The European Tour will have a record number of participants in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National from April 8-11, the first Major Championship of 2004.
In the first batch of invites just issued, 27 European Tour Members were named in the field, beating the 25 who teed up amongst the azaleas in 2002. Of course, the number of European Tour Members could still increase, with the complete field not being finalised until Monday March 29.
Included in the 27 names are seven men who know what it takes to win the Green Jacket; Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, José Maria Olazábal, Vijay Singh and Ian Woosnam, and four other Major Champions; Ben Curtis, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Paul Lawrie.
Also in the European Tour contingent are five debutants who will savour the special atmosphere of the trip down Magnolia Drive and the layout of Augusta National for the first time; namely Paul Casey, Fredrik Jacobson, Ian Poulter, Phillip Price and Curtis.
The Masters Tournament has provided a constant source of success for The European Tour since Seve Ballesteros became the first Member to win in 1980. In the 20 years from 1981 to 2000 there were 11 more victories to savour, including six in seven years from 1988 to 1994.
Alphabetically, the full list of European Tour Members already confirmed for the 68th Masters Tournament, are: Seve Ballesteros, Thomas Björn, Angel Cabrera, Michael Campbell, Paul Casey, Alex Cejka, Darren Clarke, Ben Curtis, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Fredrik Jacobson, Bernhard Langer, Paul Lawrie, Peter Lonard, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, José Maria Olazábal, Ian Poulter, Phillip Price, Eduardo Romero, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Ian Woosnam.
Another European golfer in the field will be English amateur Gary Wolstenholme, who won The Amateur Championship at Royal Troon in 2003 with a 6 and 5 victory over Swiss golfer Raphael de Souza.
It will be the second visit to Augusta for the 43 year old, who played in the 1992 tournament, following his victory in the 1991 Amateur Championship at Ganton.
