The 154th Open

The R&A has confirmed the schedule of events for The Open Qualifying Series and exemption categories for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.

Each year, international pathways are provided for players to qualify for golf’s original championship through prestigious professional tour events played around the world.

The Open Qualifying Series will begin in October and players will be able to qualify for The 154th Open through 15 events in 13 countries being played on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, KPGA Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

Exemption categories are also reviewed and updated annually to ensure that places awarded in The Open reflect results achieved by golfers on the professional tours, including LIV Golf, and in leading elite amateur championships.

Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events and its global nature is reflected in the number of outstanding opportunities we offer to golfers to qualify for the Championship through our exemptions and professional tour events held internationally each year.

“The Open Qualifying Series generates great excitement and intrigue each year as players compete to earn a coveted place in the Championship and so we look forward to seeing what stories emerge in the months ahead and the field coming together as we get closer to staging another memorable Open at Royal Birkdale next July.”

The Open de Espana presented by Madrid, the Japan Open and the Link Hong Kong Open are added to the schedule following the joint announcement made last month by The R&A and Augusta National Golf Club to align aspects of the qualification criteria for The Open and the Masters Tournament.

In North America, places will be available via the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and the RBC Canadian Open, while the Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro in South America will also offer a spot.

As well as the Open de Espana presented by Madrid, the Open d’Italia and Genesis Scottish Open being held in Europe will also offer places for golfers aiming to book their place at Royal Birkdale.

The Australian Open, the 105th New Zealand Open, the Mizuno Open, the KOLON Korea Open and an additional event to be confirmed later this year by the Asian Tour will join the Japan Open and the Link Hong Kong Open as events being held in Asia-Pacific which offer qualifying places in The Open, while golfers will also be able to qualify via the Investec South African Open Championship.

Regional and Final Qualifying events, which are open to professional and amateur golfers worldwide who meet the entry criteria, will take place at venues around Great Britain and Ireland in June ahead of the Championship.

A new Last-Chance Qualifier will be played at Royal Birkdale on Monday 13 July. The field of 12 players competing for the final place in the Championship will be determined using an approach which complements the existing qualification criteria for The Open.