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The top 12 finishers at the 2026 Masters Tournament have secured their spots for the 2027 Masters. This qualification rule allows players who finish in the top 12, including ties, to return to Augusta National the following year.
If you look at the list of qualifications to compete in the Masters Tournament, you'll see 26 of them listed. The one everyone knows about is that past champs get a lifetime exemption. Winners of the other majors get to come back for five years, the Players champ gets three years, the Olympic gold medal winner gets an invite and so on.
Scroll down the list, though, and you get to No. 13, which states:
The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year’s Masters Tournament
That number used to be 16 but now it's 12 and it's a lifeline back to Augusta National for some. In 2025, for example, Max Homa tied for 12th, which earned him a spot this year. Heading into that 2025 Masters, Homa had missed five straight cuts but pulled a T-12 out of his hat. Solid timing, Max.
More: Masters leaderboard, scores, tee times, videos, more
Since his 2025 Masters, he's played in 23 events, where he missed six cuts and posted an average finish of 36th.
But there was more Augusta magic from Homa in 2026, as he closed with a 5-under 67 on Sunday after posting scores of 72-70-71 the first three days. Add it up and it's a tie for ninth and Homa can check his mailbox early next year for that 2027 Masters invite.
Max Homa tees off on the first hole during the third round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Some of these golfers qualify for the 2027 Masters for other reasons, but there are these 17 golfers who finished tied for 12th or better.
| Pos. | Golfer | Score |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -13 |
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | -11 |
| T3 | Tyrrell Hatton | -10 |
| T3 | Russell Henley | -10 |
| T3 | Justin Rose | -10 |
| T3 | Cameron Young | -10 |
| T7 | Collin Morikawa | -9 |
| T7 | Sam Burns | -9 |
| T9 | Max Homa | -8 |
| T9 | Xander Schauffele | -8 |
| 11 | Jake Knapp | -7 |
| T12 | Jordan Spieth |
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Top 12 finishers at 2026 Masters have earned 2027 Masters spots
The specific names of the top 12 finishers at the 2026 Masters have not been provided in the information available.
The qualification rule states that the top 12 players, including ties, from the previous year's Masters earn a spot in the next year's tournament.
The qualification number for the top finishers has changed from 16 to 12, allowing fewer players to secure a spot based on their previous year's performance.

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| -5 |
| T12 | Hideki Matsuyama | -5 |
| T12 | Brooks Koepka | -5 |
| T12 | Patrick Reed | -5 |
| T12 | Patrick Cantlay | -5 |
| T12 | Jason Day | -5 |