As the R&A announces its exemption criteria for the 151st Open this summer at Royal Liverpool, paving the way for LIV Golf players to compete, here is a full run-down of the all-important eligibility list:
151st Open Championship exemption categories
Open Champions aged 60 or under on July 23, 2023
John Daly, Justin Leonard, Paul Lawrie, Tiger Woods, David Duval, Ernie Els, Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Padraig Harrington, Stewart Cink, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith
Open Champions for 2012-2022
Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith
First 10 and ties at The 150th Open 2022
Cameron Smith, Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Brian Harman, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth
Top 50 players on the OWGR (Week 21, 2023)
TBD
Top 30 in the Final Race to Dubai Rankings for 2022
Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Adrian Meronk, Shane Lowry, Thomas Pieters, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Smith, Alex Noren, Thriston Lawrence, Adrian Otaegui, Rasmus Hojgaard, Ewen Ferguson, Robert MacIntyre, Richie Ramsay, Yannik Paul, Callum Shinkwin, Victor Perez, Pablo Larrazabal, Richard Bland, Adri Arnaus, Thorbjorn Olesen, Hurly Long, Connor Syme, Shubhankar Sharma, Guido Migliozzi
BMW PGA Championship winners for 2019-2022
2019 – Danny Willett, 2020 – Tyrrell Hatton, 2021 – Billy Horschel, 2022 – Shane Lowry
First 5 DP World Tour members and any DP World Tour members tying for 5th place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai rankings on completion of the 2023 BMW International Open
TBD
US Open winners for 2018-2023
2018 – Brooks Koepka, 2019 – Gary Woodland, 2020 – Bryson DeChambeau, 2021 – Jon Rahm, 2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick
Masters winners for 2018-2023
2018 – Patrick Reed, 2019 – Tiger Woods, 2020 – Dustin Johnson, 2021 – Hideki Matsuyama, 2022 – Scottie Scheffler
PGA Championship winners for 2017-2023
2017 – Justin Thomas, 2018 & 2019 – Brooks Koepka, 2020 – Collin Morikawa, 2021 – Phil Mickelson, 2022 – Justin Thomas
Players Championship winners for 2021-2023
2021 – Justin Thomas, 2022 – Cameron Smith
Top 30 players from the final 2022 FedExCup Points List
Rory McIlroy, Sungjae Im, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau, Tom Hoge, Hideki Matsuyama, Joaquin Niemann, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, JT Poston, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young, Cameron Smith, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Adam Scott, Corey Conners, KH Lee, Sahith Theegala, Scott Stallings, Talor Gooch, Will Zalatoris
First 5 PGA Tour members and any PGA Tour members tying for fifth place, not exempt in the top 20 of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Points List for 2023 on completion of the 2023 Travelers Championship
TBD
The 116th Open de Argentina 2022 winner
Zack Fischer
Winner(s) Final Order of Merit of the PGA Tour of Australasia for 2022-23
TBD
Winner(s) Final Order of Merit of the Sunshine Tour for 2022-23
TBD
Japan Open champion for 2022
Taiga Semikawa (a)
First 2 and ties on Final Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2022
Kazuki Higa, Rikuya Hoshino
First and anyone tying for 1st place, not exempt in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2023 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2023 Japan Tour Championship
TBD
Senior British Open winner for 2022
Darren Clarke
British Amateur winner for 2023*
TBD
US Amateur winner for 2022*
Sam Bennett (a)
European Amateur winner for 2023*
TBD
Mark H McCormack Medal winner (Men’s WAGR) for 2022*
N/A (Keita Nakajima turned pro)
Asia-Pacific Amateur winner for 2022*
Harrison Crowe (a)
Latin America Amateur winner for 2023*
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (a)
The Open Amateur Series winner 2023*
TBD
OPEN QUALIFYING SERIES (Top Three from all venues)
OQS South Africa – Joburg Open
Dan Bradbury, Sami Valimaki, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
OQS Australia – ISPS Handa Australian Open
Min Woo Lee, Haydn Barron, Alejandro Canizares
OQS USA – Arnold Palmer Invitational
TBD
OQS Hong Kong – World City Championship
TBD
OQS USA – Wells Fargo Championship
TBD
OQS Japan – Mizuno Open
TBD
OQS USA – The Memorial
TBD
OQS Korea – Kolon Korea Open
TBD
OQS England – British Masters
TBD
OQS Denmark – Made in HimmerLand
TBD
OQS Scotland – Genesis Scottish Open
TBD
Final Qualifying – Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports & West Lancashire
TBD
* only exempt if they remain amateurs
