The R&A will not exclude LIV Golf members from competing in the 151st Open later this summer at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Announcing its Open Qualifying Series and its qualifying criteria for its championship, the R&A outlined a total of 34 tournaments across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour through which players will be able to qualify.
“We have created an exciting schedule of events which takes in many regions around the world and provides the chance for golfers to earn a place in the Open at Royal Liverpool,” said Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director – Championships at the R&A. “We are grateful to our colleagues at the professional tours for their support and look forward to seeing who emerges from each event to book a sought-after place in the Championship this year.”
Most of the standard exemptions such as past champions under 60, top-10 finishers in the 2022 Open and major championship winners from the past five years remain intact, much to the delight of Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and more. However, the R&A did remove the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup exemption, which rotated each year and affects a pair of new LIV Golf members. Both Sebastian Munoz and Mito Pereira are now left on the outside looking in, as are PGA Tour members Taylor Pendrith and Cameron Davis, for the year’s final major championship.
The likeliest scenario for them to gain entry into the Open would have been clawing their way inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings by Week 21 of 2023. However, with LIV Golf still not eligible for OWGR points, the South American duo will attempt to grab one of the six spots available at the World City Championship and Korea Open — two co-sanctioned Asian Tour events — if they wish to qualify.
“Looking ahead to the Open next year, we have been asked quite frequently about banning players,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said in 2022 at the 150th Open at St. Andrews. “Let me be very clear. That’s not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open.”
While the R&A did remove this exemption, it kept a number that will allow other LIV Golf members to compete. Both Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch are eligible to play after qualifying for the 2022 Tour Championship, as are Thomas Pieters and Richard Bland for having played in the DP World Tour Championship.
Players on the PGA Tour will be able to secure their ticket to the Open through the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Wells Fargo Championship and the Memorial Tournament. The top three finishers — not otherwise qualified — will gain entry into the field at Royal Liverpool.