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The Masters has the smallest field out of the major championships at around ninety players. It is an invitational event, but nowadays invitations are largely issued on an automatic basis to players who meet published criteria and as the top fifty players in the Official World Golf Rankings are all invited none of the leading current players in the world miss out. Past champions are eligible to play, but in recent years the Augusta National Golf Club has discouraged them from continuing to participate at an advanced age. Nevertheless Gary Player played in 2006 at the age of 70.

Invitation categories:

• Past Masters champions.
• U.S. Open champions from the preceding five years.
• British Open champions from the preceding five years.
• PGA Championship winners from the preceding five years.
• Winners of the preceding three Players Championships.
• U.S. Amateur champion and runner-up.
• British Amateur champion.
• U.S. Amateur Public Links champion.
• U.S. Mid-Amateur champion.
• Top 16 players and ties from prior year's Masters.
• Top 8 players and ties from the prior year's US Open.
• Top 4 players and ties from the prior year's Open Championship.
• Top 4 players and ties from the prior year's PGA Championship.
• Top 40 players from the prior year's PGA Tour money list.
• Top 50 players from the prior year's final Official World Golf Ranking.
• Top 10 players from the current year's PGA Tour money list after the Players Championship (this will need to be revised in 2007 as the Players Championship will be played after the Masters).
• Special foreign invitations