Masters invitation list for 2026 is now up to 88 with six weeks to go

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Mar 1, 2026 - 23:25

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Masters invitation list for 2026 is now up to 88 with six weeks to go

There are more than two dozen ways to qualify for the Masters Tournament, and while the Augusta National Golf Club has extended special invitations to some golfers in the past, and there have been modifications made to the qualification criteria over the years, many of the ways that players earn a "golden ticket" have not changed.

Players can qualify via multiple criteria and names will appear several times on the list below. For example, Rory McIlroy is now exempt into the Masters for life as a past champion. He would also be exempt into the 2026 Masters through other qualifications, like being one of the three most recent Players Championship winners, but his 2025 green jacket victory earned him a lifetime of drives down Magnolia Lane.

The podium during the Green Jacket Ceremony after the final round of the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.

Here's a closer look at the list of Masters qualifications, which was updated in August by the club to include the winners of six national opens around the world.

Masters Tournament champions (lifetime)

Angel Cabrera, Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jose Maria Olazabal, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Charl Schwartzel, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Mike Weir, Danny Willett, Tiger Woods. (Several living Masters champions have chosen to no longer compete in the tournament.)

U.S. Open champions (honorary, non-competing after five years)

J.J. Spaun (2025), Bryson DeChambeau (2024), Wyndham Clark (2023), Matt Fitzpatrick (2022) and Jon Rahm (2021).

The Open Championship winners (honorary, non-competing after five years)

Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023), Collin Morikawa (2022) and Cameron Smith (2021).

PGA Championship winners (honorary, non-competing after five years)

Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024), Brooks Koepka (2023), Justin Thomas (2022) and Phil Mickelson (2021).

The Players Championship winners (three years)

Rory McIlroy (2025), Scottie Scheffler (2024) and Scottie Scheffler (2023).

Current Olympic gold medalist (one year)

Scottie Scheffler (2024).

Current U.S. Amateur champion (honorary, non-competing after one year) and the runner-up

The 2025 U.S. Amateur champion is Mason Howell, who bested Jackson Herrington at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Current The Amateur Champion (honorary, non-competing after one year)

The Amateur Championship (also known as the British Amateur) was won by Ethan Fang.

Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion (one year)

The 2025 Asia Pacific Amateur, played at the Emirates Golf Club's Majlis Course in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was won by Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand.

Current Latin America Amateur Champion (one year)

The 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship, played at the Lima Golf Club in Lima, Peru, concluded on Sunday, Jan. 18, and was won by Mateo Pulcini, who edged out Virgilio Paz Valdes in a playoff.

Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion (one year)

Brandon Holtz won the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Current NCAA Division I men's individual champion (one year)

The 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship medalist was by Michael La Sasso of Ole Miss but he forfeited his Masters spot in January when he left school and signed with LIV Golf. He needed to remain an amateur if had hopes of playing at the 2026 Masters. Thus, there will be no NCAA champ at Augusta this year.

The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament

From the 2025 tournament, winner Rory McIlroy was followed by Justin Rose, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Corey Conners, Harris English and Max Homa.

The first four players, including ties, in the previous year's U.S. Open

J.J. Spaun, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz.

The first four players, including ties, in the previous year's The Open Championship

Scottie Scheffler, Harris English, Chris Gotterup, Haotong Li and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The first four players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship

Scottie Scheffler, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riley.

Individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation applied to the season-ending Tour Championship

This is an adjusted criteria for 2026 and beyond which means that winners of the PGA Tour's seven FedEx Cup Fall series tournaments no longer earn the Masters invite, if not already qualified.

Nico Echavarria is in the 2026 Masters after winning the Cognizant Classic on March 1 to clinch his spot in the field.

Those qualifying and eligible for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, J.J. Spaun, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Ben Griffin, Russell Henl, Sepp Straka, Robert MacIntyre, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Ludvig Aberg, Andrew Novak, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Corey Conners, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor, Harry Hall, Jacob Bridgeman, Sungjae Im, Chris Gotterup and Akshay Bhatia.

The top 50 in the final Official World Golf Ranking from the previous calendar year

Ryan Gerard's tie for second at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on Dec. 21, 2025, bumped him up to No. 46). When the final 2025 OWGR was released Dec. 28, he and these other 12 players who finished inside the top 50 earned a Masters trip: Alex Noren, Aaron Rai, Kristoffer Reitan, Max Greyserman, Michael Brennan, Michael Kim, Sami Valimai, Rasmus Hojgaard, Min Woo Lee, John Keefer and Sam Stevens.

The 50 leaders on the final Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament

This release will come on or around April 5 after the conclusion of the Valero Texas Open.

Winner of Scottish Open

Chris Gotterup won the 2025 event, getting him into the 2026 Masters. The Scottish Open winner was previously exempt due to the tournament's status as a PGA Tour-DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.