The Open Championship

The Open Championship (sometimes, especially in the United States, colloquially referred to as the British Open, perhaps to distinguish it from the US and other national opens), is the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf. Each year the event is hosted by one of several prestigious golf clubs in Britain; however, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) administers The Open regardless of its site. It is always played on a links course.

Exemptions and qualifying events

The field for the Open is 156, and golfers may gain a place in three ways. Around two thirds of the field is made up of leading players who are given exemptions. The rest of the field is made up of players who were successful in "Local Qualifying" and those who came through "International Qualifying".

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There are almost thirty exemption categories. Among the more significant are:

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• The top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings. This key sweep up category is now used by all four majors, and it means that no member of the current elite of world golf will be excluded. Until quite recently, this was not necessarily the case at the majors.
• The top 20 in the previous season's PGA Tour money list and PGA European Tour order of merit. Most but not all of these players will also be in the World top 50.
• All previous Open Champions who will be age 65 or under on the final day of the tournament.
• All players who have won one of the other three majors in the previous five years.
• The top 10 from the previous year's Open Championship.

Among other things, the additional exemption categories ensure that all the member tours of the International Federation of PGA Tours are represented, and that there are some amateur competitors. Full details of all the exemption categories can be found here.

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Local Qualifying is the traditional way for non-exempt players to win a place at The Open. It comprises 16 eighteen hole "Regional Qualifying" competitions around Britain and Ireland a week and a half before the event, with successful competitors moving on to the four thirty-six hole "Local Final Qualifying" tournaments a few days later. There are now twelve places available through Local Qualifying, though there used to be far more.

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Local Qualifying is open to players from all over the world, and it used to attract some big names. In order to make it easier for professionals from outside Britain and Ireland to compete for a place, the R&A introduced International Qualifying in 2004. This comprises five 36 hole qualifying events, one each in Africa, Australasia, Asia, America and Europe. Only players who have a rating in the Official World Golf Rankings may enter, which is a more stringent standard than for Local Qualifying. Thirty six places are available in International Qualifying. Eligible players may choose whether to enter local qualifying or international qualifying, but they may not enter both. For full details on qualification see here.

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