Masters and British Open to offer more exemptions for national open winners

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FILE PHOTO: Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 13, 2025 Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the 3rd hole during the final round REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Augusta National Golf Club and The Ramp;A on Tuesday jointly announced new qualification pathways into the Masters and British Open, offering invitations to winners from select national opens around the world.

The move by golfs most prestigious tournament organisers aims to strengthen international representation in both majors, building on The Ramp;As existing Open Qualifying Series that has operated since 2013.

The Masters Tournament has long recognized the significance of having international representation among its invitees, Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National, said in a joint press release. We, along with The Ramp;A, have a shared commitment to the global game and are proud to work together.

The new system will begin immediately, with players able to earn their way into both majors through historic national open championships worldwide.

The qualification criteria for the 2026 Masters being held next April now include invitations for winners of the Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open.

Augusta National also updated how it awards Masters invites to PGA Tour winners, limiting them to individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation applied to the season-ending Tour Championship.

This means, unlike last year, winners of the