The final major of the year is officially upon us.
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Major season is coming to an end this week (for the men, at least) as the professional golf world homes in on Royal Liverpool, hosting the sport’s oldest championship for the 13th time. Here’s everything you need to know about the 156 golfers teeing it up at the 151st Open Championship.
Entering the week as the No. 2 player in the Official World Golf Rankings, McIlroy will be the clear favorite to bring home a second Claret Jug after winning last week at the Genesis Scottish Open. He’ll be looking to win a nine-year major drought, going winless since his victories at both the Open and PGA Championship in 2014.
McIlroy faces a clear challenge from a number of players, most notably Scottie Scheffler and Cam Smith. Smith is the defending champion after he putted lights out at St. Andrews to catch and pass McIlroy on the final nine a year ago. Like McIlroy, Smith also won his final pre-Open start at LIV Golf London. Scheffler, meanwhile, is the No. 1 player in the world and hasn’t finished outside the top-12 in a start since last October.
Who is exempt into the Open?
The R&A, which runs the Open, lists 27 criteria for earning an exemption into the field at Hoylake. The rest of the field is filled out by open qualifying and the Open Qualifying Series. The exemptions are as follows.
1. The Open Champions aged 60 or under on 23 July 2023 2. The Open Champions for 2012–2022 (regardless of age) 3. Top 10 finishers and ties in the 2022 Open Championship 4. Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for Week 21, 2023 5. Top 30 in the final 2022 DP World Tour Rankings 6. Recent winners of the BMW PGA Championship (2019–2022) 7. Top five players, not already exempt, within the top 20 of the 2023 Race to Dubai through the BMW International Open 8. Recent winners of the U.S. Open (2018–2023) 9. Recent winners of the Masters Tournament (2018–2023) 10. Recent winners of the PGA Championship (2017–2023) 11. Recent winners of The Players Championship (2021–2023) 12. The top 30 players from the 2022 FedEx Cup points list 13. Top five players, not already exempt, within the top 20 of the 2022–23 FedEx Cup points list through the Travelers Championship 14. Winner of the 2022 Visa Open de Argentina 15. Winner of the 2022–23 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit 16. Winner of the 2022–23 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit 17. Winner of the 2022 Japan Open Golf Championship 18. Top two players on the 2022 Japan Golf Tour Official Money List 19. The top player, not already exempt, on the 2023 Japan Golf Tour Official Money List through the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup 20. Winner of the 2022 Senior Open Championship 21. Winner of the 2023 Amateur Championship 22. Winner of the 2022 U.S. Amateur 23. Winner of the 2023 European Amateur 24. Recipient of the 2022 Mark H. McCormack Medal 25. Winner of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship 26. Winner of the 2023 Latin America Amateur Championship 27. Winner of the 2023 Open Amateur Series
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
