Six accomplished amateur golfers will tee off at Augusta National for the first time this week at the 2026 Masters Tournament. They earned invitations through recent victories in prestigious USGA and international events. Among them is Brandon Holtz, a 39-year-old former college basketball player and real estate agent from Illinois.
Ethan Fang, a First Team All-American from Oklahoma State University, won the Amateur Championship last June at Royal St George’s in England. He also led his team to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship and competed in The Open at Royal Portrush. Fang represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup, Walker Cup, and Eisenhower Trophy. Jackson Herrington, a University of Tennessee sophomore, finished runner-up in the U.S. Amateur last August at Olympic Club. He earned Tennessee Men’s and Junior Player of the Year honors in 2024 and advanced to match play in the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur. Mason Howell captured the U.S. Amateur title at the same event, defeating Herrington 7&6 in the final. The University of Georgia commit became the third-youngest champion in its history and represented the U.S. in the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy. Fifa Laopakdee, a junior at Arizona State University, won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai last October with a dramatic playoff victory. He became Thailand’s first amateur to play in the Masters and won individual gold at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. Mateo Pulcini secured the Latin America Amateur in Peru in January, closing with a 68 and winning in playoff. The Argentine earned NCAA Division II All-American honors and represented his country in the Eisenhower Trophy. Brandon Holtz won the U.S. Mid-Amateur in September at Troon Country Club, his first USGA event after regaining amateur status. A former Illinois State basketball player who once scored 68 points in a high school game, Holtz tried professional golf from 2010 to 2014 before returning to real estate in Bloomington, Illinois. His father Jeff will caddy, as he has held lifetime Masters badges since 2004. Holtz, a family man with wife Liz and children Baker and Millie, joked about beer bets with patrons and dreaming of the green jacket.
