Ben Crane confirmed to play the Masters Tournament, Ernie Els still struggling – Golf News
The invitations for the Masters Tournament were sent to the players earlier who were confirmed for the Augusta National field in the first week of April.
However, there were some players who still had to receive the formal invitation because of their unconfirmed chances of retaining their positions in the Official World Golf Rankings
Ben Crane was among the players who still had to confirm his berth in the first major event of the year, as he was on the verge of losing his place among the top-50 players.
He entered the field of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with an aim to perform well enough in order to keep his place in the Masters.
Prior to the tournament, he had the 48th position in the world rankings. However, he missed the cut, letting other players record good finishes and displace him from the top-50.
Yet, there was only one place shuffling and Crane still managed to take the 49th position, confirming a spot for him in the major event.
It will be his fifth appearance in the Masters Tournament. He tweeted, “Wow what a day sitting at 48th world ranking and top-50 get into Masters after this wk. I dropped to 49 and got in & now tied for the lead!!”
He added, “(What are the) chances of green jacket like u & a player like me (getting) together? 1 in 10? More like 1 in a million. So u r sayin there's a chance I hear ya”.
On the other hand, Ernie Els, who needed to secure the second place in the tournament in order to jump into the top-50, failed to impress his fans.
He carded a three over-par in the final round. This took him to tie for the fourth position in the tournament.
"I still hit the ball well," Els told the PGA Tour website on Sunday. "I didn’t have my putting touch today and that was the difference".
It has now become necessary for him to record a win in the upcoming PGA Tour's Houston Open, the last tournament before the Masters, to confirm a spot.
Otherwise, this will be his first year when he will be missing the Masters field in the last 19 years.
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