Qualifiers for all 2026 Signature Events, THE PLAYERS and majors
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Chris Gotterup sinks birdie to win in playoff at WM Phoenix Open
Written by Rob Bolton
Chris Gotterup knows how to pregame.
Just as Charlie Puth was concluding a masterful rendition of the National Anthem at Levi’s Stadium with a perfectly timed flyover by military aircraft, Gotterup was reaching paydirt his own superb Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.
In the first playoff on the PGA TOUR since the 2025 FedExCup Playoffs, Gotterup rolled in a birdie putt from 27 feet, 3 inches on the par-4 18th hole to upend Hideki Matsuyama for victory at the WM Phoenix Open.
The finale of the "Greenest Show on Grass" traditionally aligns with the Super Bowl, but the timing of Gotterup’s conversion was as special as the totality of his week in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Gotterup buried nine birdies on Sunday, including five on his last six holes, for a 7-under 64 and posted 16-under 268. That was out of the fifth-to-last threesome, too. He opened the tournament with a field-low 63 but carded middle rounds of 71 and 70, respectively. Matsuyama was in the final group as the 54-hole leader (by one stroke) but bogeyed the 72nd hole for a 68.
Before Gotterup’s birdie on the only hole needed in overtime, Matsuyama rinsed his drive and would have needed to hole out from 147 yards for the unlikeliest of birdie-3s, but his approach came to rest 26 feet from the hole.
This is Gotterup’s second TOUR title of the season (he also won the Sony Open in Hawaii) and his fourth in 71 career starts on the circuit. The 26-year-old already is exempt into every tournament and this win extends his membership exemption as a winner through 2029.
Because Gotterup already is exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, those tournaments will need to reach one deeper into the pool of alternates to fill their fields at their deadlines. Meanwhile, one entrant at The Open Championship was determined on the weekend, but it wasn’t by Gotterup.
Jack Buchanan prevailed comfortably at the Africa Amateur Championship on Saturday to earn an exemption into the field of 156 at Royal Birkdale. He must remain an amateur to play the major via this victory.
Buchanan posted 21-under 267 on the par-72 East Course at Royal Johannesburg to win by six. The 21-year-old South African, who is a sophomore at USC, arrived home for the third edition of the tournament slotted 344th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, fourth-best among his fellow countrymen.
South Africans swept the podium as all three at T2 are also natives. One of the runners-up, Dewan de Bruin, set the East Course record with a bogey-free, 12-under 60 in the final round. He started the week at 695th in the WAGR. The 17-year-old is committed to LSU in the fall.
Defending champion Bryan Newman, also of South Africa, finished T13.
NOTE: Until all methods of entry are released by the governing bodies, traditional criteria are used to determine qualifiers. Refer to remaining qualifying criteria at the bottom of the page for details.
SE = All Signature Events
TPC = THE PLAYERS Championship
MAS = Masters
PGA = PGA Championship
US = U.S. Open
OPEN = The Open Championship
Recent additions
SE -- none
TPC -- none
MAS -- none
PGA -- none
US -- none
OPEN -- Jack Buchanan
NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they haven’t competed recently in majors for which they are eligible (e.g., The Open Championship = David Duval, Paul Lawrie).
| Golfer | Qualified |
| Angel Ayora | OPEN |
| Ludvig Åberg | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Rich Beem | PGA |
| Daniel Berger | SE, TPC |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | TPC |
| Akshay Bhatia | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Keegan Bradley | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Michael Brennan | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Jacob Bridgeman | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Daniel Brown | OPEN |
| Jack Buchanan | OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete) |
| Sam Burns | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Ángel Cabrera | MAS, PGA |
| Brian Campbell | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Laurie Canter | OPEN |
| Patrick Cantlay | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Bud Cauley | SE, TPC |
| Stewart Cink | OPEN |
| Wyndham Clark | TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Darren Clarke | OPEN |
| Eric Cole | TPC |
| Hamilton Coleman | US (must remain an amateur to compete) |
| Corey Conners | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Fred Couples | MAS |
| Martin Couvra | OPEN |
| John Daly | PGA, OPEN |
| Cam Davis | TPC |
| Jason Day | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Bryson DeChambeau | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jason Dufner | PGA |
| Nico Echavarria | TPC |
| Ernie Els | OPEN |
| Harris English | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Ethan Fang | MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Tony Finau | TPC |
| Steven Fisk | TPC, PGA |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Tommy Fleetwood | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Rickie Fowler | SE, TPC |
| Ryan Fox | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Sergio Garcia | MAS |
| Ryan Gerard | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Lucas Glover | SE, TPC |
| Chris Gotterup | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Max Greyserman | TPC, MAS |
| Ben Griffin | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Emiliano Grillo | TPC |
| Harry Hall | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Brian Harman | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Padraig Harrington | PGA, US, OPEN |
| Tyrrell Hatton | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Russell Henley | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jackson Herrington | MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Garrick Higgo | TPC |
| Joe Highsmith | TPC, PGA |
| Daniel Hillier | OPEN |
| Ryo Hisatsune | TPC |
| Lee Hodges | TPC |
| Rico Hoey | TPC |
| Tom Hoge | SE, TPC |
| Nicolai Højgaard | TPC, OPEN |
| Rasmus Højgaard | TPC, MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Michael Hollick | OPEN |
| Brandon Holtz | MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Max Homa | MAS |
| Billy Horschel | OPEN |
| Viktor Hovland | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Mason Howell | MAS, US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in the Masters and The Open Championship) |
| Mark Hubbard | TPC |
| Mackenzie Hughes | TPC |
| Sungjae Im | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Stephan Jaeger | TPC |
| Miguel Angel Jiménez | TPC |
| Dustin Johnson | MAS, US |
| Zach Johnson | MAS, OPEN |
| Takumi Kanaya | TPC |
| Naoyuki Kataoka | MAS, OPEN |
| Martin Kaymer | PGA |
| Johnny Keefer | TPC, MAS, US |
| Michael Kim | SE, TPC, MAS |
| Si Woo Kim | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Chris Kirk | TPC |
| Kurt Kitayama | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Jake Knapp | TPC |
| Brooks Koepka | TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jackson Koivun | US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Joakim Lagergren | OPEN |
| Fifa Laopakdee | MAS, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Min Woo Lee | TPC, MAS |
| Justin Leonard | OPEN |
| Haotong Li | MAS, OPEN |
| Shane Lowry | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Robert MacIntyre | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Hideki Matsuyama | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Denny McCarthy | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Matt McCarty | TPC |
| Max McGreevy | TPC |
| Rory McIlroy | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Tom McKibbin | MAS, OPEN |
| Maverick McNealy | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Mac Meissner | TPC |
| Shaun Micheel | PGA |
| Phil Mickelson | MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Keith Mitchell | TPC |
| Francesco Molinari | OPEN |
| Collin Morikawa | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| William Mouw | TPC, PGA |
| Keita Nakajima | OPEN |
| Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | MAS, OPEN |
| Joaquin Niemann | PGA |
| Alex Noren | MAS, US, OPEN |
| Andrew Novak | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| José Maria Olazábal | MAS |
| Thorbjørn Olesen | TPC |
| Louis Oosthuizen | OPEN |
| Carlos Ortiz | MAS, US |
| John Parry | OPEN |
| Taylor Pendrith | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Marco Penge | TPC, MAS, OPEN |
| Chandler Phillips | TPC |
| J.T. Poston | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Aldrich Potgieter | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Mateo Pulcini | MAS, US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in all) |
| Jon Rahm | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Aaron Rai | TPC, MAS, OPEN |
| Chad Ramey | TPC |
| Patrick Reed | MAS |
| Kristoffer Reitan | MAS, OPEN |
| Davis Riley | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Patrick Rodgers | TPC |
| Justin Rose | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Kevin Roy | TPC |
| Adrien Saddier | OPEN |
| Xander Schauffele | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Scottie Scheffler | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Adam Schenk | TPC, PGA |
| Matti Schmid | TPC |
| Charl Schwartzel | MAS |
| Adam Scott | MAS, OPEN |
| Vijay Singh | MAS |
| Alex Smalley | TPC |
| Cameron Smith | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jordan Smith | OPEN |
| Elvis Smylie | OPEN |
| J.J. Spaun | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jordan Spieth | TPC, MAS, OPEN |
| Henrik Stenson | OPEN |
| Sam Stevens | SE, TPC, MAS |
| Sepp Straka | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Nick Taylor | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Justin Thomas | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Davis Thompson | TPC |
| Michael Thorbjornsen | TPC |
| Sami Valimaki | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Erik van Rooyen | TPC |
| Jhonattan Vegas | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Karl Vilips | TPC |
| Danny Walker | TPC |
| Jimmy Walker | PGA |
| Bubba Watson | MAS |
| Mike Weir | MAS |
| Vince Whaley | TPC |
| Danny Willett | MAS |
| Gary Woodland | TPC, US |
| Tiger Woods | MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Y.E. Yang | PGA |
| Cameron Young | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Kevin Yu | TPC |
REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.
Signature Events
- AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb. 12-15)
- The Genesis Invitational (Feb. 19-22)
- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 5-8)
- RBC Heritage (April 16-19)
- Miami Championship (April 30-May 3)
- Truist Championship (May 7-10)
- Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 4-7)
- Travelers Championship (June 25-28)
THE PLAYERS Championship (TPC) at TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) – March 12-15
- Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before THE PLAYERS.
- Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Cognizant Classic (March 1).
- Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (March 2).
- If necessary to complete the field of 120, golfers outside the top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Cognizant on March 1 will gain entry in order of position.
Masters (MAS) at Augusta National Golf Club – April 9-12
- Winners of PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation for the TOUR Championship.
- Winner of the South African Open (March 1).
- Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (March 30).
- Special invitations to international players per Masters Tournament Committee as its discretion.
PGA Championship (PGA) at Aronimink Golf Club – May 14-17
- Winners of PGA TOUR events through the final week before the 2026 PGA Championship.
- Winner of the Senior PGA Championship (April 19).
- Top 3 from International Federation Ranking List (April 27).
- Top 20 from PGA Professional Championship (April 29).
- Top 3 from Asian Swing ranking on the DP World Tour (May 3).
- Top 70 from special money list (i.e., "PGA Championship Points") on PGA TOUR from 2025 Truist Championship and 2025 ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic thru the Cadillac Championship (May 3).
- Special exemptions per PGA of America. (This likely will include all golfers from top 100 of Official World Golf Ranking on May 4.)
- If necessary to complete the field of 156, golfers outside Top 70 from special money list (two lines above) will gain entry in order of position.
U.S. Open (US) at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club – June 18-21
- Winners of multiple PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation since the 2025 U.S. Open.
- Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (March 15).
- Winner of the Masters (April 12).
- Winner of the PGA Championship (May 17).
- Top 5, not otherwise exempt, in the FedExCup at the conclusion of a PGA TOUR event TBD in 2026 (TBD).
- Top 2, not otherwise exempt, in the 2025 Race to Dubai at the conclusion of an event TBD in 2026 (TBD).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, in the 2026 Race to Dubai (TBD).
- Leader, not otherwise exempt, in the Top 3 of the LIV Golf Individual Standings (May 18).
- Top 60 of Official World Golf Ranking (1 of 2) (TBD).
- Final qualifying (TBD).
- Winner of the NCAA Division 1 individual championship, if still an amateur (June 1).
- Top 60 of Official World Golf Ranking (2 of 2) (TBD).
- Special exemptions per the USGA.
The Open Championship (OPEN) at Royal Birkdale Golf Club – July 16-19
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the New Zealand Open (March 1).
- Top 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the South African Open Championship (March 1).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the Argentina Open (March 1).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 8).
- Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (March 15).
- Winner of the Masters (April 12).
- Top 2, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Singapore Open (April 26).
- Winner of the PGA Championship (May 17).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the KOLON Korea Open (May 24).
- Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (May 25).
- Top 5 in the Federation Ranking (May 25).
- Top 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Mizuno Open (May 31).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 7).
- Top 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open (June 14).
- Winner of the British Amateur, if still an amateur (June 20).
- Winner of the U.S. Open (June 21).
- Winner of the European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 27).
- Leader in World Amateur Golf Ranking points accumulated at the St. Andrews Links Trophy (June 7), British Amateur (June 20) and European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 27).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Italian Open (June 28).
- Top 5, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Travelers Championship (June 28).
- Leader, not otherwise exempt, in the LIV Golf Individual Standings at the conclusion of LIV Golf Louisiana (June 28).
- Final Qualifying. Top 4 at each of four sites (June 30).
- Top 5, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the BMW International Open (July 5).
- Top 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 12).
- Winner of the Last-Chance Qualifier (July 13).
