(Photo credit: Katie Goodale-Imagn Images)

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said the recent change in invitation criteria announced by the Masters was driven by the increased international representation at the tournament.

Augusta National Golf Club and The R&A jointly announced on Aug. 26 a change in qualification criteria to ensure 'strong international pathways into both major championships.' That included removing automatic Masters qualification for winners of FedEx Cup Fall events, while awarding invitations to the winners of six national opens beginning in 2026.

Speaking ahead of this week's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai, which also grants a place in the Masters and Open Championship fields to the winner, Ridley said the Masters tournament committee was compelled to reward 'historic' national opens.

'International competition has always been a big part of the Masters Tournament. That representation internationally has grown over the years to where it's pretty much 50/50, and maybe even a few more, international players,' Ridley said Thursday at the Emirates Golf Club, per Golf Digest. 'So, we thought it was appropriate to sort of carry on that tradition and the culture that we've established at the Masters.'

Masters invites are now extended to the winners of the Australian Open, Scottish Open, South African Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open and Hong Kong Open. England's Marco Penge earned a spot in the 2026 Masters by winning the Spanish Open while last week's Japan Open was won by Naoyuki Kataoka, who entered the tournament ranked 500th in the world.

'Golf is a global game, and I think we always want to recognize that,' Ridley said. 'We felt that not only were we living true to our values, but we also were hopefully maybe just as this championship has inspired young amateurs around the Asia-Pacific region, we hope that that incentive of awarding the winners an invitation, a spot in the Masters Tournament as well as The Open Championship, would also generate additional interest in those countries.

'I know that in Japan recently that was the case. I think it will be the case in all these countries. So we are very excited about that change in our qualifications.'

The R&A qualifies golfers for The Open Championship through the R&A's Open Qualifying Series, which consists of 15 tournaments across 13 countries.

'We (also) believe golf is a global game and we want the strongest international fields at our respective tournament and championship,' R&A CEO Mark Darbon said.

The 90th edition of the Masters is scheduled for April 9-12, 2026. The 154th Open will be played July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale in England.

--Field Level Media