Exemptions for The 149th Open

The R&A has confirmed that its exemption categories for The 149th Open have been updated for the Championship, which will take place at Royal St George’s from 11-18 July 2021.

All existing exemptions achieved before the date of The 149th Open being cancelled this year are being honoured, meaning that 106 golfers have already earned a place in the Championship.

The remaining 50 places will now be determined by updated exemption categories which can be viewed here.

Players will also have opportunities to earn places in The 149th Open through Regional and Final Qualifying, which will take place in June 2021. More information will be provided when entries are opened for golfers next year.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A said: “We believe that it is important to honour all of the exemptions that were confirmed before The 149th Open was cancelled this year and so we are in a unique situation where a large number of players have already qualified and are in the field.

“In light of these exceptional circumstances, we have carefully reviewed our exemption categories and made adjustments so that players can earn places in the Championship from results achieved in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons as well as retaining opportunities through our qualifying events.”

As result of the changes made to the exemption categories for The 149th Open, it has been agreed with the professional tours that qualifying places will no longer be offered at the remaining events originally scheduled as part of The 2020 Open Qualifying Series.

The full list of exemptions for The 149th Open at Royal St George’s is now available here.

To relive the most recent Championship at Royal St George's, in 2011, watch the Official Film of The 140th Open below.