Aberg set for Open debut

Swede among 13 newly exempt players for Troon

Thirteen more players have booked their spots in The 152nd Open after the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) became exempt for this year’s Championship at Royal Troon.

The majority of the players in the world’s top 50 had already secured their places in the field via other exemption routes.

However, 12 men - Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, Byeong Hun An, Chris Kirk, Denny McCarthy, Akshay Bhatia, Stephan Jaeger, JT Poston, Harris English, Eric Cole, Austin Eckroat and Kurt Kitayama – were not previously exempt and can now celebrate earning trips to Troon in July.

Aberg, who has enjoyed a stunning rise over the past 12 months and now sits sixth in the world rankings, will be making his Open debut, having finished second at the Masters in April on his first appearance in any major.

Bhatia, Jaeger, Cole and Eckroat will also get the chance to play in The Open for the first time.

Brendon Todd, meanwhile, has qualified via the reserve list from the Arnold Palmer Invitational after Will Zalatoris – the initial qualifier at Bay Hill – became exempt as one of the world’s top 50 on Week 21.

The Open Qualifying Series continues this week, with three places up for grabs in the RBC Canadian Open.

Click here to see the latest list of players exempt for The 152nd Open.