Daniel Berger

Daniel Berger earned his spot at Royal Birkdale after an impressive showing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

The American was tied for first place with Akshay Bhatia after 72 holes, and although Bhatia went on to take the victory the result was enough to secure Berger an exemption for The 154th Open.

One Open qualifying spot was available at the event as part of the Open Qualifying Series (OQS), and Bhatia had already guaranteed his Royal Birkdale berth.

Berger tied for eighth when The Open was staged at Royal St George's in 2021. All that year he had been a member of the game's top 20, claiming his fourth PGA Tour title at the Pebble Beach Pro-am and helping the United States recapture the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, winning two of his three games.

A back injury then forced him to take 18 months away from the circuit during which his world ranking tumbled to 664th. He was able to return in 2024 and with runner-up finishes at the RSM Classic and WM Phoenix Open, along with a tie for third at the RBC Heritage, has climbed back into the top 50 ahead of The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, where he finished T30.

He lost a play-off to Padraig Harrington for the 2015 Honda Classic after starting the final round nine behind Ian Poulter and was voted Rookie of the Year that season. His first PGA Tour success came the following June at the FedEx St Jude Classic and a year later he earned a Presidents Cup debut.

Father Jay reached seventh on the tennis world rankings in 1990 and went on to coach the American team.