12 LIV GOLF LEAGUE MEMBERS CONFIRMED FOR 151ST OPEN AT ROYAL LIVERPOOL
Twelve members of the 2023 LIV Golf League, including reigning Open Champion Cameron Smith, now have confirmed entry into The 151st Open this summer at Royal Liverpool.
The R&A announced its exemption categories on Tuesday for this year’s final major, July 20-23. The majority of the standard exemptions did not change.
Smith won last year’s 150th Open at St Andrews and is among the 21 Open champions who fall under the past champion exemption. Other LIV Golf members who have won the Open and will compete at Royal Liverpool include Louis Oosthuizen, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson.
Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau each finished inside the top 10 at last year’s Open to meet that exemption. Brooks Koepka (2018 U.S. Open) and Patrick Reed (2018 Masters) qualified through their recent major victories.
Richard Bland and new LIV Golf member Thomas Pieters qualified by finishing inside the top 30 in last year’s Race to Dubai, while Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch qualified through their top 30 finishes in the FedExCup.
Other exemption categories remain open for players to qualify, and The Open Qualifying Series also remains a pathway to entry. Among the tournaments listed in The Open Qualifying Series schedule released Tuesday are the Asian Tour’s World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club and Kolon Korea Open, the latter co-sanctioned with the Korea Golf Association.