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Cape Town - This week in golf will be a crucial one for players hoping to secure a spot in the Masters field who haven't managed to do so to date.
A solid performance at the WGC-Match Play in Austin this week could prove enough to see a player on the cusp of the Top 50 in the world rankings earn an invitation to Augusta National.
The only other way to still secure a ticket to Augusta would be perform well at the Match Play event or the Texas Open the following week.
Of course, it could also work the other way, meaning players currently inside the Top 50 could find themselves robbed of a Masters spot if they perform poorly.
The players currently on the bubble are Shane Lowry (48), Justin Harding (49), Byeong Hun An (51), Andrew Putnam (53), Jim Furyk (54), Chez Reavie (57), Sungjae Im (59) and Abraham Ancer (61).
Furyk recently made a big move up the rankings following his runner-up finish at the Players Championship, although he still hasn't done quite enough to get to Augusta.
Meanwhile, three players have joined the field thanks to wins on the PGA Tour this year: Adam Long (Desert Classic), J.B. Holmes (Genesis Open) and Keith Mitchell (Honda Classic).
Jason Kokrak probably looks set to miss out despite his runner-up finish to Paul Casey at the Valspar Championship. While that performance lifted him 22 spots up the world ranking to 68, he is not in the Match Play field, so he will need to win the Texas Open in order to get to the Masters.
