The Open Championship format and qualification

The Open Championship qualification was first introduced in 1907, and is the process that a player goes through to qualify for The Open Championship. The Open Championship is the oldest golf competition in the world, and generally regarded as one of the most prestigious.^[1] The qualifying structure is designed to reduce more than 2,500 entrants on five continents, to a field size of 156 competing in the tournament.^[2]

In the modern era, the main way players qualify is by an exemption due to their performance in major golf tours, major tournaments, or their position in the official world golf rankings. For those who are not exempt, they can qualify by performing well in the Open Qualifying Series of international sanctioned tournaments, or via local qualifying in the UK.^[3][4]

The format of the final tournament was originally 36 holes played on a single day, but has evolved to the current format of four days of 18 holes, with the lowest scoring golfers cut after the first 36 holes.

Current qualifying process

Players can qualify one of four ways, an exemption, via the Open Qualifying Series (OQS), via local qualifying, or if the field size has not reached 156, being one of the highest rated players in the official golf rankings that is not already qualified.

Exemption qualifiers

Around 65% of the field is exempt from qualifying. Not all those eligible for entry will compete (e.g. older previous Open winners, and injured players).

The current criteria for an exemption is governed by the following rules:^[4]

1. Previous Open Champions aged 55 or under on the final day of the tournament from the 2024 tournament onward (Each year a number of past champions choose not to compete).

   Champions from 2023 and prior are grandfathered until each champion turns 60.

2. Winners of selected tournaments (for the number of previous years shown in parentheses):
   

   The Open (10), Masters (5), PGA Championship (5), U.S. Open (5), The Players (3), BMW PGA Championship (3), Open de Argentina (1), Japan Open (1), Diamond Cup Golf (1), The Senior Open (1).

3. Top 10 and ties from the previous year's Open Championship.
4. Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for Week 21 (the Open is Week 29).
5. Top finishers in the previous season of selected golf tours:
   

   European Tour's Race to Dubai (30), PGA Tour's FedEx Cup (30), Japan Golf Tour (2), PGA Tour of Australasia (1), Sunshine Tour (1).

6. Performance in the current year on selected golf tours for Week 25:
   

   European Tour (top 5 not already exempt, within the top 20), PGA Tour (top 5 not already exempt, within the top 20), Japan Golf Tour (top player not already exempt), LIV Golf (top player not already exempt, within the top 5).

7. Current holders of selected amateur titles (if they are still amateurs):
   

   Amateur Champion, U.S. Amateur Champion, European Amateur Champion, Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, Mark H. McCormack Medal.

Open Qualifying Series

Around 22% of the field qualify via the Open Qualifying Series. It was introduced in 2014 and replaced international qualifying events run by the Open. Qualifying is available to the leading players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top n and ties, in around twelve events run by several international golf tours. The Open Series Qualifying events since 2019 are:^[3]

Location	Tournament		2019			2021
			Spots	Top		Spots	Top
Australia	ISPS Handa Australian Open		3	10		3	10
Africa	South African Open		3	10		3	10
Singapore	SMBC Singapore Open		4	12		4	12
United States	Arnold Palmer Invitational		3	10		3	10
Japan	Mizuno Open		4	12		n/a
Morocco	Trophée Hassan II		n/a			n/a
Canada	RBC Canadian Open		3	10		n/a
Korea	Kolon Korea Open		2	8		n/a
Spain	Andalucia Valderrama Masters		3	10		n/a
United States	Rocket Mortgage Classic		2	8		n/a
United States	Travelers Championship		n/a			n/a
Ireland	Dubai Duty Free Irish Open		3	10		n/a
Scotland	Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open		3	10		n/a
United States	John Deere Classic		1	5		n/a

Note: 2021 tournament criteria affected by COVID-19

Local and Final qualifying

Currently 12 players (8% of the field) qualify through final qualifying in the United Kingdom.^[5]

Local Qualifying

Local qualifying begins with 15 events, of 18 holes occurring on a single day just over three weeks before the Open Championship. It is open to those who meet any of the following criteria:

• Male professional golfer.
• Male amateur golfer whose playing handicap does not exceed 0.4 (i.e. scratch).
• Male amateur golfer who has been within World Amateur Golf Ranking listing 1–2,000 during the current calendar year.

A week later, the best performers then progress to final qualifying, where there are four events of 36 holes occurring on a single day, with three qualifiers from each event.^[3]

Final Qualifying

In addition to the best performers at local qualifying, players who meet the following criteria are able to compete in final qualifying:

• Past champions of The Open.
• Any competitor with an Official World Golf Ranking in the top 1,000 and ties on the date of entry.
• Past champions of the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
• Anyone who played in last held edition of the Open.
• First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in the Titleist and FootJoy PGA Professional Championship.
• First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in the PGA of America Professional Championship.
• Past playing members of Ryder and Presidents Cup Teams.
• Playing members of the 5 leading teams and ties in the Eisenhower Trophy.
• Playing members in the last St Andrews Trophy.
• The Amateur champions in the last 6 years.
• The U.S. Amateur champions in the last 6 years.
• The European Amateur champions in the last 6 years.
• The current English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh Amateur champions, from the respective closed Amateur Championships.
• The current runners-up in each of the Amateur Championship and European Amateur, and the U.S. Amateur.
• The leading 10 World Amateur Golf Ranking players, not otherwise exempt as at calendar week 21.
• The current Boys Amateur champion.
• The current Latin America Amateur champion and runner(s)-up.
• The current Asia-Pacific Amateur runners(s)-up. This is only applicable if the entrant has not played in the OQS Singapore.

Note: Any qualifier via an amateur performance must still have amateur status

Alternates

If the field size has not reached 156, then the highest ranked players not already qualified are offered a spot in the Open.^[6]

Current format

• Field: 156 players^[7]
• Basic format: 72 hole stroke play. Play 18 holes a day over four days, weather permitting.^[7]
• Date of tournament: Starts on the day before the third Friday in July.^[8]
• Tournament days: Thursday to Sunday.^[7]
• Tee off times: Each player has one morning and one afternoon tee time in first two days in groups of three, which are mostly randomised (with some organiser discretion). Groupings of two on the last two days with last place going off first and leaders going out last.
• Cut: After 36 holes, only top 70 and ties play the final 36 holes.^[7]
• Playoff: If there is a tie for the lead after 72 holes, a four-hole aggregate playoff is held; followed by sudden death if the lead is still tied.^[9]

History of qualification and format

Qualifying was first introduced from 1907, except 1910–1911, where a 36 hole cut was made instead. 1926 was the first year where there was both a cut and qualifying, and this has been the situation ever since. Qualifying generally happened the day before or shortly before the Open, and everyone was required to qualify until 1962. In 1963 exemptions from qualification began, mainly for past champions, but this has now expanded to cover a multitude of achievements and most of the field now qualify by exemption. In the 1980s, the R&A was concerned that its process was not adequately allowing for players which played on multiple tours, and so actively brought about what is now known as the Official World Golf Ranking to use as part of the exemption process.^[10]

In 2004 international qualifying was introduced, which meant that players did not have to travel to the UK to participate in qualifying. This was replaced in 2014 by the Open Qualifying Series, which gave qualifying spots to the best performers in existing global golf events.

The biggest change to the format of the tournament was in 1892 when the tournament was expanded from 36 holes to 72 holes. Another notable change in the rules was making it mandatory to use the "bigger" ball (as was used in America) in 1974.

Year	Edition	Field size	Entry	Format	Cut	Playoff
2023	151th	156	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions aged 60 and under. Local qualifying. Open Qualifying Series. Total of 156 qualify.	72 holes over 4 days. 18 holes a day. Days standardised as Thursday to Sunday. Play in groups of 3 in first 2 days. Leaders go off last after 36 holes.	Cut after 36 holes, top 70 and ties.	Three-hole playoff followed by sudden death.
2022	150th	156
2021	149th	156
2020	–	–
2019	148th	156
2018	147th	156				Four-hole playoff followed by sudden death.
2017	146th	156
2016	145th	156
2015	144th	156
2014	143rd	156
2013	142nd	156	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions aged 60 and under. Local qualifying. International Qualifying. Total of 156 qualify.
2012	141st	156
2011	140th	156
2010	139th	156
2009	138th	156
2008	137th	156
2007	136th	156	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions aged 65 and under. Local qualifying. International Qualifying. Total of 156 qualify.
2006	135th	156
2005	134th	156
2004	133rd	156
2003	132nd	156	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions aged 65 and under. Local qualifying. Total of 156 qualify.
2002	131st	156
2001	130th	156
2000	129th	156
1999	128th	156
1998	127th	156
1997	126th	156
1996	125th	156
1995	124th	159			Cut after 36 holes, top 70 and ties. Those within 10 shots of the leader not cut.
1994	123rd	156	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions under 65. Local qualifying. Total of 156 qualify.
1993	122nd	156
1992	121st	156
1991	120th	156
1990	119th	156
1989	118th	156
1988	117th	153	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions under 65. Local qualifying. Total of 153 qualify.
1987	116th	153
1986	115th	153
1985	114th	153			Cut after 36 holes, top 80 and ties. Cut after 54 holes, top 60 and ties. Those within 10 shots of the leader not cut.	18 hole playoff followed by sudden death.
1984	113th	156
1983	112th	151	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions. Local qualifying. Total of 150 qualify.
1982	111th	150
1981	110th	153
1980	109th	151
1979	108th	152		72 holes over 4 days. 18 holes a day. Days standardised as Wednesday to Saturday. Play in groups of 3 in first 2 days. Leaders go off last after 36 holes.
1978	107th	155
1977	106th	156			Cut after 36 holes, top 80 and ties. Cut after 54 holes, top 60 and ties.
1976	105th	155
1975	104th	153
1974	103rd	154
1973	102nd	153
1972	101st	153		72 holes over 4 days. 18 holes a day. Days standardised as Wednesday to Saturday. Leaders go off last after 36 holes.
1971	100th	150
1970	99th	134	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions. Local qualifying. Total of 130 qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, top 80 and ties. Cut after 54 holes, top 55 and ties.
1969	98th	130	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including all previous Open champions. Local qualifying. Playoff for those tied for final places. Total of 130 qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, top 70 and ties. Cut after 54 holes, top 45 and ties.
1968	97th	130
1967	96th	130	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including past 10 Open champions. Local qualifying. Playoff for those tied for final places. Total of 130 qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, top 55 and ties.
1966	95th	130
1965	94th	130		72 holes over 3 days. 18 holes on the first 2 days, 36 on the 3rd day. Days standardised as Wednesday to Friday. Leaders go off last after 36 holes.	Cut after 36 holes, top 45 and ties.
1964	93rd	120	Exemption from qualifying for the leading players including past 10 Open champions. Local qualifying in two separate competition. Two courses near the Open venue are used but not the Open venue itself. Playoff for those tied for final places. Total of 120 qualify.
1963	92nd	120				36 hole playoff.
1962	91st	119	Local qualifying. Maximum of 120 players qualify. Ties for 120th place did not qualify		Cut after 36 holes, maximum of 50 players. Ties for 50th place do not make the cut.
1961	90th	108
1960	89th	74	Local qualifying. Maximum of 100 players qualify. Ties for 100th place did not qualify.
1959	88th	90
1958	87th	96
1957	86th	96
1956	85th	96		72 holes over 3 days. 18 holes on the first 2 days, 36 on the 3rd day. Days standardised as Wednesday to Friday.
1955	84th	94
1954	83rd	97
1953	82nd	91
1952	81st	96
1951	80th	98
1950	79th	93			Cut after 36 holes., maximum of 40 players. Ties for 40th place do not make the cut.
1949	78th	96
1948	77th	97
1947	76th	100
1946	75th	100
1945	–	–	Local qualifying. Maximum of 130 players qualify. Ties for 130th place did not qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, maximum of 44 players. Ties for 44th place do not make the cut.
1944	–	–
1943	–	–
1942	–	–
1941	–	–
1940	–	–
1939	74th	129
1938	73rd	120			Cut after 36 holes, maximum of 40 players. Ties for 40th place do not make the cut.
1937	72nd	141	Local qualifying. Top 140 and ties qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, top 40 and ties.
1936	71st	107	Local qualifying. Top 100 and ties qualify.		Cut after 36 holes, top 60 and ties.
1935	70th	109
1934	69th	101
1933	68th	117
1932	67th	110
1931	66th	109
1930	65th	112
1929	64th	109			Cut after 36 holes, top 60 and ties, and those within 14 strokes.
1928	63rd	113			Cut after 36 holes. Those 15 or more strokes behind the leader are excluded from the final day.
1927	62nd	108
1926	61st	117	Regional qualifying used. Total of 101 and ties qualify at one of three venues (southern, central, northern).
1925	60th	83	Local qualifying using two courses. Generally the Championship course is used together with a nearby course. Top 80 and ties qualify.	72 holes over 2 days. 36 holes on each day.	No cut.
1924	59th	86
1923	58th	88
1922	57th	80
1921	56th	85
1920	55th	82	Separate qualifying for amateurs and professionals. Amateurs qualify at the Open venue (total of 8 places with the Amateur Champion receiving automatic entry). Professionals qualified using two courses in Surrey. Top 72 and ties qualify.
1919	–	–	Qualifying over two days using two local courses. Exactly 100 players qualify. 18-hole playoff the following day for those tied for final places.
1918	–	–
1917	–	–
1916	–	–
1915	–	–
1914	54th	100
1913	53rd	65	Players play 36 championship course holes on one of three days. Top 20 and ties qualify on each day.
1912	52nd	62
1911	51st	226	No qualifying.	72 holes over 4 days. 36 spread over 3 days, 36 on the 4th day.	Cut after 36 holes, top 60 and ties make the cut.
1910	50th	210		72 holes over 3 days. 18 holes on the first 2 days, 36 on the 3rd day.
1909	49th	69	36 championship course hole qualifying in 2 groups. 30 from each group qualify. At least 30 pros in each group.	72 holes over 2 days. 36 holes on each day.	No cut.
1908	48th	65	36 championship course hole qualifying in 2 groups. 30 from each group qualify.
1907	47th	67
1906	46th	181	No Qualifying	72 holes over 3 days. 18 holes on the first 2 days, 36 on the 3rd day.	Cut after 36 holes. Those 15 or more strokes behind the leader are excluded.
1905	45th	148
1904	44th	144			Cut after 36 holes. Those 20 or more strokes behind the leader are excluded.
1903	43rd	124		72 holes over 2 days. 36 holes on each day.
1902	42nd	112
1901	41st	100
1900	40th	81
1899	39th	98
1898	38th	76
1897	37th	88			No Cut.
1896	36th	63
1895	35th	73
1894	34th	94
1893	33rd	72
1892	32nd	60
1891	31st	84		36 holes over 1 day.
1890	30th	39
1889	29th	48
1888	28th	50
1887	27th	40
1886	26th	42
1885	25th	60
1884	24th	28
1883	23rd	34
1882	22nd	40
1881	21st	22
1880	20th	30
1879	19th	47
1878	18th	27
1877	17th	24
1876	16th	34
1875	15th	18
1874	14th	32
1873	13th	27
1872	12th	8
1871	–	–
1870	11th	20
1869	10th	14
1868	9th	12
1867	8th	14
1866	7th	16
1865	6th	12
1864	5th	16
1863	4th	14
1862	3rd	8
1861	2nd	18
1860	1st	8	Invitational