With less than a month until the start of the 2026 Masters Tournament, the field for golf’s most prestigious event is beginning to take shape. Each year, Augusta National Golf Club welcomes a carefully selected group of the world’s best, with qualification earned through a variety of impressive accomplishments.
In August 2025, the Master’s expanded its qualification options by adding six additional international events, creating more opportunities for global players to earn an invitation.
Who has Qualified for the 2026 Masters
With 24 qualifying events, the following players have secured their place in the 2026 field:
1. 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.
While all past champions are eligible, not all choose to compete. There is ongoing speculation surrounding Wood’s potential return.
2.-4. Major Champions (Five Years)
Recent winners of the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and PGA Championship automatically qualify. These include J.J. Spaun (2025 U.S. Open), Bryson DeChambeau (2024 U.S. Open), Wyndham Clark (2023 U.S. Open), Matt Fitzpatrick (2022 U.S. Open) and Jon Rahm (2021 U.S. Open) Scottie Scheffler (2025 The Open), Xander Schauffele (2024 The Open), Brian Harman (2023 The Open), Collin Morikawa (2022 The Open) and Cameron Smith (2021 The Open) Scottie Scheffler (2025), Xander Schauffele (2024 PGA Champion), Brooks Koepka (2023 PGA Champion), Justin Thomas (2022 PGA Champion) and Phil Mickelson (2021 PGA Champion).
5. Winners of the Players Championship (Three Years)
Rory McIlroy (2025), Scottie Scheffler (2023, 2024)
6. Current Olympic Gold Medalist (One Year)
Scottie Scheffler (2024)
7. Current U.S. Amateur Champion (7-A) (Honorary, One Year)
Mason Howell and Jackson Herrington
8. Current The Amateur Champion (Honorary, One Year)
Ethan Fang
9. Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion (One Year)
Fifa Laopakdee
10. Current Latin America Amateur Champion (One Year)
Mateo Pulcini
11. Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion (One Year)
Brandon Holtz
12. NCAA Division I Champion (One Year)
Michael La Sasso initially qualified but forfeited his spot after turning professional.
13. Top 12, including ties, from 2025 Masters
Rory McIlroy, 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.
14.-16. Top Finishers from 2025 Majors
J.J. Spaun (U.S. Open), Robert MacIntyre (U.S. Open), Viktor Hovland (U.S. Open), Cameron Young (U.S. Open), Tyrrell Hatton (U.S. Open) and Carlos Ortiz (U.S. Open). Scottie Scheffler (The Open), Harris English (The Open), Chris Gotterup (The Open), Haotong Li (The Open) and Matt Fitzpatrick (The Open). Scottie Scheffler (PGA Championship), Harris English (PGA Championship), Bryson DeChambeau (PGA Championship) and Davis Riley (PGA Championship).
17. PGA Tour Winners
Nico Echavarria for his win at Cognizant Classic.
18. Tour Championship Participants
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.
Additional Qualification Events (New for 2026)
19. Current Scottish Open Champion (One Year)
Chris Gotterup
20. Current Spanish Open Champion (One Year)
Marco Penge
21. Current Japan Open Champion (One Year)
Naoyuki Kataoka
22. Current Hong Kong Open Champion (One Year)
Tom McKibbon
23. Current Australian Open Champion (One Year)
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
24. Current South African Open Champion (One Year)
Casey Jarvis
World Ranking Invitations
Beyond event-based qualification, players can also earn invitations through the Official World Golf Ranking:
25. The 50 leaders on the final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
While most of these players have been mentioned due to winning other events, these names also made the top 50 and will be playing in Augusta: Ryan Gerard, Alex Noren, Aaron Rai, Kristoffer Reitan, Max Greyserman, Michael Brennan, Michael Kim, Sami Valimai, Rasmus Hojgaard, Min Woo Lee, John Keefer and Sam Stevens.
26. The 50 leaders on the final Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament
Final Field Outlook
Although more than 100 players technically qualify across all categories, the Masters field is typically limited to around 85–90 competitors due to overlap and player decisions not to participate.
With only weeks remaining, a handful of spots are still up for grabs, whether through late PGA Tour wins or movement in the world rankings. The race to Augusta isn’t over yet, and the final field could still see a few surprises before the opening tee shot in April.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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