[caption id="attachment_140855" align="aligncenter" width="4010"] Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) 

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Rick Santorum believes he deserves to be grandfathered in to the first GOP presidential debate in August, regardless of the criteria Fox News has put on who gets to participate.

"I call it the Masters exemption," Santorum told the Daily Caller on Monday, referring to his position as the reigning champ of the 2012 Iowa caucus.

The former Pennsylvania senator is referring to the Masters competition, where the winning golfer is guaranteed a spot in the competition each following year.  Similarly, Santorum believes he deserves to to be given a spot at the August debate.

Back in May, Fox News announced that the first GOP debate, which they will sponsor, will only include the candidates who place "in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by Fox News."

Santorum is currently placed eleventh in the Real Clear Politics poll among the ever-widening GOP field of presidential candidates.

Santorum told the Caller that he "would prefer one percent of the polls in either Iowa and New Hampshire" to be used as the standard because that’s "more relevant."

Santorum isn't the only one to express disdain for Fox's criteria to be in the debate.  Lindsey Graham is among many who are likening the debate restrictions to a popularity contest, going so far as starting a petition against what he calls "The Brad Pitt Debate."

But Fox has  so-far given no reason to believe that they will change the criteria for the debate next month, leaving it to the GOP candidates to battle it out among  potential voters for the top 10 spots.