An invitation to the Masters is perhaps the most coveted in men’s professional golf.
One of the best things about winning at Augusta National Golf Club is an automatic return visit down Magnolia Lane with a lifetime exemption — and a seat at the table at the Champions Dinner.
But there are 18 other ways a golfer can punch his ticket to the Masters. Winning another major is one of them. So is winning the very last PGA Tour event played the week before, the Valero Texas Open. Corey Conners did just that in 2019. Only four golfers have ever won the Masters after winning on Tour the week before.
From the official Masters media guide:
The Masters is strictly an invitation Tournament that is sponsored by a private organization. The qualification regulations are the principal means of determining the player invitation list, but such eligibility under these regulations does not oblige the Tournament Committee to issue an invitation, nor does failure to invite imply unfitness of any kind.
Masters 2023 leaderboard: Get the latest news from Augusta
Here’s the complete list of qualifications (courtesy: Masters.com).
- Masters Tournament champions (Lifetime)
- U.S. Open champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- The Open champions (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- PGA Championship winners (Honorary, non-competing after five years)
- Winners of The Players Championship (Three years)
- Current Olympic gold medalist (One year)
- Current U.S. Amateur champion (7-A) (Honorary, non-competing after one year) and the runner-up (7-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
- Current The Amateur champion (Honorary, non-competing after one year)
- Current Asia-Pacific Amateur champion (One year)
- Current Latin America Amateur champion (One year)
- Current U.S. Mid-Amateur champion (One year)
- The first 12 players, including ties, from the previous year’s Masters
- The first four players, including ties, in the previous year’s U.S. Open
- The first four players, including ties, in the previous year’s The Open Championship
- The first four players, including ties, in the previous year’s PGA Championship
- Individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
- Those qualifying for the previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship
- The 50 leaders on the final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
- The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
