The president of Augusta National, Fred Ridley, stated this week that the increase in the percentage of international players competing in the Masters in recent years was the main reason for granting, looking ahead, an invitation to the major of the Green Jacket to the winners of six national championships, including the Open de España.
It also helped in some way that a declared supporter of these tournaments, Rory McIlroy, was the reigning Masters champion when Augusta National and the R&A jointly made the announcement in August.
During an appearance before journalists at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which also grants a spot in the Masters and the Open Championship to the winner, Ridley spoke publicly for the first time since the announcement of this new exemption. He explained that the international representation in the Masters led the tournament committee to reward historic national championships, creating a qualification criterion that includes the winners of the Australian Open, Scottish Open, South African Open, Open de España, Japan Open, and Hong Kong Open.
For its part, the Open Championship has included a series of tournaments in its Open Qualifying Series for over a decade, which grants various spots for the British major. Recently, the R&A also confirmed that these six national championships are part of the series. The already contested Open de España and Japan Open, won by Englishman Marco Penge and Japanese Naoyuki Kataoka, respectively, as well as next week’s Link Hong Kong Open, have received a spot for the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. These will be joined by the Australian, South African, and Scottish Opens.
“These six opens are historic championships that we and the R&A recently recognised in a joint statement,” said Ridley on Thursday at the Emirates Golf Club. “Non-American players have always been an important part of the Masters. That international representation has grown over the years to be almost 50/50, and perhaps even a bit more. So we felt it appropriate to maintain that tradition and the culture we have established at the Masters.” In 2025, Augusta invited players from 27 different countries to form the field of 92 golfers, surpassing the record of 25 from the 2015 Masters.
“Golf is a global game, and we always seek to recognise it,” stated Ridley. “We felt that we were not only staying true to our values, but also, just as this championship has inspired young amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region, we hope that the incentive of granting winners an invitation, a spot in the Masters and also in The Open Championship, generates additional interest in those countries. I know that in Japan it recently did. I believe it will happen in all these countries. So we are very excited about this change in our qualifications.”
When asked about how the Masters decided on these six specific national championships, Ridley said that history played an important role in several of them. The South African Open was established in 1903, the Australian Open in 1904, and the Open de España in 1912. “They are truly historic championships that have existed for a long time and have meant a lot in their countries,” said Ridley. “Great golfers have emerged from several of these countries, and we simply felt that these six championships were the right ones to grant invitations to the Masters.” He has not guaranteed that they will remain the same in the coming years, but he has not assured otherwise either. The victory of Carla Bernat this year in Augusta or the triumphs of Seve, Olazábal, Sergio, and Rahm have also played an important role.
Mark Darbon, CEO of the R&A also present at the press conference on Thursday, added: “We also believe that golf is a global game and we want to have the best international players.”
McIlroy, who completed the Grand Slam with his victory at Augusta National in April, has always been a supporter of national Opens. He has nine wins in seven national opens, including his playoff victory at the Irish Open at The K Club last month. McIlroy will close his 2025 season at the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in December, an event on the DP World Tour calendar. The 2013 Australian Open champion has repeatedly praised the Australian tournament as one that “almost should be the fifth major. That market has enormous potential.”
“We were certainly pleased to hear Rory say that,” commented Ridley. “He has been a great representative of the game and a magnificent representative as Masters champion. I believe his vision of golf is also global. Having his support for that concept was well received, and I suspect many other players like Rory think the same.”
