Saturday, August 22, 2026

SeatGeek Is First Reseller to Drop Masters Tickets After Crackdown

All Masters tickets are physical badges distributed directly by Augusta National, with strict rules against reselling.

Apr 12, 2025; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Fans cheer for Bryson DeChambeau on the no. 18 green during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club
Grace Smith-Imagn Images

One year after The Masters instituted a severe crackdown on ticket resellers for golf’s most prestigious tournament, SeatGeek has stopped selling tickets to the 2026 tournament.

The Masters landing page on SeatGeek’s website simply reads “Bummer! There aren’t any events,” with no listings available.  

A source familiar with SeatGeek’s operations confirmed to Front Office Sports that the combination of Augusta National Golf Club tightening restrictions on resold tickets and the significant on-site operational lift required to support Masters badges led the company to decide to bow out this year.

All Masters tickets are physical badges—either lanyard or paper passes that must be displayed around a person’s neck or on their belt loop, wrist, etc.—distributed directly by Augusta National, with strict rules against reselling. But those rules were never very rigidly enforced until last year.

“As a reminder, Augusta National, Inc. is the only authorized source/seller of Masters® Tickets,” the official Masters website reads. “The resale of any Masters Ticket is strictly prohibited. Holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament.”

Some SeatGeek sellers received an update from the company about The Masters; the notice was shared on Twitter by ticketing insider Scott Friedman. “SeatGeek will not be selling tournament badges or practice round tickets for the 2026 Masters, and will not be on site for the event,” the notice read. “We appreciate your support as a seller on SeatGeek and will reassess our approach for the 2027 Masters at a later date.”

SeatGeek declined to comment for this story.

Masters Resale Market Still Booming 

Other major secondary ticketing platforms still have 2026 Masters tickets listed right now, although some indicate there is limited availability. 

StubHub listings have a notice that there are “only 1% of tickets left.” Most Vivid Seats listings say there are fewer than 10 tickets left.

Resale prices on those platforms range from roughly $2,000 for the Monday practice round to $15,000 for some competition days. TickPick lists a four-day tournament pass for about $20,000.

StubHub and Vivid Seats did not respond to requests for comment on any potential changes they’ll make in the wake of SeatGeek’s move. TickPick declined to comment. 

How We Got Here

During the 2025 Masters, hundreds of ticket holders were pulled aside by Augusta National Golf Club representatives and questioned about where they bought their tickets and whether they had a direct personal connection to the original badge holder. 

Many had their passes voided for the weekend on the spot. 

At the time, sources in the ticketing and hospitality business widely believed it was part of preparations for big changes to the Masters ticketing process coming in 2026, including a larger role for hospitality giant On Location.

Meanwhile, The Masters has increased ticket prices for the 2026 tournament. Passes for Thursday through Sunday cost $160 each, up from $140 last year. Practice-round tickets cost $150 for Wednesday (which includes the famous par-3 contest) and $125 for Monday and Tuesday, up from $100 for all practice-round tickets in 2025.

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