Qualifiers for all 2026 Signature Events, THE PLAYERS and majors
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Highlights | Round 4 | Butterfield Bermuda
Written by Rob Bolton
For dozens of PGA TOUR members, a moment arrives every season during which it’s time to cut losses. It’s time- and golfer-specific, but it happens.
With that in mind, it’s safe to take the stance that exemptions into the 2026 editions of THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship were not on the list of Adam Schenk’s short-term goals when he landed to compete in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. At 134th in the FedExCup, his priorities were set on keeping his job. Given his deficit with only two tournaments remaining, he had to shoot for the moon.
Mission accomplished, but this was no small step for the man.
Schenk captured a one-stroke victory at Port Royal Golf Course on Sunday. He posted 12-under 272 that included an even-par 71 in the finale during which the field averaged 73.113 in breezy conditions. It’s his first PGA TOUR title in 243 career starts across seven seasons. He’ll be making his sixth appearance in the PGA TOUR’s flagship stop and fourth in the PGA Championship.
While Schenk rises to 67th in the FedExCup, he’s fully exempt as a winner through 2027 when he’ll turn 35 years old. So, his next target is the Aon Next 10, for which he needs no worse than a three-way T13 at The RSM Classic to position himself mathematically without other changes. Even if he falls short for the exemptions reserved for the first two Signature Events of 2026, he’s exempt for the RBC Heritage via his victory (because The Sentry was canceled).
Schenk wasn’t the only golfer to secure an exemption into THE PLAYERS next March. Marco Penge will be making his debut.
As the leader among DP World Tour members eligible for PGA TOUR membership, the Englishman has secured a spot in the field of 120 at TPC Sawgrass. He’s also earned exemptions into the first two Signature Events of 2026 as a result of his wildly successful 2025, which included a trio of wins, a T2 and a solo third among eight top 10s. All of the top 10 eligible DP World Tour members can accept PGA TOUR cards next season.
Penge finished T22 at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai on Sunday, nine strokes off the pace set by 72-hole co-leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy. When Fitzpatrick emerged with the win after McIlroy found a hazard on the hole required for a playoff, the Brit went into the books with his third title in the tournament. Meanwhile, McIlroy clinched the season-long Race to Dubai for the seventh time and fourth consecutive.
As those Ryder Cuppers were hogging the hardware, all of the 25 in the Race to Dubai earned a not-so-insignificant consolation prize for their long-term performances – an exemption into The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Of the 25, only eight already were exempt into the major, so the exemption has been added to 17 golfers. All are notated below.
Another wave of exemptions will be distributed next week. At the conclusion of The RSM Classic, all inside the top 100 of the FedExCup will join Schenk, Penge and many others at THE PLAYERS.
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 -- Marco Penge; Adam Schenk
MAS -- none
PGA -- Adam Schenk
US -- none
OPEN -- Angel Ayora; Daniel Brown; Laurie Canter; Martin Couvra; Tyrrell Hatton; Daniel Hillier; Nicolai Højgaard; Rasmus Højgaard; Joakim Lagergren; Keita Nakajima; Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen; John Parry; Aaron Rai; Kristoffer Reitan; Adrien Saddier; Jordan Smith; Elvis Smylie
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 |
| Akshay Bhatia | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Keegan Bradley | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Michael Brennan | TPC, PGA |
| Jacob Bridgeman | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Daniel Brown | OPEN |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Thomas Detry | SE, TPC |
| 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, PGA |
| Lucas Glover | SE, TPC |
| Chris Gotterup | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Max Greyserman | TPC |
| 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 |
| Tom Hoge | SE, TPC |
| Nicolai Højgaard | OPEN |
| Rasmus Højgaard | *PGA, 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) |
| 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 |
| Naoyuki Kataoka | MAS, OPEN |
| Martin Kaymer | PGA |
| Johnny Keefer | TPC, US |
| Michael Kim | SE, TPC |
| Si Woo Kim | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Chris Kirk | TPC |
| Kurt Kitayama | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Jake Knapp | TPC |
| Brooks Koepka | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Jackson Koivun | US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Michael La Sasso | MAS (must remain an amateur to compete) |
| Joakim Lagergren | OPEN |
| Fifa Laopakdee | MAS, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in both) |
| Min Woo Lee | TPC |
| 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 |
| Rory McIlroy | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Tom McKibbin | MAS, OPEN |
| Maverick McNealy | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Shaun Micheel | PGA |
| Phil Mickelson | MAS, PGA, OPEN |
| Francesco Molinari | OPEN |
| Collin Morikawa | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| William Mouw | TPC, PGA |
| Keita Nakajima | OPEN |
| Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | OPEN |
| Joaquin Niemann | PGA |
| Alex Noren | US, OPEN |
| Andrew Novak | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| José Maria Olazábal | MAS |
| Louis Oosthuizen | OPEN |
| Carlos Ortiz | MAS, US |
| John Parry | OPEN |
| Taylor Pendrith | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Marco Penge | TPC, MAS, OPEN |
| J.T. Poston | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Aldrich Potgieter | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Jon Rahm | MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Aaron Rai | TPC, OPEN |
| Patrick Reed | MAS |
| Kristoffer Reitan | OPEN |
| Davis Riley | TPC, MAS, PGA |
| Patrick Rodgers | TPC |
| Justin Rose | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| 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 |
| Vijay Singh | MAS |
| 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 |
| Sepp Straka | SE, TPC, MAS, *PGA, US, OPEN |
| Nick Taylor | SE, TPC, MAS, US, OPEN |
| Justin Thomas | SE, TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN |
| Erik van Rooyen | TPC |
| Jhonattan Vegas | SE, TPC, PGA |
| Jimmy Walker | PGA |
| Bubba Watson | MAS |
| Mike Weir | MAS |
| Danny Willett | MAS |
| Gary Woodland | 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 through the final week before THE PLAYERS..
- Top 100 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of The RSM Classic (Nov. 23).
- 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 Australian Open (Dec. 7).
- Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (Dec. 31).
- Winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 18).
- 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.
- Top 3 from International Federation Ranking List (TBD).
- Top 3 from Asian Swing ranking on the DP World Tour (TBD).
- Top 20 from PGA Professional Championship (April 29).
- Top 70 from special money list (i.e., "PGA Championship Points") on PGA TOUR from 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge through the Miami Championship (May 3).
- *All 2025 Ryder Cup members inside Top 100 of Official World Golf Ranking (May 4).
- 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 (three 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 Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 18).
- 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 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Australian Open (Dec. 7).
- Winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 18).
- Winner of the African Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Feb. 7).
- 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).
- Top 2, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at an Asian Tour event (TBD).
- Winner of the Masters (April 12).
- Winner of the PGA Championship (May 17).
- Top player, not otherwise exempt, who makes the cut at the KOLON Korea Open (TBD).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- Final Qualifying. Top 4 at each of four sites (TBD).
- 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).
