The Masters carries a mystique like no other tournament, with its position in the calendar as the first Major of the year and the only one of the four to take place at the same venue, the famously exclusive Augusta National.
Even being fortunate enough to experience the tournament as one of the crowd is an achievement in itself, while for many people, playing the course is a largely forlorn hope.
Despite that, there are 19 ways to qualify for The Masters. Major wins offer a surefire route, with winners of the other three showpiece events guaranteed a place at Augusta National for the next five years. While that brings a certain degree of security, you can also guarantee a place for the next year by finishing in the top four, or ties, in the PGA Championship, US Open and Open Championship.
Before the Majors even come around, there’s another way to guarantee entry for three years, and that’s to claim victory in the unofficial fifth Major, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Meanwhile, any player who wins a PGA Tour event that awards a full point allocation to the season-ending Tour Championship between the previous Masters and the current one is guaranteed a place for that tournament.
Consistency on the PGA Tour is rewarded as well. So, any of the 30 players reaching the Tour Championship also has a spot for the following year. But what about players on other tours?
There are options there too. While claiming a place in the world’s top 50 appears to be getting harder for those beyond the PGA Tour, players who achieve it by the final week of the calendar year claim a spot for the following April’s tournament, while a similar prize is on offer for those in the top 50 the week before The Masters.
There are also slots for the following year’s Masters for the US Amateur Champion and runner-up. Invites are similarly extended to the British Amateur Champion, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, the Latin America Amateur Champion and the US Mid-Amateur Champion. Meanwhile, if it’s an Olympic year, the gold medalist in the Games receives an invite for the next tournament.
Special invites can also be sent at the discretion of The Masters Committee. This year, the lucky special invitation recipients are Japan Golf Tour 2022 Order of Merit winner Kazuki Higa and reigning NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Champion Gordon Sargent.
For those players only guaranteed a place for one year, or who are facing their final appearance before their exemption expires,…
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