Japan Open Golf Championship

The Japan Open Golf Championship will offer one qualifying place for The 155th Open at St Andrews.

The Championship, which is staged by the Japan Golf Tour, takes place at Tarao Country Club West Course, Shiga, from 15 to 18 October 2026.

The highest placed finisher who makes the cut, and is not already exempt for The Open, will gain a spot at St Andrews through The Open Qualifying Series (OQS).

In 2025 Naoyuki Kataoka qualified for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale through this route when he won at Nikko Country Club in Tochigi.

Kataoka became the latest Japanese winner of an event that has been dominated by his countrymen, including Hideki Matsuyama in 2016, although three-time Champion Golfer Seve Ballesteros picked up back-to-back successes in 1977 and 1978.