifiers are first-time participants while 46 are international players, marking the 12th consecutive year that American golfers have been outnumbered at Augusta since 2006.

The only remaining opportunity to qualify is by winning this week’s Houston Open.

Kodaira and Frittelli moved into the top 50 of the world rankings in January and hung on through Montoday’s deadline to qualify for their first Masters appearances despite not advancing out of the group round robin at Austin Country Club.

No. 46 Kodaira, a 28-year-old Japan Tour veteran, has appeared in each of the other majors but his Masters debut will give Japan four players in the field. Kodaira was ranked 51st at the end of 2017, just missing the first OWGRqualifying cutoff when countryman Yusaku Miyazato finished 50th.

No. 47 Frittelli won twice as a rookie on the European Tour in 2017. A former teammate of Jordan Spieth at Texas, Frittelli, 27, won the decisive match against Alabama’s Cory Whitsett in the Longhorns’ 2012 NCAA championship victory.

Smith needed to advance to the knockout rounds in the WGC Match Play to secure his spot after starting the week directly on the bubble at No. 50, and the 24-year-old Australian did more than enough by advancing to the quarterfinals to climb to No. 44. Smith played in the 2016 Masters after finishing tied for fourth in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

Reavie, 36, started the year ranked 95th and rode consecutive runner-up finishes in Phoenix and Pebble Beach to climb into the top 50 and held on at No. 48 to return to the Masters for the first time in six years. The former U.S. Amateur Public Links champion has competed in three previous Masters (2002, ’09 and ’12), missing the cut each time.

Augusta native Charles Howell and European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter each needed to reach the semifinals to move up from No. 65 and 64, respectively. Despite both advancing to the knockout rounds, Howell let a late lead slip away in the round of 16 while Poulter was thwarted by an 8&6 rout from Kevin Kisner in the quarterfinals to fall just .03 short at No. 51. Poulter's disappointment was compounded by being told he'd qualified after his round of 16 win only to be corrected before teeing off against Kisner.

"It’s not an excuse or any form of a factor but it is a little disappointing," Poulter said. "I asked three or four times if people were sure. The next time, I won’t listen to other people, I will do my bit and focus on that."

Among the veteran Masters participants not currently qualified for 2018 are Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Bill Haas, Steve Stricker and Ernie Els.