Opportunities dwindling for place in Masters

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A year ago, Brandt Snedeker made a last-ditch effort to secure a spot in the Masters by flying halfway around the world to play in the Indonesia Masters with hopes of getting into the top 50 by the end of the year.

He withdrew after a 72, ended the year at No. 59 and wound up missing the Masters for the first time since 2010.

That won’t be a problem this year because Snedeker won the Wyndham Championship. Charles Howell III won’t be consumed about getting back to the Masters because he won the final PGA Tour event of the year at the RSM Classic.

With only three weeks of golf left around the world, it could be tight for a few others wanting to end the year in the top 50.

Branden Grace is No. 48 this week and likely to slip a little more. He is expected to play next week in the South African Open, and he currently is on the entry list for the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.

Matt Wallace, who would appear safe at No. 44, also is on the entry list for the two events in South Africa.

Emiliano Grillo is No. 46 and not scheduled to play, though he also appears to be safe. Ditto for Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark at No. 47.

If the cutoff for top 50 were now, 13 players would qualify for Augusta National through the world ranking, a list that includes Ian Poulter at No. 39. Earlier this year, Poulter came up one victory short in the Dell Match Play of getting into the top 50, and then qualified the next week by winning the Houston Open.

Either way, the Masters would appear to easily meet its goal of keeping the field to under 100 players.

Including 13 players from the top 50 not already eligible, the field for the Masters is at 79. One spot remains for the Latin American Amateur champion, along with winners of PGA Tour events leading up to the Masters (except those opposite the World Golf Championships) and another top-50 exemption a week before the Masters.

Mickelson at 25 years in Top 50: In his final event of his first full year as a pro, Phil Mickelson was runner-up to Tom Lehman in the Casio World Open in Japan and cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time at No. 47.

Today is the 25-year anniversary, and Mickelson never left the top 50.

That’s 25 straight years — 1,305 consecutive weeks — that he has been among the top 50 in the world. On that day, Mickelson was one spot behind Fuzzy Zoeller and one spot ahead of Craig Stadler.