Minnesotans in Official World Golf Association Rankings -- Feb. 8

National

Minnesotans or players with Minnesota connections who are listed in the Official World Golf Rankings 

Rank  Player (Prev. Rank)  From           Final 2021 Rank     High Rank (Date) 

39. Tom Hoge (64), Fargo                                68                      39 (current)*

63. Erik Van Rooyen (60), South Africa            59                     40 (2020)

103. Troy Merritt (119), Spring Lake Park        101                     82 (2016)

854. Justin Doeden (878), Lakeville South      788                   692 (2021)

869. Tyler Koivisto (862), Dassel-Cokato         745                   488 (2021)

878. Brady Schnell (854), Milford, Iowa           850                   291 (2018)

1697. Angus Flanagan (1701), England         1785                 1697 (current)

* -- The top 50 players from the year-end OWGR's earn invitations to the following year's Masters. Being in the top 50 the week before the Masters also gets you into the field at Augusta. Tom Hoge earned a place in the 2022 Masters in another category -- for PGA Tour winners from the previous 12 months, thanks to his victory at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. In addition, he would also be in position to get an invitation by virtue of his ranking, currently No. 39.  Erik Van Rooyen made the 2020 Masters after being as high as No. 40 early that year. But the tournament was postponed until November, a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, and by then Van Rooyen had suffered a back injury. He wound up withdrawing from the '20 Masters after a first-round 76. He then missed getting a spot in the 2021 Masters -- by one place! -- with his final 2020 ranking of No. 51. Troy Merritt has also played in the Masters one time, in 2016, a reward for winning the 2015 Quicken Loans National. He made the cut and tied for 42nd place. Along with Hoge, he was one of a large group of contenders during Sunday's final round at the AT&T, and he was in sole possession of the lead halfway through the back nine at Pebbe Beach. But a double bogey at the par-3 17th hole was his undoing. Despite matching the lowest score of the day, 67, he had to settle for a three-way tie for fourth place.  Merritt still has nearly two months to claim a victory, or move up from his current position in the OWGR's -- No. 103 -- and get into the top 50.

As a general rule, winning a tournament on the PGA Tour gets you into the next Masters. But Merritt and Van Rooyen have both won tournaments that were exceptions to the rule. Merritt won the 2018 Barbasol Championship, which was played opposite the British Open; so beating the Barbasol field wasn't considered worthy of a Masters Invitation. Last year, Van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship, which was played opposite the FedEx-St. Jude Invitational, a World Golf Championships event.That meant a diminished field at the Barbasol; so no Masters invitation for Van Rooyen -- at least not at that point. But Van Rooyen played well enough late in the 2020-21 regular season and in the FedEx Playoffs to earn a spot in the Tour Championship, and by qualifying for the 2021 Tour Championship, he also qualified for the 2022 Masters (Category 17).