Sergio Garcia punched his ticket to the 2025 Open Championship on Sunday when he finished as the highest player in the top five of LIV’s individual standings who was not already exempt.
Had Garcia not held onto that spot as he sputtered at LIV Dallas, he would not have had another last-second avenue to qualify for Royal Portrush, as he did not enter into the final day of Open Qualifying, which will be held on July 1. LIV Dallas was Garcia’s last chance.
But things will be different next year as the R&A, the governing body that owns and operates the Open Championship, announced Monday that it will host a “last chance” qualifier on-site at Royal Birkdale on the Monday of tournament week.
Responding to a fan survey that asked for more golf, the R&A will hold the winner-take-all final qualifier for up to 12 players on the Monday before the 2026 Open Championship.
“The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events and recognized worldwide for the special atmosphere generated by the tens of thousands of fans who attend the championship each year,” new R&A CEO Mark Darbon said in a statement. “We have asked them how we can make their experience of attending the Open even more enjoyable and they have been clear – they want more live golf, more opportunities to engage with the traditions of golf’s original championship and more activities onsite to watch, listen and play.
“As a result, we have introduced new features which we believe will elevate the Open for fans, particularly on the days leading up to the championship.”
The R&A will also host a “Heroes Challenge” on Tuesday of Open week, which will see former Open champions and several guests take part in a “short format challenge.”
While Garcia won’t need to participate in final qualifying on Tuesday, many other notable names will tee it up hoping to play their way into Royal Portrush.
Anirban Lahiri, Harry Hall, Jinichiro Kozuma and Jacob Skov Olesen will peg it at Burnham and Berrow. Royal Cinque Ports will host Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and his son Luke Poulter, Erik van Rooyen, Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson and David Puig.
The West Lancashire site will host Harold Varner III, Shubhankar Sharma, Lucas Herbert and Alex Fitzpatrick. Lee Westwood, Jamie Donaldson and Adrian Meronk will try their hand at Dundonald Links. The lowest five scores over 36 holes at each qualifying location will advance to Northern Ireland.
The 2025 Open Championship will take place on July 17-20 at Royal Portrush with Xander Schauffele as the defending champion.
