R&A makes announcement ahead of 155th Open at St Andrews

The R&A has confirmed the qualifying events and exemption categories for next year's Championship at the Home of Golf.

22 Sep 2026

The R&A has confirmed the qualifying schedule and exemption categories for the 155th Open Championship at St Andrews, with players from around the world set to compete for places in golf’s original major.

The Open Qualifying Series (OQS) will offer opportunities to qualify through 16 events across 14 countries, with tournaments staged on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, Asian Tour, KPGA Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

The road to St Andrews begins this week at the FedEx Open de France at Le Golf National, with further opportunities in Spain, Japan and Hong Kong during October.

The Capital.com Australian Open will offer three qualifying places in December, followed by opportunities at the New Zealand Open and a Korn Ferry Tour event in Argentina in February. Three further places will be available at the Investec South African Open Championship in March.

North American players will have several routes to St Andrews, with qualifying places available at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, RBC Canadian Open and John Deere Classic.

Further opportunities will come at the Deutsche Bank Singapore Open, KOLON Korea Open and Mizuno Open, before the final OQS events in Europe at the Amgen Irish Open and Genesis Scottish Open.

The exemption categories have also been reviewed and updated. The R&A confirmed that the exemption for the LIV Golf Order of Merit remains under review until the 2027 LIV Golf schedule has been confirmed.

Alongside the OQS, professional and amateur golfers who meet the entry requirements can progress through Regional and Final Qualifying. Regional Qualifying will take place on 21 June, with Final Qualifying scheduled for 29 June at Burnham & Berrow, Glasgow Gailes, Prince’s and West Lancashire.

The final opportunity to reach St Andrews will come through a Last-Chance Qualifier at St Andrews on 12 July, with one place in The Open available.

The 155th Open will return to the Home of Golf from 15-18 July 2027, with the qualification process now providing players across the global game with multiple routes to one of the biggest events on the golfing calendar.