The Masters Amateurs In The Field - Augusta National 2024

There are five amateurs in this week's Masters field aiming to lift the Silver Cup

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 8 April 2024

Five amateurs will make the magical trip down Magnolia Lane for The Masters this year, but how did they all qualify?

Golf's biggest names will fight it out for the Green Jacket, but there's also a fight on at Augusta National for the amateurs who are all aiming to get their hands on the prestigious Silver Cup.

US Amateur champion Nick Dunlap is in the field, but he turned pro after his historic victory at The American Express when he became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson 33 years ago.

Gordon Sargent got a special invite last year as well, and with none this year we're down from seven in 2023 to five amateurs in the field for the 2024 Masters.

Neal Shipley plays as runner-up to Dunlap in the US Amateur, while South African Christo Lamprecht has made the field courtesy of his victory in The Amateur Championship.

US Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad is the only one of the five to have played in The Masters before, and he's joined by Asia-Pacific Amateur winner Jasper Stubbs and Santiago de la Fuente - the Latin America Amateur champion.

Amateurs Qualified For 2024 Masters

Christo Lamprecht

How he qualified: The Amateur Championship winner

Giant South African Christo Lamprecht beat Switzerland's Ronan Kleu 3&2 at Hillside to win the 2023 Amateur Championship and book his spot at Augusta National for the 2024 Masters.

The 23-year-old is a towering presence at 6ft 8in and that made him the tallest golfer to ever play in the Open Championship as his Hillside win also got him to Royal Liverpool, where he made a huge splash.

Lamprecht shot 66, the lowest score recorded by an amateur in The Open since Tom Lewis in 2011, on the opening day to share the first-round lead at Hoylake, and although he dropped off he still won the Silver Medal as leading amateur.

A huge hitter, he rose to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in September 2023 and after making headlines at Hoylake he'll no doubt attack Augusta with the same vigour.

Stewart Hagestad

How he qualified: US Mid-Amateur champion

Also pushing the average height of the Masters field up considerably is Stewart Hagestad, the 6ft 5in, three-time US Mid-Amateur champion.

The 32-year-old is something of a veteran at Augusta National now as 2024 will be his third trip to The Masters having also competed in 2017 and 2022 - when qualifying through his two previous Mid-Amateur wins.

He finished T36 and won the Silver Cup as low amateur at the 2017 Masters, but failed to make the cut on his return to Augusta in 2022.

Happy to remain in the amateur ranks, he's got plenty of experience, as he's a four-time Walker Cup winner and has also played in the US Open four times - finally making the cut for the first time in 2022 and finishing 64th.

Neal Shipley

How he qualified: US Amateur runner-up

American Neal Shipley booked his place at Augusta and the US Open by finishing as runner-up to Nick Dunlap at the 2023 US Amateur Championship.

Dunlap is appearing at Augusta in the paid ranks after his stunning PGA Tour victory, but Ohio State graduate Shipley is still an amateur.

Shipley claimed his third amateur victory at the Southwestern Invitational in January so he's started 2024 off in decent form.

Jasper Stubbs

How he qualified: Asia-Pacific Amateur champion

Australian Jasper Stubbs used home advantage to claim the Asia-Pacific Amateur title at Royal Melbourne - a course which is just two miles away from where he lives.

The 21-year-old became the fourth Australian to win the title, and also finished in the last 32 of the Amateur Championship at Hillside won by Lamprecht.

Santiago de la Fuente

How he qualified: Latin America Amateur champion

Mexican Santiago de la Fuente shot 64 in the final round to overhaul a three-shot deficit and win the Latin American Amateur in Panama in January.

It's an event The Masters helped set-up as Augusta officials look to get a wide spread of competitors from across the globe heading down Magnolia Lane - while he's also made The Open Championship thanks to his victory.

De la Fuente has had a fine college career so far, being named AAC Player of the Year in 2023 just one accolade the Houston senior has picked up along the way.

He's also made an appearance on the PGA Tour this season when he played in front of his home fans at the Mexico Open - where he responded brilliantly making the cut and finishing T46 after being in the top 10 for the first two rounds.

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.