The Masters: Who's in and who's on the bubble to qualify for Augusta?
Thursday 14 March 2019 17:14, UK
Time is running out for Lee Westwood if he wants to qualify for the 2019 Masters at Augusta National.
Those who finished in the top 50 of the world rankings at the end of 2018 will already have received their invites, along with those who secured a top-four finish in last year's major championships (top 12 in the Masters), while various other amateur champions and former major winners will also be teeing it up in Georgia.
But Westwood, who ended 2018 ranked 62 in the world, is still 12 places outside the top 50 one month out from the year's first major championship, and there is plenty to play for among the other players on the bubble of qualification.
Andrew Putnam has forced his way into an invite as things stand by leaping from 70th at the end of 2018 to his current ranking of 49, thanks largely to his second-place finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Shane Lowry is 45th - up from 75th - after a productive time in the desert in January, when he followed up his Abu Dhabi Championship win with a 12th-placed finish down the road at the Dubai Desert Classic a week later.
JB Holmes has also made great moves to get himself inside the top 50. He's 44th ahead of The Players Championship, having begun the year ranked 96, courtesy of his win at the Genesis Open at Riviera, while fellow American Keith Mitchell has catapulted himself up from 150 to 58 on the back of victory at the Honda Classic and then tie for sixth last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Mitchell still has work to do if he is to make it to the Masters, but if he can maintain the form he has already shown in March he can make the final leap into the top 50.
If all else fails over the next three weeks, Westwood could, of course, follow pal Ian Poulter's 2018 route to Augusta.
Poulter used his last chance to qualify by claiming a dramatic play-off win at the Houston Open - his first win since 2012 - the week before the Masters to cap a remarkable comeback after a torrid 12 months.
Should Westwood need it and fancy replicating Poulter, the equivalent tournament this year is the Texas Open in San Antonio.
Sky Sports Golf will be the home of all four golf men's majors in 2019 over what promises to be a thrilling three-month period.
As is tradition, the Masters will act as the opening chapter with extensive coverage from April 11-14 along with unrivalled build-up coverage including the Par 3 contest.
