Meet the 6 amateurs playing in the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

It’s a good time to be an amateur at the 2026 Masters, which begins next week.

Every amateur is making their first start at Augusta National Golf Club this year and will battle it out for the low amateur title. If they made the 36-hole cut, they will have the chance to win the Silver Cup and be honored alongside the Masters winner. There is no low amateur awarded if none make the weekend.

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An amateur has never won the Masters, though the Masters has plenty of history involving ams, including the famed Crow’s Nest, the living space on the third floor of the Augusta National clubhouse, and the Monday night Amateur Dinner.

Michael La Sasso was the first amateur to earn an exemption into the 90th Masters, but he forfeited his spot in the field when he joined LIV Golf and turned professional.

Here’s a look at the six amateurs competing in the 90th Masters Tournament.

Ethan Fang

Fang was the second amateur to earn his invitation after winning the British Amateur at Royal St. George’s. The junior at Oklahoma State was also on the Walker Cup team and is ranked third after the fall season in the NCAA golf rankings. He missed the cut in the Open Championship this summer.

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Mason Howell

Howell burst onto the scene this summer when he qualified for the U.S. Open by winning his qualifier. The high school senior then won medalist honors at the U.S. Junior before winning the U.S. Amateur as the 63rd seed at Olympic Club. If that wasn’t enough, he was also on the U.S. Walker Cup team and went 2-0-1 at Cypress Point.

Jackson Herrington

Herrington, a sophomore at Tennessee, had a strong run at the U.S. Amateur, winning five matches before falling against Howell in the championship match. Perhaps it could be a good omen for Herrington, as last year, Neal Shipley earned low amateur honors at the Masters after finishing runner-up at the U.S. Amateur.

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Brandon Holtz

Holtz earned a spot in his first Masters after winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale in September. He birdied the 34th hole to top Jeg Coughlin III, 3 and 2, in Holtz’s first start in a USGA championship.

Fifa Laopakdee

Until Sunday, the most recent player to punch his ticket was Laopakdee, the junior at Arizona State who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur last month in Singapore. He trailed by six shots beginning the final round and rallied with five straight birdies, two in regulation and three in a playoff.

Mateo Pulcini

Pulcini is the last of the automatic qualifiers to earn his spot at Augusta National, doing so after winning the 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship in a playoff. The former Arkansas golfer has remained an amateur playing across South America before the biggest victory of his life.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Masters 2026 field: 6 amateurs teeing it up at Augusta National