Every April, one tournament stops the golf world cold. If you’re searching for when is the golf masters in 2026, the answer is April 6–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. That’s the full week, from the first practice round through Sunday’s final putt.

The Masters runs the first full week of April every year. That consistency is rare in major sports scheduling. Plan around it now, because some deadlines arrive months earlier than you’d expect, whether you’re booking travel or just setting a TV reminder.

The 2026 Masters Runs April 6–12 at Augusta National

The 2026 Masters Tournament runs April 6–12, with competitive play Thursday through Sunday (April 9–12). Augusta National hosts the event every year during the first full week of April, making it one of the most predictable dates on the sports calendar.

The Masters Tournament has been held at Augusta National Golf Club every year since 1934, with the exception of 1943–1945 due to World War II.

Practice Rounds: April 6–8

Practice rounds are open to the public and often overlooked by casual fans — which makes them one of the best ways to actually experience Augusta National in person. Tickets for practice rounds are significantly easier to obtain than competitive round badges, and they let you walk the course freely, watch players warm up, and see holes like Amen Corner without the crush of a tournament-day crowd.

Wednesday, April 8 also features the Par 3 Contest, a beloved tradition played on Augusta’s nine-hole par-3 course. It’s a separate event with its own charm, and families of players often caddie during it.

Competitive Rounds: April 9–12

Thursday and Friday (Rounds 1 and 2) determine who makes the cut. Augusta National applies a cut rule unique to the Masters: the top 50 players and ties, plus anyone within 10 strokes of the 36-hole leader, advance to the weekend. Saturday’s third round sets up the Sunday drama, and Sunday’s final round is when the green jacket is awarded to the champion on the 18th green.

Tee times for competitive rounds are typically released about a week before the tournament starts — check Masters.com when that window opens.

Augusta National Is the Only Venue — Here’s Why That Matters

The Masters is the only major championship permanently tied to a single course. Augusta National Golf Club has hosted every Masters since 1934, and that’s not changing. This matters practically: you always know where to book a hotel (Augusta, Georgia, about two hours east of Atlanta), and you can study the course layout year after year.

Augusta National is a private club, which means the public has access only during Masters week. The course itself, designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, plays as a par 72 at roughly 7,500 yards in tournament conditions. Every hole has a name, and regulars know them by heart. Amen Corner covers holes 11, 12, and 13.

How to Watch the 2026 Masters on TV and Streaming

CBS and ESPN split the broadcast rights for the Masters, and that split is predictable by round. You don’t need a cable package to catch every shot, but you do need to know where to look.

Broadcast Coverage by Round

ESPN carries Thursday and Friday coverage, typically starting around noon ET each day. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday, broadcasting the final two rounds with lead-up coverage beginning around 3 p.m. ET and the main window running until the final putt. Both networks provide featured group coverage through their respective streaming platforms (ESPN+ and Paramount+).

ESPN+ has carried early-round featured group and featured hole streams in recent years. That lets you follow specific players or watch Amen Corner all day rather than whatever the main broadcast chooses to show.

Free Streaming Options Through Masters.com

Masters.com offers free live streaming during the tournament. No login, no subscription. The site streams featured groups, Amen Corner, and the par-3 course during the Par 3 Contest. The Masters app (available on iOS and Android) mirrors that free content and adds shot-by-shot scoring data for every player in the field.

The free streams on Masters.com don’t carry full-round coverage, so pair them with your ESPN or CBS broadcast for complete viewing. If you’re a cord-cutter, Fubo TV and YouTube TV both carry ESPN and CBS and have offered free trials in the past. Worth checking closer to April.

Getting Masters Tickets Is a Years-Long Process

Don’t expect to buy Masters tickets the week before — it doesn’t work that way. Augusta National controls ticket distribution through a patron badge lottery system, and demand far outpaces supply every year. Most people who attend waited years just to get into the lottery pool, let alone win a badge.

Here’s the practical order of operations if attending is your goal:

1. Register your interest at Masters.com during the open application window (typically announced in the fall preceding the tournament year).
2. Wait for the lottery drawing — Augusta National notifies applicants by email if selected.
3. Pay promptly if selected; badges are non-transferable and tied to the purchaser’s name.
4. If not selected, stay registered — the lottery runs annually and your odds don’t reset.
5. Consider practice round tickets as a realistic alternative; they go through a separate process and are more accessible.

The Patron Badge Lottery

The lottery for competitive round patron badges is the only official path to Thursday–Sunday tickets. Augusta National opens and closes the application window on its own schedule, so checking Masters.com in late summer or early fall each year is the move. Badges are priced well below secondary market rates. Resale prices on the open market routinely exceed $1,000 per day for competitive rounds, but scalping badges violates Augusta National’s terms and risks losing future lottery eligibility.

Practice Round Tickets vs. Tournament Badges

Practice round tickets (Monday through Wednesday) use a separate lottery and are meaningfully easier to obtain than competitive badges. A practice round ticket is the most realistic way most fans will ever walk Augusta National. You still see the full field warming up, you can walk every hole, and Wednesday adds the Par 3 Contest. For first-time visitors, a practice round is the right call anyway. The course itself is the draw.

The Par 3 Contest and Other Week Events Worth Knowing

The Par 3 Contest is played Wednesday, April 8, on Augusta National’s nine-hole par-3 course, which sits behind the 10th tee of the main layout. It’s a standalone competition with a lighthearted atmosphere. Players often invite their children or spouses to caddie, which makes it genuinely different from anything else in professional golf.

What the Par 3 Contest Is

The Par 3 Contest is not a warm-up. It’s a separate ticketed event with its own gallery and scoring. The nine holes range from 70 to 145 yards. Holes-in-one are common enough that the leaderboard can flip multiple times in an afternoon, and no player who has won the Par 3 Contest has gone on to win the Masters that same week. That streak has held long enough to become part of tournament lore.

Why Wednesday Matters for Fans Planning Travel

If you’re flying into Augusta (AGS) or driving from Atlanta, treat Wednesday as a full event day, not just a travel day. The Par 3 Contest draws a relaxed crowd, concession lines are shorter than on competitive days, and you can often get close to the action near the par-3 green complexes. Book Wednesday accommodations at the same time you book the rest of the week. Rates spike across Augusta by January.

Who Qualifies for the Masters Field

The Masters field is invitation-only, and Augusta National sets its own qualification criteria. The field typically runs around 90 to 100 players, far smaller than the U.S. Open or The Open Championship, which is part of why the competition feels so concentrated.

Automatic Qualifying Categories

Winning any of the other three majors within the past five years earns an automatic invitation. So does finishing in the top 12 at the previous year’s Masters, winning a designated PGA Tour event in the prior 12 months, or landing inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the calendar year before the tournament.

Past Champions and Their Lifetime Exemption

Past Masters champions receive a lifetime exemption. They can play Augusta National every year for as long as they choose. In practice, most past champions retire from competition in their 60s, but the invitation stands indefinitely. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson each participated in ceremonial Honorary Starter roles after stepping back from competitive play, a tradition that opens the tournament on Thursday morning.

Planning Your 2026 Masters Calendar: A Practical Action Checklist

Knowing when the golf Masters is held only gets you so far. The real challenge is hitting the right deadlines in the right order — miss one, and your options shrink fast. Work through this list roughly 12 months out from April 2026.

1. Check Masters.com each fall (typically August through October) for the lottery application window and submit your entry before it closes.
2. Monitor your email in late fall or winter for lottery results — Augusta National notifies winners directly, and the payment window is short.
3. Book Augusta-area lodging as soon as you confirm attendance; hotels within 30 minutes of the course fill up well before January.
4. Set a calendar alert for tee time releases, which Augusta National posts on Masters.com roughly one to two weeks before the tournament.
5. Arrange flights into Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) or plan your Atlanta drive early — rental cars near AGS sell out months ahead.
6. Download the Masters app before tournament week for free live featured group streams and real-time scoring.

If attending isn’t realistic this cycle, the TV calendar is simpler: ESPN covers Thursday and Friday, CBS handles the weekend, and Masters.com streams free content all week.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly does the 2026 Masters start?

The first competitive round is Thursday, April 9, 2026. Practice rounds run April 6–8, with the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, April 8. The tournament concludes Sunday, April 12.

Can I still get tickets for the 2026 Masters?

Competitive round badges are almost certainly gone if the lottery has already closed for 2026. Your best move now is to register on Masters.com for future years and watch for any announcement about practice round ticket availability, which runs on a separate timeline and opens later.

Is the Masters always held the first week of April?

Yes. Augusta National schedules the Masters for the first full week of April every year. The 2020 tournament was the one notable exception — it moved to November because of the COVID-19 pandemic — but the April slot is otherwise fixed.

What channel shows the Masters on Sunday?

CBS broadcasts the final round on Sunday. Coverage typically begins around 3 p.m. ET, with the featured group and Amen Corner streams available free on Masters.com and the Masters app throughout the day before CBS’s main window opens.