There’ll be just two Irish golfers receiving mail in the next fortnight postmarked ‘Augusta, GA’ – Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.

Of course, both McIlroy and Lowry are exempt under a number of Augusta National’s exemption categories but then it’s always a buzz to receive that official invitation.

For McIlroy, it will be a 16^th such invitation since making his Masters debut in 2009, Lowry meanwhile, who is currently in Lapland and spending time with his wife, Wendy along with Tommy Fleetwood and his wife Clare, will be enjoying a ninth visit to contest what also will be the 2019 Open Champion’s 40^th major.

This final fortnight of the “Year of the Rabbit” will not see any changes to the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) with the leading 50 on the rankings to receive a Masters invitation, that will include the reigning Masters champion, Jon Rahm and his now fellow LIV players.

It will also mean a maiden Masters invitation for Nicolai Hogjaard, who will see out the year as World No. 50, after the Dane sensationally sealed victory in the DP World Tour season-ending event in Dubai.

Hojgaard’s emotional triumph, after being a member of the winning 2023 European Ryder side, saw him leap from 70^th on the OWGR to 50^th.

Sadly missing out on an ‘end of the year’ top-50 OWGR ranking Masters invitation is Seamus Power, now ranked World No. 77 but he has not played since the BMW Championship having been sidelined with a nagging hip injury.

The Las Vegas resident teed-up in July’s Genesis Scottish Open as the then World No. 50^th ranked player but was forced to withdraw.  Power then contested the following week’s 151^st Open but missed the cut, due to fighting his hip concern.

It was a year ago, Power ensured himself a maiden Masters invitation in April this year by virtue of his then lofty end of ’22 World No. 28 ranking.

Of course, if and when Power returns to full competition, he will have to the final week of March to qualify for the 2024 Masters.