Bryant, O’Hair Among 14 Masters Rookies

Fourteen Masters rookies are among the 99 players who have been invited to the 2006 Masters tournament, including Memorial and Tour Championship winner Bart Bryant.

There will be 57 U.S. players and 42 international players at Augusta National Golf Club for the tournament, which will be played April 6-9. Also among the first-time players is Sean O’Hair, 23, who made $2.5 million in his rookie season, second most by a first-year player and exceeded only by Todd Hamilton, who won the British Open in his breakout year of 2004.

Players could still qualify for a Masters invitation by winning the Players Championship, finishing among the top 10 on the money list the week before the Masters or finishing in the top 50 in rankings the week before the Masters.

It was also announced Tuesday that the Nissan Open has increased its prize money $300,000 to a tournament record $5.1 million for this year’s event, Feb. 16-19 at Riviera Country Club. The winner’s share is $918,000.

-- Thomas Bonk