The Masters and Open Championship changed their qualifying criteria by eliminating invitations to PGA Tour winners in the fall and recognizing winners of six national opens on every main tour in the world.

Augusta National Golf Club and The R&A announce plans to ‘align aspects of the qualification criteria’ for 2026 tournaments.

The Masters had made a few tweaks over the years, such as adding the NCAA champion to the field. But this is the first significant change since 2013 when it did away with the top 30 from the PGA Tour money list and reduced from the top 16 to the top 12 leading finishers in the previous Masters.