Who is Exempt?

As the icy cold February winds sweep across the links at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland, it feels a setting very much for Game of Thrones as opposed to the venue for The 148th Open. Single digit temperatures with less than 9 hours sunlight per day, the 2019 UK golf season still feels a long way off.

But after 68 years the Dunluce course will host golf’s oldest and most international Major Championship this summer. And as July approaches golf’s biggest names will want to be in County Antrim to compete for the Claret Jug.

The list below shows the players who are exempt into The 148th Open at Royal Portrush (*correct as of Friday 15 February 2019).

Players must still file a Championship entry form to state their intentions to play.

Champion Golfers aged 60 or under on 21 July 2019

• Mark Calcavecchia
• Ian Baker-Finch
• John Daly
• Tom Lehman
• Justin Leonard
• Paul Lawrie
• Tiger Woods
• David Duval
• Ernie Els
• Ben Curtis
• Todd Hamilton
• Padraig Harrington
• Stewart Cink
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Darren Clarke
• Phil Mickelson
• Rory McIlroy
• Zach Johnson
• Henrik Stenson
• Jordan Spieth
• Francesco Molinari

Champion Golfers for 2009 -2018

• Stewart Cink
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Darren Clarke
• Ernie Els
• Phil Mickelson
• Rory McIlroy
• Zach Johnson
• Henrik Stenson
• Jordan Spieth
• Francesco Molinari

The first 10 and anyone tying for 10th place at The 147th Open at Carnoustie in 2018

• Francesco Molinari
• Rory McIlroy
• Justin Rose
• Kevin Kisner
• Xander Schauffele
• Eddie Pepperell
• Tiger Woods
• Kevin Chappell
• Tony Finau
• Matt Kuchar
• Jordan Spieth

First 30 in the final Race to Dubai rankings for 2018

• Francesco Molinari
• Patrick Reed
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Xander Schauffele
• Justin Rose
• Alex Noren
• Rory McIlroy
• Thorbjorn Olesen
• Haotong Li
• Matt Wallace
• Jon Rahm
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Lucas Bjerregaard
• Eddie Pepperell
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat
• Russell Knox
• Lee Westwood
• Sergio Garcia
• Alexander Bjork
• Danny Willett
• Rafa Cabrera-Bello
• Ryan Fox
• Adrian Otaegui
• Matthew Fitzpatrick
• Brandon Stone
• Jorge Campillo
• Thomas Pieters
• Shubhankar Sharma
• Andy Sullivan
• Alexander Levy

BMW PGA Championship winners for 2017 and 2018

• Alex Noren
• Francesco Molinari

Masters Champions for 2015 – 2019

• Jordan Spieth
• Danny WIllett
• Sergio Garcia
• Patrick Reed
• 2019 Champion

PGA Champions for 2014 – 2019

• Rory McIlroy
• Jason Day
• Jimmy Walker
• Justin Thomas
• Brooks Koepka
• 2019 Champion

US Open Champions for 2015 – 2019

• Jordan Spieth
• Dustin Johnson
• Brooks Koepka
• 2019 Champion

THE PLAYERS Champions for 2017 – 2019

• Si Woo Kim
• Webb Simpson
• 2019 Champion

Top 30 players from the final FedEx Cup standings for 2018

• Justin Rose
• Tiger Woods
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Dustin Johnson
• Billy Horschel
• Tony Finau
• Justin Thomas
• Keegan Bradley
• Brooks Koepka
• Bubba Watson
• Webb Simpson
• Cameron Smith
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Rory McIlroy
• Xander Schauffele
• Jason Day
• Rickie Fowler
• Francesco Molinari
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Patrick Cantlay
• Phil Mickelson
• Patrick Reed
• Jon Rahm
• Aaron Wise
• Paul Casey
• Gary Woodland
• Kyle Stanley
• Kevin Na
• Mark Leishman
• Patton Kizzire

Playing members of the 2018 Ryder Cup teams

• Bryson DeChambeau
• Paul Casey
• Tony Finau
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Rickie Fowler
• Sergio Garcia
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Dustin Johnson
• Brooks Koepka
• Rory McIlroy
• Phil Mickelson
• Francesco Molinari
• Alex Noren
• Thorbjorn Olesen
• Ian Poulter
• Jon Rahm
• Patrick Reed
• Justin Rose
• Webb Simpson
• Jordan Spieth
• Henrik Stenson
• Justin Thomas
• Bubba Watson
• Tiger Woods

The 113th VISA Open de Argentina Champion for 2018

• Isidro Benitez

First place on the Order of Merit of the Asian Tour for 2018

• Shubhankar Sharma

First place on the Order of Merit of the Tour of Australasia for 2018

• Jake McLeod

The Japan Open Champion for 2018

• Yuki Inamori

First 2 on the Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2018

• Shugo Imahira
• Shaun Norris

The Senior Open Champion

• Miguel Angel Jimenez

The US Amateur Champion for 2018 (*must be an amateur)

• Viktor Hovland (a)

The Mark H McCormack Medal winner for 2018 (*must be an amateur)

• N/A. Braden Thornberry turned professional thus no longer exempt under this category

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion for 2018 (*must be an amateur)

• Takumi Kanaya (a)

The Open Qualifying Series Australia

• Abraham Ancer
• Dimitiros Papadatos
• Jake McLeod

The Open Qualifying Series South Africa

• Romain Langasque
• Charl Schwartzel
• Oliver Wilson

The Open Qualifying Series Singapore

• Jazz Janewattananond
• Yoshinori Fujimoto
• Prom Meesawat
• Doyeob Mun

The following categories are still to be determined:

The first 50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings (26 May)

First 5 and tied European Tour members, not exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai (23 June)

First 5 and tied PGA TOUR members, not exempt, in the top 20 of the FedEx Cup list (23 June)

First and anyone tying for 1^st place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit

The Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Champion for 2019 (12 May)

The Amateur Champion for 2019 (22 June)

The European Amateur Champion (29 June)

*correct as of Friday 15 February 2019 and all exemption criteria is subject to change.