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The Open Qualifying Series

The Open Qualifying Series

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All You Need To Know

The Claret Jug at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, part of The Open Qualifying Series

The Open Qualifying Series for 2023 offers up a host of opportunities for players around the world to qualify for The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool.

We tell you all you need to know about The Open Qualifying Series and qualification for The Open.

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How can you qualify for The Open?

There are several ways in which players can qualify for The Open.

More than half of the 156 places in the field are granted through various exemption categories. For example, players already exempt include any Champion Golfer under the age of 60, the top 10 finishers at the previous Open Championship, the winners of selected elite amateur events and the top 30 finishers on the FedExCup and Race to Dubai rankings. A full list of exemption categories for The 151st Open can be found here.

Further places in the field are allocated through The Open Qualifying Series and Final Qualifying.

If a full field of 156 has not been reached through the exemption list, The Open Qualifying Series and Final Qualifying, the remaining places will be filled from the Official World Golf Rankings.

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What is The Open Qualifying Series?

The Open Qualifying Series, or OQS, comprises a series of professional tour events across multiple continents at which players can secure their spots in The Open. Each event will offer places in The Open for players who are not already exempt.

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Which tournaments are in The Open Qualifying Series for 2023?

The Claret Jug at the 2022 Joburg Open, part of The Open Qualifying Series

The Claret Jug at the Joburg Open

The schedule for The Open Qualifying Series is as follows:

24-27 November 2022: Joburg Open

1-4 December 2022: ISPS Handa Australian Open

2-5 March 2023: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

23-26 March: World City Championship presented by the Hong Kong Golf Club

4-7 May: Wells Fargo Championship

25-28 May: Mizuno Open

1-4 June: the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday

22-25 June: KOLON Korea Open

29 June - 2 July: Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo

6-9 July: Made in HimmerLand

13-16 July: Genesis Scottish Open

 

Professional and amateur players will also be able to reach The Open via Regional Qualifying and Final Qualifying, on Monday 26 June and Tuesday 4 July respectively.

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How many places in The 151st Open are available through The Open Qualifying Series?

A minimum of 50 places will be available through The Open Qualifying Series and Final Qualifying.

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Who has qualified for The 151st Open through The Open Qualifying Series so far?

Joburg Open: Dan Bradbury, Sami Valimaki, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

ISPS Handa Australian Open: Min Woo Lee, Haydn Barron, Alejandro Canizares

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: Kurt Kitayama, Harris English, Davis Riley

World City Championship presented by the Hong Kong Golf Club: Taichi Kho, Michael Hendry, Travis Smyth, Bio Kim.

Wells Fargo Championship: Wyndham Clark, Michael Kim, Denny McCarthy

Mizuno Open: Kensei Hirata, Keita Nakajima, Takumi Kanaya, Kazuki Yasumori

the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: Andrew Putnam, Adam Schenk, Lee Hodges

KOLON Korea Open: Seungsu Han, Kyungnam Kang

Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo: Daniel Hillier, Oliver Wilson, Gunner Wiebe

Made In HimmerLand: Nacho Elvira, Kalle Samooja, Marc Warren

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How do I follow The Open Qualifying Series?

TheOpen.com and The Open’s social channels will provide coverage of every event in The Open Qualifying Series, with reports that detail which players have booked their places in The 151st Open.

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Who is playing in The Open Qualifying Series?

TheOpen.com will display starting fields in the days leading up to each event in The Open Qualifying Series.

The Claret Jug at the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open

The Claret Jug at the Genesis Scottish Open

What will happen if players subsequently become exempt through other categories?

In a change to previous criteria, qualifying places will now be awarded to the leading players who make the cut and are not already exempt as of the closing date of entries for The Open on 1 June.

Any golfer earning a qualifying place who then becomes exempt under one or more categories before the closing date of entries will result in that place being awarded to the next non-exempt golfer, which will determined by a reserve list for each event played before 1 June.

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What happens if there is a tie for the last qualifying spot?

In the event of a tie for a qualifying place, with the exception of ties for first place, which will be determined in accordance with the conditions for the tournament concerned, the player with the higher ranking in the OWGR (as published at the start of each week) will be awarded a place in The Open.

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What if players in the field are not ranked on the OWGR or have the same OWGR ranking?

If two or more competitors have the same OWGR, or two or more competitors have no OWGR, then ties will be decided by a card countback. The card countback will use the second 9 holes or 6 or 3 or 2 or 1 hole and if a tie still arises, the last 6 or 3 or 2 or 1 hole of the first 9 holes of the final round in OQS. If a tie still arises the same card countback will be used for the 3rd, 2nd and 1st rounds of the tournament.

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