Tag: 2024 Open Championship

Angel Hidalgo holes out for eagle on 36th hole of final qualifying to advance to 2024 British Open

Needing a birdie for a playoff, Hidalgo made eagle to lock up a spot.

Final qualifying for the 2024 British Open at Royal Troon was taking place at four different golf courses Tuesday.

Each location had four spots available for those who survived a 36-hole grind.

Down the stretch at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland, Angel Hidalgo was trying to position himself for one of those final slots, with a playoff a likely outcome.

On the 36th hole, standing in the fairway with his wedge, Hidalgo was possibly thinking if he could get it close, maybe he could make birdie and get into a playoff.

But then Hidalgo pulled off the unthinkable, holing his second for an eagle 2 on the closing hole to post a 69 and move into a tie for second at 5 under, leapfrogging those who were bound for a playoff by nailing down a spot of his own.

Sam Hutsby at 8 under led the way at Dundonald but Hidalgo’s 5-under finish was good enough for a tie with amateur Liam Nolan.

Jack McDonald then defeated Daniel Young and Tim Widing to survive the 3-for-1 playoff and advance to Royal Troon.

Meet the LIV Golf players trying to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open (and the 11 who aren’t)

There are 11 LIV players who won’t try to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

U.S. Open qualifying is just around the corner, and LIV Golf players were asked about their plans ahead of this week’s event in Singapore.

During a Smash GC press conference featuring captain Brooks Koepka and his teammates Jason Kokrak, Graeme McDowell and Talor Gooch, both McDowell and Kokrak revealed they were playing in qualifiers for both the U.S. Open at Pinehurst (June 13-16) and Open Championship at Royal Troon (July 18-21).

“I personally am. Doing the U.S. Open in Columbus and then the Open in Manchester,” said Kokrak. “I plan on playing both of them.”

“Yeah, I’m the same. I’ve entered for both qualifiers. I think I’m in Florida Monday of Houston and then just south of London the Tuesday of the International Series Morocco, which I’ll go and play right after the Open qualifying series,” added McDowell. “Obviously I’ll be pulling hard (Koepka) in a couple weeks’ time (at the PGA Championship) but obviously trying to get into a couple majors myself.”

Gooch was short and sour with his response: “I’m not.”

After he was denied a spot in last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club after the USGA altered its exemption criteria, instead of fighting to try to earn his way again, Gooch tucked tail and decided to play the martyr instead of a qualifier. He’s doing the same again this year.

As of Thursday, 36 LIV players have entered U.S. Open qualifying while 11 have not. Eight players are already exempt into the third men’s major of the year: Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Martin Kaymer and Tyrrell Hatton.

Players like Mickelson and DeChambeau have called for the majors to create special exemption categories for LIV players, who have been fighting an uphill battle with regard to access to majors seeing as LIV events don’t receive Official World Golf Ranking points. The league has since pulled its application from consideration, all but closing that door as a way into the biggest tournaments on the calendar. Past champions of the Masters and the PGA have at least two set in stone, but the pair of Opens may require some effort from here on out.

While some players like Joaquin Niemann have continued to fight to play their way in, others expect to be given handouts. Golf has always been a meritocracy, you receive what you earn. The U.S. Open qualifier number shows the majority of LIV players understand that fact, but a handful still need a reminder.

Player Status
Abraham Ancer Final qualifying
Dean Burmester Final qualifying
Laurie Canter Final qualifying
Eugenio Chacarra Final qualifying
Sergio Garcia Final qualifying
Branden Grace Final qualifying
Lucas Herbert Final qualifying
Sam Horsfield Final qualifying
Matt Jones Final qualifying
Jason Kokrak Final qualifying
Jinichiro Kozuma Final qualifying
Anirban Lahiri Final qualifying
Danny Lee Final qualifying
Marc Leishman Final qualifying
Graeme McDowell Final qualifying
Adrian Meronk Final qualifying
Sebastian Munoz Final qualifying
Kevin Na Final qualifying
Joaquin Niemann Final qualifying
Andy Ogletree Final qualifying
Carlos Ortiz Final qualifying
Mito Pereira Final qualifying
David Puig Final qualifying
Patrick Reed Final qualifying
Kalle Samooja Final qualifying
Charl Schwartzel Final qualifying
Brendan Steele Final qualifying
Henrik Stenson Final qualifying
Caleb Surratt Final qualifying
Hudson Swafford Final qualifying
Cameron Tringale Final qualifying
Peter Uihlein Final qualifying
Harold Varner III Final qualifying
Kieran Vincent Final qualifying
Scott Vincent Final qualifying
Lee Westwood Final qualifying
Richard Bland Did not enter
Paul Casey Did not enter
Talor Gooch Did not enter
Charles Howell III Did not enter
Anthony Kim Did not enter
Louis Oosthuizen Did not enter
Pat Perez Did not enter
Thomas Pieters Did not enter
Ian Poulter Did not enter
Bubba Watson Did not enter
Matthew Wolff Did not enter

 

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Longest hole, biggest crowds — the 2024 Open at Royal Troon should be a memorable one

When the championship returns to the Scottish coast, a whopping 250,000 fans will file through the gates.

The R&A announced a multi-year agreement Monday that will see NetJets become the official private jet provider for The Open.

Golf’s oldest and perhaps most cherished major is big business. And it’s getting bigger. The last time The Open was at Royal Troon in 2016, a total of 173,000 spectators watched golfing affairs unravel.

This July, when the championship returns to the Scottish coast, a whopping 250,000 will file through the gates in the kind of mass stampede you’d get with a migration of Wildebeest.

The 152nd staging of The Open will have the third highest attendance in history, after the 290,000 that were shoehorned into St. Andrews for the 150th bonanza in 2022 and the 260,000 that descended on Hoylake last year.

“It’s a clear sign of the size of The Open,” said The R&A’s director of championship operations, Rhodri Price, who noted that some 22,500 will be under 25 while 13,000 will be part of the Kids Go Free initiative. “That’s testament to what The Open does for youngsters.”

Phil Mickelson of the United States walks next to his caddie Jim McKay on the 3rd during the second round on day two of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon on July 15, 2016, in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

With the vast Open infrastructure being clattered and rattled up and transforming the Royal Troon surrounds into an officially-branded town of its own, the stage continues to be set.

The robust links will play to a total of 7,385 yards, up by 195 yards on the 2016 championship. At a formidable 623 yards, the par-5 sixth will be the longest hole in Open history.

This wheezing correspondent just about required fistfuls of Kendal Mint Cake and a sherpa to complete the great hike as we gasped and wheezed through a series of mighty blows in the media outing yesterday.

Two holes later, players will square up to the shortest hole in the championship’s history at the celebrated Postage Stamp.

The par-3 eighth, the scene of German amateur Hermann Tissies’ grisly 15 in the 1950 Open, measures just 123 yards on the scorecard but organizers can knock that down to a mere 99 yards with a front pin if they fancy.

Unsurprisingly, the Postage Stamp will be a significant feature of The Open presentation. TV cameras will be dug into all five bunkers that surround the tiny green to capture all manner of sandy escapades while a wraparound grandstand with 1,500 seats will be a much sought-after vantage point.

Play begins on July 18.

R&A makes key changes to Open Championship exemption categories starting in 2024

The new exemption categories won’t open the door any wider for more LIV Golf players to compete in the Open.

The R&A has made a change to its exemption categories for future Open Championships starting with the 2024 tournament at Royal Troon, but it isn’t to include more LIV Golf players.

On Wednesday the governing body announced that past champions will only be exempt until the age of 55. The current age cap is 60. All golfers currently exempt as past champions will be grandfathered in and still be able to play the Open until 60.

In addition, a new exemption will be offered to players on the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour to qualify through the International Federation Ranking list, where the top five players on the list will earn a spot in the Open. An exemption for the Africa Amateur Champion has also been added.

Solely for the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, July 18-21, Michael Hendry has been granted a medical exemption after he was unable to play in last year’s Open due to serious illness.

LIV players have been clamoring for a special exemption category even before the league withdrew its application for Official World Golf Ranking points. As it stands now, the following 13 players will tee it up at Royal Troon this summer:

Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau. Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Adrian Meronk, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, David Puig, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and Henrik Stenson.

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Altin Van der Merwe captures inaugural African Amateur Championship in playoff, earns spot in Open Championship

Talk about coming up clutch.

Sometimes scorecards don’t paint the full picture of how spectacular a shot or hole was for a certain player during a round of golf.

Altin Van der Merwe has a story he can tell the rest of his life after his triumph Saturday at Leopard Creek in Malelane, South Africa.

In the 2024 African Amateur Championship, Van der Merwe birdied the par-5 18th to earn his way into a playoff, then he birdied it again in said playoff to claim the inaugural title of the latest major amateur event and punch his ticket to the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. He bested Texas sophomore Christiaan Maas and Ivan Verster, both fellow South Africans, to claim the trophy and win a historic championship in his home country.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Van der Merwe said. “I think it’ll kick in later. Right through the day, the two competitors I played with, two great friends actually, we went back and forth, back and forth. I think all three of us had the lead at one stage, then there was three holes, they didn’t go in, they didn’t go in, and then the last hole I just pulled a blinder out, and in the playoff I made a good two-putt. I can’t describe the feeling.”

Needing a birdie to tie Maas and Verster, Van der Merwe, 27, hit a spectacular second shot into the par-5 18th hole, giving him a chance at eagle and the win in regulation. It’s a putt he said he has hit many time before, but he couldn’t get it to fall. Nevertheless, he made birdie while Maas and Verster carded pars, and it was on to a playoff.

On the extra hole, it was again Van der Merwe carding a birdie while Maas, who a day before set the course record with a blazing 9-under 63, made par and Verster made bogey, sealing the victory.

Just last week, Van der Merwe won the Golf RSA International Amateur in a playoff. A week later with higher stakes, he did it again and punched his ticket to the Open Championship in July.

“I can’t wait,” Van der Merwe said. “Honestly, I can’t wait. It’s links golf, as well, so I’m going to be licking my chops out there with just a little sting 2-iron all day, and I just can’t wait until the time comes.”

On the women’s side, South African Kyra van Kan won the 54-hole event by nine shots over compatriot Bobbi Brown to clinch the title on a 1-under 215.

The 18-year-old earned places in the Women’s Amateur Championship, final qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open and The Investec South African Women’s Open in 2024, and the Lalla Meryem Cup and Magical Kenya Ladies Open in 2025.

LIV Golf’s David Puig punches ticket to 2024 Open Championship with Asian Tour win

Nine players have already qualified for the Open via the Open Qualifying Series.

David Puig is bound for Scotland this summer.

The 22-year-old Spaniard won the Asian Tour’s IRS Prima Malaysian Open at Mines Resort and Golf Club thanks to consecutive rounds of 62 on the weekend to earn not only his second Asian Tour victory in four months but also a place at the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media], July 18-21.

The Malaysian Open was the first Open Qualifying Series event of 2024. The next is the PGA Tour’s 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, March 7-10. Six players have already qualified via the series. Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt and Dan Bradbury earned their spots late in 2023 at the Joburg Open, while Joaquin Niemann, Rikuya Hoshino and Adam Scott earned theirs at the ISPS Handa Australian Open.

“It feels great, weird feeling for sure. We almost missed the cut. I was kind of playing good, but I kind of messed up,” said Puig, who was flirting with the cutline after the second round. “We actually finished round two good, and the weekend was just insane. I mean 18 birdies, no bogeys, in 36 holes was unbelievable.”

“And getting that Open spot is super cool, I came here for that,” he added.

Runner-up Jeunghun Wang will also join Puig at the Open, same with Denwit Boriboonsub, who finished T-3 with John Catlin but won the tiebreaker thanks to his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Puig and Boriboonsub will make their Open debuts, while Wang will make his third start after missed cuts in 2016 and 2017.

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3 major invitations on the line at 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship

Three major championship invitations are on the line.

The 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship is set to get underway Thursday in Panama City, Panama.

The event was created in 2014 as a joint initiative between Augusta National Golf Club (host of the Masters), the U.S. Golf Association (U.S. Open) and The R&A (Open Championship). Notable alumni include Fred Biondi, Nico Echavarria, Sebastian Munoz, Joaquin Niemann, Alvaro Ortiz, Raul Pereda, Mito Pereira and Alejandro Tosti.

The championship returns for the second time to Panama, which hosted the third edition in 2017 at Club de Golf de Panama.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship, including notables in the field and TV information.

2024 men’s major championship venues including Augusta National, Royal Troon

Here’s where the best players in the world will be heading for the 2024 majors.

The year 2023 was an interesting one for the men’s golf majors with two of the four won by golfers claiming their first major championships.

At the Masters, Jon Rahm outdueled Brooks Koepka at Augusta National for his second major win and first green jacket.

Then, Koepka got his revenge and took home the trophy at Oak Hill for his third Wanamaker trophy and fifth major.

A month later, Wyndham Clark earned his first major after he outlasted Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler at Los Angles Country Club to win the U.S. Open.

And, finally, Brian Harman dominated Royal Liverpool for his first major title and earned himself the title of Champion Golfer of the Year.

As we move on from 2023, here’s a look at all four venues that will host men’s major championships in 2024.

Three players (including a LIV golfer) qualify for 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon

The Open Qualifying Series is off and running with major championship exemptions on the line.

Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt and Dan Bradbury have all qualified for next year’s 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon via the Joburg Open, the first event in the Open Qualifying Series.

The series offers players from around the world the opportunity to qualify for one of the four men’s majors and is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Burmester, who now plays in the LIV Golf League and finished 14th last season, earned a three-shot win at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, at 18 under and will play in his third Open next year. Fichardt last qualified for the Open in 2017 after winning the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. He finished runner-up this year at 15 under after a final-round 64. The defending champion Bradbury also shot 64 on Sunday to take the third qualifying spot at 13 under.

Next up in the series is the ISPS Handa Australian Open, Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at The Lakes and The Australian in Sydney. Here are the rest of the events included in the qualifying series and how many Open places are available at each.

2024 Open Qualifying Series events remaining

Event Date Exemptions available
ISPS Handa Australian Open Nov. 30-Dec. 3, 2023 Three places to leading players not already exempt
Arnold Palmer Invitational March 7-10, 2024 One place to leading player not already exempt
RBC Canadian Open May 30-June 2, 2024 Three places to leading players not already exempt
Memorial Tournament June 6-9, 2024 One place to leading player not already exempt
KLM Open June 20-23, 2024 Two places to leading player not already exempt
Regional qualifying June 24, 2024 None
Italian Open June 27-30, 2024 Two places to leading player not already exempt
Final qualifying July 2, 2024 Minimum of 16 places
John Deere Classic July 4-7, 2024 Two places to leading player not already exempt
Genesis Scottish Open July 11-14, 2024 Three places to leading players not already exempt

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Masters not changing qualifying criteria for LIV golfers in 2024, Fred Ridley says

The majors aren’t here to serve LIV Golf.

Earlier this month, the Official World Golf Ranking denied LIV Golf’s bid for ranking points. Since then, LIV golfers like Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson have spoke openly about how the top golfers on LIV deserve world ranking points, and even going as far to say the majors should create special exemptions for LIV golfers.

However, don’t expect the Masters to change anything for 2024.

On Thursday, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley and R&A CEO Martin Slumbers spoke with members of the media Thursday at Royal Melbourne in Australia at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur, a tournament where the winner receives an exemption to the Masters and Open Championship.

Ridley said the criteria isn’t changing for the 2024 Masters.

“If you look back over the history of the Masters Tournament and the qualifications that existed, we have changed those qualifications numerous times, dozens of times,” Ridley said. “We look at those every year. We don’t make changes every year, but we do look at them under the current circumstances.

“As you recall last year, there was some speculation as to whether or not we would invite LIV golfers, and we stayed true to our qualification criteria and we invited everyone who was eligible. Our qualifications are very much dynamic and we adjust to what we feel is the best interests of the tournament representing the best players in the world, so we always look at that.”

The three changes for the Masters in 2024 were inviting the NCAA individual champion, winners of FedEx Cup point-awarding fall events and a tweak to the wording of the Tour Championship qualification.

The Masters normally invites the top 50 in the OWGR as well as past champions, PGA Tour winners and high finishers from other major championships.

Meanwhile, Slumbers said the R&A is reviewing its qualification criteria, which will be released early next year. However, Slumbers said recent conversations about exemption categories have been completely off the mark.

“I think it’s very important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that The Open is intended to be open to everybody, but you earn your place in the field and through exemptions and that won’t change,” Slumbers said.

There was a follow-up question specifically naming Talor Gooch, who won the LIV individual championship and made more than $35 million this year. However, he is not eligible for any majors in 2024 and sits outside the top 200 in the OWGR.

“(LIV golfers) made decisions based on what they thought was in the best interests of their golf careers, and we certainly respect that,” Ridley said. “We do have in our invitation criteria, it does say that we reserve the right to invite special exemptions to international players, although we did issue a special exemption to an amateur (Gordon Sargent) last year.  So we are always looking at that.

“But these decisions have been made, and we’ll have to do what’s in the best interests of the Masters and we’ll continue to do that.”

Added Slumbers: “From my perspective, without getting into detail, there are plenty of opportunities for any player in the world who thinks they are good enough to have a chance to qualify and play in The Open Championship irrespective of which tour they are participating on, and that will not change.”