Editing Masters Tournament (section)

==Field==
The Masters has the smallest field of the major championships, with 85–100 players. Unlike other majors, there are no alternates or qualifying tournaments. It is an invitational event, with invitations largely issued on an automatic basis to players who meet published criteria. The top 50 players in the [[Official World Golf Ranking]] are all invited.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.masters.org/en_US/scores/bios/tournament_2008.html |title=2008 Tournament Invitees |publisher=masters.org |access-date=April 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408072208/http://www.masters.org/en_US/scores/bios/tournament_2008.html |archive-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Past champions are always eligible, but since 2002 the Augusta National Golf Club has discouraged them from continuing to participate at an advanced age.  Some will later become honorary starters.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/3025637/The-Masters-Augusta-bows-to-change-with-a-pompous-flourish.html |title=The Masters: Augusta bows to change with a pompous flourish |access-date=March 25, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |first=Martin |last=Johnson |date=April 9, 2002 |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406085028/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/3025637/The-Masters-Augusta-bows-to-change-with-a-pompous-flourish.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Invitation categories (from 2024)===
:''See footnote.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/masters_2010_invitees_list.html |title=2010 Masters Tournament Invitees |access-date=November 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007205925/http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/masters_2010_invitees_list.html |archive-date=October 7, 2009}}</ref>
:''Note: Categories 7–12 are honored only if the participants maintain their amateur status prior to the tournament.''

# Masters Tournament Champions (lifetime)
# [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open champions]] (five years)
# [[The Open Championship|The Open champions]] (five years)
# [[PGA Championship|PGA champions]] (five years)
# Winners of [[the Players Championship]] (three years)
# Current [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] Gold Medalist (one year)
# Current [[U.S. Amateur]] champion and runner-up
# Current [[British Amateur]] champion
# Current [[Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship|Asia-Pacific Amateur]] champion
# Current [[Latin America Amateur Championship|Latin America Amateur]] champion
# Current [[U.S. Mid-Amateur]] champion
# Current [[NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship]] individual champion
# The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
# The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's U.S. Open
# The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's Open Championship
# The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship
# Winners of PGA Tour events that award at least a full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup, from one Masters Tournament to the next
# Those qualifying and eligible for the previous year's season-ending [[Tour Championship]] (top 30 in FedEx Cup prior to tournament)
# The 50 leaders on the final [[Official World Golf Ranking]] for the previous calendar year
# The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament

Most of the top current players will meet the criteria of multiple categories for invitation. The Masters Committee, at its discretion, can also invite any golfer not otherwise qualified, although in practice these invitations are mostly reserved for international players.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/tournament_2009.html |title=2009 Tournament Invitees |access-date=April 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404124237/http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/tournament_2009.html |archive-date=April 4, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Changes since 2014===
Changes for the 2014 tournament include invitations now being awarded to the autumn events in the PGA Tour, which now begin the wraparound season, tightening of qualifications (top 12 plus ties from the Masters, top 4 from the U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship), and the top 30 on the PGA Tour now referencing the season-ending points before the Tour Championship, not the former annual money list.<ref name=cut/> The 2015 Masters added the winner of the newly established Latin America Amateur Championship, which effectively replaced the exemption for the [[U.S. Amateur Public Links]], which ended after the 2014 tournament. (The final Public Links champion played in the 2015 Masters.)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/10330659/masters-reward-winner-new-latin-america-amateur-championship-spot-field |title=Masters, Latin America team up |first=Bob |last=Harig |work=ESPN |date=January 22, 2014 |access-date=January 25, 2014 |archive-date=January 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125003139/http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/10330659/masters-reward-winner-new-latin-america-amateur-championship-spot-field |url-status=live}}</ref>

Prior to the start of the 2023 Masters Tournament, several changes to the criteria were announced to come into effect from 2024. An additional criterion was added for amateur golfers, for the reigning individual champion of the [[NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley announces Masters, ANWA invitations for future NCAA champions |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/04/05/augusta-national-fred-ridley-masters-anwa-exemptions-ncaa-college-golf/ |magazine=Golfweek |first=Adam |last=Woodard |date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=April 5, 2023}}</ref> and PGA Tour criteria were modified to account for scheduling changes (previously only regular season and playoff events were included) and to clarify that players must remain eligible for the Tour Championship.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lavner |first1=Ryan |title=Augusta National announces changes to qualifying criteria for 2024 Masters |url=https://www.golfchannel.com/news/2023-masters-augusta-national-announces-changes-qualifying-criteria-2024-masters |website=Golf Channel |access-date=April 6, 2023 |date=April 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Alex |title=Augusta National announces NCAA D-I champ now gets a Masters invite |url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/masters-2023-augusta-national-announces-new-way-to-qualify-for-the-masters |website=Golf Digest |access-date=April 6, 2023 |date=April 5, 2023}}</ref>