Major champion issues statement after withdrawing from The Open

Louis Oosthuizen has confirmed he has withdrawn from the 2026 Open due to injury.

The South African arrived in Southport over the weekend ahead of his scheduled appearance at Royal Birkdale, where he was set to play the opening two rounds of the final men's major of the year alongside Sweden's Jesper Svensson and fellow South African Jack Buchanan.

But the 2010 winner of the Claret Jug confirmed on Monday evening that he has withdrawn from the 156-man field due to a back injury. 

The 43-year-old said in a statement shared on his social media channels that he has also decided to pull out of LIV Golf's event next week at the JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire. 

"Not the update I was hoping to share," Oosthuizen wrote. 

"Unfortunately, due to a back injury, I've had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from both The Open Championship and LIV Golf's JCB event.

"It's incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority now is to focus on my recovery and make sure I'm fully fit before returning to competition. 

"Thank you to everyone for the support and kind messages. 

"I'll be backing the Southern Guards from afar and look forward to being back out there as soon as I can."

Oosthuizen's withdrawal means that his compatriot, Aldrich Potgieter, will take his place in the field. 

The 21-year-old won his first PGA Tour title last June at the Rocket Classic but has struggled somewhat in recent months, tumbling down the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). 

Potgieter jumped into the top 50 of the OWGR after securing the win but currently finds himself 77th in the rankings. 

Should another player withdraw from the 2026 Open field, then Matti Schmid and Andrew Wilson are the next two players in line on the alternate list. 

Oosthuizen was among the first players to join LIV Golf from the PGA Tour in 2022. 

He is yet to win an individual title on the renegade tour and has struggled in the majors since making the switch. 

Since linking up with LIV, Oosthuizen has made seven major championship starts and missed the cut on six occasions. 

His best finish was sharing 34th place at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon. 

Oosthuizen was set to make his 18th appearance at The Open this week. 

His career will more than likely be best remembered for his dominant win at the 2010 Open at St Andrews. 

Then aged 27, Oosthuizen fired rounds of 65-67-69-71 to reach a 72-hole total of 16-under par. 

England's Lee Westwood finished second that year, seven shots behind Oosthuizen. 

Oosthuizen is not the only former Open champion not playing this week. 

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis, Justin Leonard, John Daly and Ernie Els are also absent.