The 2023 Open Championship tees off from Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England this week. Last year’s winner, Cameron Smith, returns to the field. Rory McIlroy, who won the British Open the last time it came to Royal Liverpool, will also compete this week. Here’s how to qualify for the Open Championship, the final major of the calendar year.
How to qualify for the Open Championship
There are many exemptions to the Open that golfers can earn throughout the regular season. All former Open Championship winners under the age of 60 qualify, as do the top 10 finishers from last year’s Open Championship. Golfers who won any other major in the last five years earn an exemption, and players can also qualify through their standings in the Official World Golf Rankings and the FedExCup standings. Several amateur tournaments also give their winners exemptions to the British Open.
Generally, these golfers fill over half of the field. But the rest of the field is determined by regional qualifiers, similarly to the U.S. Open. There are 15 regional qualifiers for the British Open.
How do the regional qualifiers work?
Any amateur golfer in the United Kingdom who has a scratch handicap or better is eligible to compete for an Open Championship spot in the regional qualifiers. The 15 regional qualifiers took place on June 26, and 117 golfers made it through to final qualifying on July 4. There are four final qualifiers, and the four or five best golfers across 36 holes at each of the finals qualify.
Here’s the full list of final qualifiers in 2023, including the players that have made the event out of each final:
Dundonald Links: Michael Stewart, Marco Penge, Connor McKinney, Graeme Robertson
Royal Cinque Ports: Martin Rohwer, Thomas Detry, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Antoine Rozner
Royal Porthcawl: Laurie Canter, Brandon Robinson Thompson, Matthew Southgate, Jazz Janewattananond, Oliver Farr
West Lancashire: Matt Wallace, Matthew Jordan, Kyle Barker, Alex Fitzpatrick, Tiger Christensen