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

Augusta National Golf Club and The R&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 golf's most prestigious tournament organisers aims to strengthen international representation in both majors, building on The R&A's existing Open Qualifying Series that has operated since 2013.

"The Masters Tournament has long recognised 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 R&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.

Invitations to the Masters and @TheOpen will be provided to winners of select national open championships across several international tours.

For the Masters, qualification 17 has been amended to award invitations only to individual winners of PGA Tour events that award a… pic.twitter.com/HGj9MEyaxk

— The Masters (@TheMasters) August 26, 2025

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 PGA Tour's fall events will not get direct exemption into the 2026 Masters.

For the 2026 British Open at Royal Birkdale in July, players can qualify through 15 events across 13 countries. The schedule for The Open Qualifying Series and the list of exemptions for the next British Open will be announced in September.

Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, emphasised the mutual benefits of the partnership.

"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," said Darbon.

The initiative recognises what both organisations call "the global strength of elite professional golf" and creates what Darbon described as "an outstanding opportunity for players in all parts of the world to qualify."