The R&A has announced a new Open Championship exemption for elite amateur players.
The new exemption will be granted to the best performing player across ‘The Open Amateur Series’, a sequence of three elite amateur championships leading up to The Open.
The player that receives the most World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points across The St Andrews Links Trophy, The Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship this summer will be invited to compete at Royal Liverpool in The 151st Open.
The exemptions for the winners of The Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship will remain. This means the new series will give additional amateur player the chance to compete in golf’s original major (unless the winner of the series also wins The Amateur or European Amateur Championships).
The schedule of events for this year’s Open Amateur Series is as follows:
DATE | EVENT | VENUE |
9 – 11 June | St andrews links trophy | New Course & Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland |
19 - 24 June | The Amateur Championship | Hillside and Southport & Ainsdale, England |
28 June – 1 July | European Amateur Championship | Pärnu Bay Golf Links, Estonia |
The new spot for The Open is an addition to a number of exemptions available for amateur players. These include winning the U.S. Amateur Championship, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, the Latin American Amateur Championship or The Mark H McCormack Medal (for the number-one ranked male amateur player in the world).
In addition to the seven exemptions mentioned above, amateur players can also earn an invitation through The Open Qualifying series. The players finishing 2nd to 5th in this year’s European Amateur Championship will be invited to compete in Final Qualifying, where 16 places are available for The Open.