Augusta National Golf Club announced Tuesday that winners of six national opens will earn invitations to the Masters starting in 2026.
The Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open will see their winners awarded with a Masters invitation.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the R&A, which qualifies golfers for The Open Championship through the R&A’s Open Qualifying Series, which consists of 15 tournaments across 13 countries.
Per Augusta National GC, the winners of the PGA Tour’s seven FedEx Fall tournaments will no longer earn a free pass to the Masters if they haven’t otherwise qualified. The fall tournaments are the Procore Championship, Sanderson Farms Championship, Baycurrent Classic, Bank of Utah Championship, World Wide Technology Championship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship and the RSM Classic.
“The Masters Tournament has long recognized the significance of having international representation among its invitees,” said Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National GC and the Masters Tournament.
“We, along with the R&A, have a shared commitment to the global game and are proud to work together. Today’s announcement strengthens our organizations’ collective vision of rewarding top talent around the world who rise to the top of historic national open championships. We hope this formal recognition shines a bright light on these players and the events they will represent at the Masters and The Open, beginning next year.”
Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, also issued a statement.
“We share the same goal as Augusta National to offer places in both The Open and the Masters to players competing in national opens and by doing so to help to showcase and strengthen our sport in those regions,” he said. “This creates an outstanding opportunity for players in all parts of the world to qualify and we firmly believe this will continue to enrich the quality of the fields in both major championships.”
Per the R&A and Augusta National, the opens identified are part of the Asian Tour (Hong Kong), Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour (South Africa), PGA Tour of Australasia and European tour (Scotland and Spain).
A side effect of the Augusta National shift is that players in the LIV Golf League, who otherwise can play in the Masters only by special invitation, could qualify by winning the national opens. Joaquin Niemann of Chile, like other LIV golfers, is suspended from the PGA Tour but was invited to the Masters the past two years, partially due to the strength of his international schedule.
The 90th edition of the Masters is scheduled for April 9-12. The 154th Open will be played July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale in England.
–Field Level Media
