Qualifying for an invitation to play in the Masters isn't easy. A golfer has to be one of the best on the planet to qualify, and, even then, the event is technically an invitational so the Augusta National Golf Club must formally extend an invitation to compete. Of course, no one turns down a Masters invitation.
However, to qualify for a chance to play in the Masters, a golfer must meet one of 18 criteria to get an invitation.
Masters qualifying categories
- Former winners of The Masters
- Winners of the last five U.S. Opens
- Winners of the last five British Opens
- Winners of the last five PGA Championships
- Winners of the last three Players Championships
- Winner and runner-up from the last U.S. Amateur Championship
- Winner of the last British Amateur Championship
- Winner of the last Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
- Winner of the last Latin America Amateur Championship
- Winner of the last U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
- The top 12 finishers (including ties) from last year's Masters tournament
- The top 4 finishers (including ties), from last year's U.S. Open
- The top 4 finishers (including ties) from last year's British Open
- The top 4 finishers (including ties) from last year's PGA Championship
- Full PGA Tour event winners since the last Masters
- All players who qualified for the prior year's Tour Championship
- The Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the prior year
- The Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking published the week before the Masters
The categories themselves have changed over the years, and they're always subject to review from one year to the next. However, typically speaking, former Masters winners, major winners of the last five years, PGA Tour winners and top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking can expect an invitation in the mail from Augusta National Golf Club to make at trip down Magnolia Lane in April.
