The 90th Masters Tournament: Key Player Eligibility and Qualifying Criteria

The prestigious 90th edition of the Masters Tournament is set to take place from April 9-12, 2026, at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. As anticipation builds for this celebrated golf event, here’s a comprehensive look at the players eligible to compete, categorized by the tournament’s qualifying criteria.

Masters Champions (Lifetime Eligibility)

Lifetime qualifiers from previous Masters victories include:

• Rory McIlroy
• Scottie Scheffler
• Jon Rahm
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Dustin Johnson
• Tiger Woods
• Patrick Reed
• Sergio Garcia
• Danny Willett
• Jordan Spieth
• Bubba Watson
• Adam Scott
• Charl Schwartzel
• Phil Mickelson
• Angel Cabrera
• Zach Johnson
• Mike Weir
• Vijay Singh
• Jose Maria Olazabal
• Fred Couples

Recent PGA Champions (Five-Year Eligibility)

The following players qualify based on their recent victories at the PGA Championship within the last five years:

• Xander Schauffele
• Brooks Koepka
• Justin Thomas

U.S. Open Champions (Five-Year Eligibility)

Champions from the U.S. Open in the last five years include:

• J.J. Spaun
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Wyndham Clark
• Matt Fitzpatrick

The Open Champions (Five-Year Eligibility)

Those who have won The Open Championship in the past five years are:

• Brian Harman
• Cameron Smith
• Collin Morikawa

Players Championship Winners (Three-Year Eligibility)

The upcoming winner of the Players Championship on March 15 will also earn a spot.

NCAA Champion

• Michael LaSasso (Amateur)

U.S. Amateur Champion and Runner-Up

• Mason Howell (Amateur)
• Jackson Herrington (Amateur)

Other Amateur Champions

• Ethan Fang (Amateur) – The Amateur Champion
• Brandon Holtz (Amateur) – U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion
• Fifa Laopakdee (Amateur) – Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion

Latin America Amateur Champion

• TBD on January 18.

Top Finishers from Previous Masters and Championships

Top 12 and Ties from the 2025 Masters

• Justin Rose
• Sungjae Im
• Ludvig Åberg
• Corey Conners
• Jason Day
• Harris English
• Max Homa

Top Four and Ties from the 2025 PGA Championship

• Davis Riley

Top Four and Ties from the 2025 U.S. Open

• Robert MacIntyre
• Viktor Hovland
• Cameron Young
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Carlos Ortiz

Scottish Open Champion

• Chris Gotterup

Top Four and Ties from the 2025 Open Championship

• Haotong Li

Other Tournament Champions

Spanish Open Champion

• Marco Penge

Japan Open Champion

• Naoyuki Kataoka

Hong Kong Open Champion

• Tom McKibbin

Australian Open Champion

• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen

South African Open Champion

• TBD on March 1.

Recent PGA Tour Winners

Players who have won since the 2025 Masters (excluding fall events) include:

• Sepp Straka
• Ben Griffin
• Ryan Fox
• Keegan Bradley
• Aldrich Potgieter
• Brian Campbell
• Kurt Kitayama
• Tommy Fleetwood

Tour Championship Field from 2025

The following players earned eligibility based on their performance in the 2025 Tour Championship:

• Russell Henley
• Maverick McNealy
• Andrew Novak
• Sam Burns
• Patrick Cantlay
• Shane Lowry
• Nick Taylor
• Harry Hall
• Jacob Bridgeman
• Akshay Bhatia

Top 50 from the Final Official World Golf Ranking (2025)

This criterion includes players such as:

• Alex Noren
• Aaron Rai
• Kristoffer Reitan
• Max Greyserman
• Michael Brennan
• Michael Kim
• Sami Valimaki
• Rasmus Hojgaard
• Min Woo Lee
• Ryan Gerard
• Si Woo Kim
• Johnny Keefer
• Sam Stevens

Upcoming Rankings

• Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking on March 30, 2026 – TBD.
• Special Invitations – TBA.

As the excitement builds for the 2026 Masters Tournament, the competition is sure to be fierce, showcasing some of the finest talent in the world of professional golf. Stay tuned for updates as we approach this renowned event at Augusta National Golf Club.