Nightshift Sports:
The British Open enters its final round tomorrow (Sunday, 23 July 2017.
The Open (known in America as “The British Open) is the oldest major golf championship and is contested on courses in England, Scotland, and Ireland.An entry position into The Open (entries are managed via the acquisition of an “excemption”..see below) is one of the toughest tickets in golf; if you don’t get an exemption through your play throughout the golf calendar year, you can always try your hand in one of the qualifiers staged before the main event.
It’s worth taking the time to read the list of players granted entry into The Open to see just how international The Open is and how many chances there are for Amateurs and other top players all over the world to gain a spot in the world’s oldest (146 years and going strong) major golf tournament.
There are some interesting exemptions; one is the Mark H. McCormack Medal for the number one world ranked amateur. We’re going to take some time to honor Mark McCormack for his contributions to international golf, some of which–beyond the medal awarded in his name–you may not be familiar with. McCormack was a major force in shaping professional sports and, in particular, professional golf, in the late 20th century and into the 21st century. He was Arnold Palmer’s manager/representative and the two of them built the modern PGA tour in terms of popularity, prize money, and television coverage. He also created the modern sports agency business through his founding and guidance of IMG (International Management Group). He was a friend who always returned his phone calls (at the end of the business day) and one of the most responsible people in sports. If you haven’t read his book, “What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School”, you are kindly advised to do so. That McCormack–a fine golfer himself–would sponsor a Medal for the world’s top amateur is just so correct and right.
One hundred and fifty -six players received exemptions for entry into The Open; after the cut, only 77 play the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s how the entry list for the 2017 Tournament was derived, with the name of the exemption category first, and the number of players accepted from that category in parenthesis. Please note that some players qualify for The Open via one or more exemptions.
The Open Champions aged 60 or under on 23 July 2017. ( 16)
The Open Champions for 2007-2016. (9)
First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place at Royal Troon in 2016. (10)
First 50 Players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2017. (53)
First 30 in The Race to Dubai 2016. (30)
The BMW PGA Championship winners for 2015-2017. ( 3)
The First 5 European Tour members and any European Tour members tying for 5th place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings on completion of the 2017 BMW International Open. (5)
The US Open Champions for 2013-2017. A Blank entry will be made on behalf of the 2017 Champion, (5)
The Masters Tournament Champions for 2013-2017. (4)
The PGA Champions for 2012-2016. (4)
The PLAYERS Champions for 2015-2017. (3)
The Top 30 Players from the final 2016 Fedex Cup Points List (29)
First 5 PGA TOUR members and any PGA TOUR members tying for 5th place, not exempt in the top 20 of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Points List for 2017 on completion of the 2017 Travelers Championship. (4)
The 2016 Olympic Golf Gold medallist. (1)
The 111th VISA Open de Argentina 2016 Champion. (1)
The 2017 KOLON Korean Open Champion and runner-up. (2)
Playing members of the 2016 Ryder Cup Teams. (23)
First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Order of Merit of the Asian Tour for 2016. (1)
First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Order of Merit of the Tour of Australasia for 2016. (1)
First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Order of Merit of the Southern Africa PGA Sunshine Tour for 2016. (1)
The Japan Open Champion for 2016. (1)
First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, on the Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2016. (2)
First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, not exempt having applied B(6) (see page 4) in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2017 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2017 Japan Tour Championship. Blank entries will be made on behalf of competitors qualifying in this category. (2)
The Senior Open Champion for 2016. (1)
The Amateur Champion for 2017. Blank entry will be made on behalf of the Champion. (1)
The US Amateur Champion for 2016. (0)
The European Amateur Champions for 2016 and 2017. Blank entry will be made on behalf of the 2017 Champion. (2)
The Mark H McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf RankingTM) winner for 2016. (1)
Open Qualifying Series Australia – Emirates Australian Open 2016. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties. (3)
Open Qualifying Series Singapore – SMBC Singapore Open 2017. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties. (4)
Open Qualifying Series South Africa – Joburg Open 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties. (3)
Open Qualifying Series Japan – Mizuno Open 2017. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties. (4)
Open Qualifying Series France – Open de France 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties. (3)
Open Qualifying Series USA – Quicken Loans National 2017. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties. (4)
Open Qualifying Series Ireland – Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties. (3)
Open Qualifying Series USA – The Greenbrier Classic 2017. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties. (4)
Open Qualifying Series Scotland – Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties. (3)
Open Qualifying Series USA – John Deere Classic 2017. One place to the leading player (not otherwise exempt) who finishes in the top five and ties. (1)
Final Qualifying Gailes Links. Three qualifying places are available into The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale from Final Qualifying at Gailes Links. (3)
Final Qualifying Hillside – Three qualifying places are available into The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale from Final Qualifying at Hillside. (3)
Final Qualifying Notts Hollinwell – Three qualifying places are available into The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale from Final Qualifying at Notts Hollinwell. (3)
Final Qualifying Royal Cinque Ports – Three qualifying places are available into The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale from Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports. (3)
Final Qualifying Woburn – Three qualifying places are available into The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale from Final Qualifying at Woburn. (3)
The Fine Print: Image embed courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st century on file. We thank them for sharing. The photograph has not been altered in any way. The official exemption list for 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale was sourced from the The Open’s official website and is believed to be correct as of the time of publishing of this post.