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How do players qualify for the Open Championship?

It is the dream for many golfers to get the chance to tee up alongside Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the game’s greats at The Open Championship.

Here are all the details of how to gain an exemption for the battle for the Claret Jug and how to qualify for the oldest of the four majors.

Former Open Championship winners

From 2024, all Open champions will be exempt as long as they are aged 55 or under on the final day of the tournament.

Champions who won either in 2023 or before can play until they are 60.

Winners of selected tournaments 

The winners of the following tournaments are exempt for the designated number of years.

The Open Championship (ten), The Masters (five), The US PGA Championship (five), the US Open (five), The Players Championship (three), BMW PGA Championship (three), Open de Argentina (one), Japan Open (one), Diamond Cup Golf (one), Senior Open (one).

Top 10 and ties from the previous year’s Open

Those who finished in the top ten in last year’s Open are exempt.

Rankings exemptions

The following ranking exemptions are in place:

The top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings for Week 21 (the Open is held in Week 29)

The top finishers in the previous season of selected tours: DP World Tour Race to Dubai (top 30), FedEx Cup (30), Japan Golf Tour (two), PGA Tour of Australasia (one), Sunshine Tour (one).

Performance in current year on selected Tours based on positions in Week 25

The following placed players will also be exempt:

DP World Tour: Top five not already exempt who are within the top 20

PGA Tour: Top five not already exempt who are within the top 20

Japan Golf Tour: Top player not already exempt

Holders of amateur titles

The holders of the following amateur titles are able to play, so long as they retain their amateur status:

Amateur champion, US Amateur champion, European Amateur champion, Asia-Pacific champion, Mark H McCormack Medal.

Qualifying

Qualifying is divided into two sections with placings in specific tournaments providing places and then the local and final qualifying rounds.

Spots are given to non-qualified players in the following tournaments if they finish in the designated places.

Australian Open (three places, players have to finish in top 10), South African Open (three, 10), Singapore Open (four, 12), Arnold Palmer Invitational (three, 10), Mizuno Open (four, 12), Canadian Open (three, 10), Korea Open (two, eight), Andalucia Masters (three, 10), Rocket Mortgage Classic (two, eight), Irish Open (three, 10), Scottish Open (three, 10), John Deere Classic (one, five).

Local qualifying takes place in 15 events contested over 18 holes each. Any professional, scratch golfer or male who has been ranked in the top 2,000 in the amateur rankings in that calendar year is able to enter.

The best players from local qualifying go through to final qualifying, which will be played on one day over 36 holes.

Players who meet the following criteria gain a place in final qualifying:

  • Past Open champions who are too old to gain exemption
  • Players who are in the top 1,000 of the Official Golf World Rankings
  • Past Masters, US Open or US PGA Championship winners
  • Anyone who played in the previous year’s Open Championship
  • Past Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players
  • The first 10 on the Titleist and Footjoy PGA Professional Championship and the PGA of America Professional Championship
  • Members of the five leading teams in the Eisenhower trophy and playing members of the last St Andrews Trophy
  • Winners in the last six years of the Amateur Championship, US Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship
  • The current runners-up of the Amateur Championship, US Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship
  • English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh Amateur champions
  • The leading ten world amateurs
  • The Boys Amateur champion
  • The runners-up in the Latin American Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships

All amateurs qualifiers have to still be amateurs to receive their exemptions.

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