The Open Championship announced its exemptions for the 154th edition of the Major, which will take place next July at Royal Birkdale. The most interesting aspect of the revealed qualification criteria relates to LIV Golf and, more specifically for Spanish golf, the Open de España.
Regarding the event in three weeks at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, an important clarification is needed. A few days ago, it was published that the Open Championship offered a spot to the champion of the next edition of the Open de España. However, this is not exactly the case. The reality is even better. The spot will go to the highest-ranked player in the tournament who makes the cut and is not already exempt for the next edition of the Open. For example, if Jon Rahm or Shane Lowry wins, as two examples of players confirmed for the Madrid event, the ticket to the Open would go to the next highest-ranked player who is not already exempt. Good news.
Meanwhile, regarding LIV Golf, none of its tournaments directly qualify, unlike many other circuits, but a spot will be awarded to the top player in the individual ranking, and anyone tied with them, who is not already exempt for the Open. It’s only one spot, so the conditions offered last year are not improved.
Thus, the Open Qualifying Series, or qualifying tournaments for next year, are as follows:
– Spain | 9–12 October 2025 | DP World Tour | Open de España presented by Madrid — Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Japan | 16–19 October 2025 | Japan Golf Tour | Japan Open Golf Championship — Nikko Country Club, Tochigi
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Hong Kong | 30 October–2 November 2025 | Asian Tour | Link Hong Kong Open — Hong Kong, China
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Australia | 4–7 December 2025 | Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia / DP World Tour | Australian Open — Royal Melbourne, Melbourne
3 spots for the top three players, not exempt, who make the cut.
– New Zealand | 26 February–1 March | Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia / Asian Tour | 105th New Zealand Open — Millbrook Resort, Queenstown
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– South Africa | 26 February–1 March | Sunshine Tour / DP World Tour | Investec South African Open Championship — Stellenbosch GC, Stellenbosch
3 spots for the top three players, not exempt, who make the cut.
– Argentina | 26 February–1 March | Korn Ferry Tour | 119th Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro — The Jockey Club, Buenos Aires
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– USA | 5–8 March | PGA TOUR | Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard — Bay Hill, Florida
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Asia | To be confirmed | Asian Tour | To be confirmed — Venue to be confirmed
2 spots for the top two players, not exempt, who make the cut.
– Korea | To be confirmed | KPGA Tour / Asian Tour | KOLON Korea Open — Woo Jeong Hills, Cheonan
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Japan | 28–31 May | Japan Golf Tour | Mizuno Open — JFE Setonaikai, Okayama
3 spots for the top three players, not exempt, who make the cut.
– USA | 4–7 June | PGA TOUR | the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday — Muirfield Village, Ohio
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Canada | 11–14 June | PGA TOUR | RBC Canadian Open — TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, Ontario
3 spots for the top three players, not exempt, who make the cut.
– Italy | 25–28 June | DP World Tour | Open d’Italia — Venue to be confirmed
1 spot for the best player, not exempt, who makes the cut.
– Scotland | 9–12 July | DP World Tour / PGA TOUR | Genesis Scottish Open — The Renaissance Club, North Berwick
3 spots for the top three players, not exempt, who make the cut.
Additionally, the exemptions for qualification, beyond these tournaments, are as follows:
1.- Champions of The Open aged 60 or under as of 19 July 2026 (for all champions up to and including 2023).
2.- Champions of The Open aged 55 or under as of 19 July 2026 (for all champions from 2024).
3.- Champions of The Open from 2015 to 2025.
4.- The top 10 finishers and any tied for 10th place at the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in 2025.
5.- The top 50 players in the OWGR in Week 21 of 2026.
6.- The top 25 in the final Race to Dubai standings of 2025.
7.- Winners of the BMW PGA Championship from 2023 to 2025.
8.- The top 5 DP World Tour members and any member tied for 5th place, not exempt by another criterion, within the top-20 of the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the BMW International Open 2026. Entries will be made on behalf of the players.
9.- Champions of the Masters Tournament from 2022 to 2026.
10.- Champions of the PGA Championship from 2022 to 2026.
11.- Champions of the U.S. Open from 2022 to 2026.
12.- The top 30 in the FedExCup Points List 2025.
13.- Champions of THE PLAYERS from 2024 to 2026.
14.- The top 5 PGA TOUR members and any member tied for 5th place, not exempt by another criterion, within the top-20 of the FedExCup Points List 2026 of the PGA TOUR at the conclusion of the Travelers Championship 2026. Entries will be made on behalf of the players.
15.- The top-ranked player and any tied for that position, not exempt by another criterion, in the 2026 LIV Golf Individual Standings at the conclusion of LIV Golf Louisiana.
16.- The top 5 in the 2026 Federation Ranking List as of Week 21 of the OWGR in 2026. Positions 1-4 in this list may be determined before the closing date for entries to The Open, as each end-of-season Order of Merit included is published.
17.- Champion of The Senior Open 2025.
18.- Champion of the U.S. Amateur 2025.
19.- Winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking – WAGR) 2025.
20.- Champion of the Asia-Pacific Amateur 2025.
21.- Champion of the Latin America Amateur 2026.
22.- Champion of the Africa Amateur 2026.
23.- Champion of The Amateur 2026.
24.- Champion of the European Amateur 2026.
25.- Winner of the Open Amateur Series 2026.
Finally, as any good Open should, it has open qualifiers for all players, with the following dates assigned:
– Regional Qualifying | 22 June | Various | To be allocated
– Final Qualifying | 30 June | Burnham & Berrow / Dundonald Links / Royal Cinque Ports / West Lancashire | To be confirmed
– Last-Chance Qualifier | 13 July | Royal Birkdale | 1 spot.
This last way of qualifying is the big novelty for next year. However, there is still no precise information on which players will be able to compete in this last qualifier the same week as the Open. The only advancement is that the field of 12 players competing for the last spot in the Championship will be determined through an approach that complements the existing qualification criteria for The Open. In other words, it is assumed to relate to the different ways of qualifying for the British.
Here is the list of 60 players already qualified for next year and the criteria by which they have achieved it:
Aberg, Ludvig – 12
Bhatia, Akshay – 12
Bradley, Keegan – 12
Bridgeman, Jacob – 12
Burns, Sam – 12
Cantlay, Patrick – 12
Cink, Stewart – 1
Clark, Wyndham – 4, 11
Clarke, Darren – 1
Conners, Corey – 4, 12
Curtis, Ben – 1
Daly, John – 1
DeChambeau, Bryson – 4, 11
Duval, David – 1
Els, Ernie – 1
English, Harris – 4, 12
Fitzpatrick, Matt – 4, 11
Fleetwood, Tommy – 12
Fox, Ryan – 7
Gotterup, Chris – 4, 12
Griffin, Ben – 12
Hall, Harry – 12
Hamilton, Todd – 1
Harman, Brian – 1, 3, 4, 12
Harrington, Padraig – 1, 17
Henley, Russell – 4, 12
Horschel, Billy – 7
Hovland, Viktor – 12
Howell, Mason (a) – 18
Im, Sungjae – 12
Johnson, Zach – 1, 3
Koepka, Brooks – 10
Koivun, Jackson (a) – 19
Lawrie, Paul – 1
Leonard, Justin – 1
Li, Haotong – 4
Lowry, Shane – 1, 3, 12
MacIntyre, Robert – 4, 12
Matsuyama, Hideki – 12
McIlroy, Rory – 1, 4, 9, 12, 13
McNealy, Maverick – 12
Mickelson, Phil – 1
Molinari, Francesco – 1, 3
Morikawa, Collin – 1, 3, 12
Noren, Alex – 7
Novak, Andrew – 12
Oosthuizen, Louis – 1
Rahm, Jon – 9
Rose, Justin – 12
Schauffele, Xander – 2, 3, 4, 10
Scheffler, Scottie – 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13
Smith, Cameron – 1, 3
Spaun, JJ – 11, 12
Spieth, Jordan – 1, 3
Stenson, Henrik – 1, 3
Straka, Sepp – 12
Taylor, Nick – 12
Thomas, Justin – 10, 12
Woods, Tiger – 1
Young, Cameron – 12
