The 2026 Masters Tournament and 2026 British Open Championship will feature new qualifying criteria which grants spots into both majors for winners of long-standing national opens.
In a joint announcement, Augusta National Golf Club, which presents the Masters, and the R&A, which presents the Open Championship, shared these new aligned criteria that will start next year, awarding invitations to winners of select national opens. The tournaments span across sanctioning tours, and they are the Genesis Scottish Open, Open de Espana, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and Investec South African Open.
“The Masters Tournament has long recognised the significance of having international representation among its invitees,” said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club 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 organisations’ 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.”
Since 2013, the R&A has presentd the Open Qualifying Series to create broad-based pathways into the Open Championship from several professional tours, bolstering its reputation as a global-focused major. For the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, the Open Qualifying Series will comprise 15 events in 13 countries.
“We take great pride in the range of qualification routes we offer to players around the world through The Open Qualifying Series," said Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of the R&A. "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. 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.”
In addition, Augusta National has announced that they will no longer offer spots in the Masters to winners of events in the FedEx Cup Fall on the PGA Tour schedule. Now, only winners of full point-allocation events that count toward qualifying for the Tour Championship will earn spots.
