The Open 2023: Full field at Royal Liverpool and how they qualified

Published:

Who is in the field for the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the 151st playing of the World’s oldest golf Major?

Today’s Golfer’s 2023 Major Championship coverage is brought to you in association with TaylorMade.

A total of 156 golfers have begun their quest to win golf’s oldest Major at the 151st Open Championship today, with Rory McIlroy aiming to recapture the Claret Jug he won in 2014 when Hoylake last held the prestigious event.

Rory McIlroy will be looking to complete the Career Grand Slam and lift his first Major title since the 2014 Open

Australia’s Cameron Smith shot a stunning final-round 64 to claim victory at St Andrew’s in 2022, denying McIlroy his second Claret Jug at the landmark 150th Open. Within days of Smith’s success, LIV Golf announced that the Open Champion had become their highest-ranked recruit in a deal believed to be worth more than $100 million.

Cameron Smith is the 150th Open Champion.

Previous to 2014, the Open last graced the shores of Hoylake in 2006, where Tiger Woods last lifted the World’s oldest Major, holding off Chris DiMarco to win by two shots.

Also in contention that weekend was Sergio Garcia who was tied in second going into day four after a spectacular third-round 65 which included holing out for an eagle from 167 yards on the second hole, carding just 29 shots for his opening nine.

Tiger Woods won The Open at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005.

Ironically, Woods and Garcia are probably the two most notable absentees at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Woods has withdrawn to continue his recovery from ankle surgery, and Garcia misses out on his first Open Championship since 1997 after failing to qualify at West Lancashire.

The 2017 Masters Champion did not fall into one of the exempt categories and therefore had to play qualifying due to his status as a LIV golfer. Also missing out at the final hurdle were former US Open Champion Graeme McDowell and 2014 Ryder Cup winner Jamie Donaldson.

Sergio Garcia Final Qualifying Open 2023

The 156-player field is made up of the world’s top golfers, best amateurs, and a host of qualifiers. It will be cut to the low 70 scorers (and ties) after 36 holes and, in the event of a tie after 72 holes, a four-hole aggregate play-off will take place following the completion of the final round.

But who are all of the players and how did they qualify for the year’s final men’s Grand Slam?

(Players who appear in more than one category could have qualified under multiple criteria)

Open Champions aged 60 or under on July 23, 2023

Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Ben Curtis*, John Daly, David Duval*, Ernie Els, Todd Hamilton*, Pádraig Harrington, Zach Johnson, Paul Lawrie*, Justin Leonard*, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Collin Morikawa, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, and Tiger Woods*.

*denotes will not play.

Padraig Harrington celebrates Open victory No.1.

The Open Champions for 2012-2022

Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, and Cameron Smith.

First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in The 150th Open at St Andrew’s in 2022

Cameron Smith, Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Brian Harman, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantley, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jordan Spieth.

RELATED: What does The Open champion win?

The first 50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings (Week 21, 2023)

Abraham Ancer, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark, Corey Conners, Jason Day, Harris English, Tony Finau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Fox, Emilliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Lucas Herbert, Tom Hoge, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Sung-jae Im, Si-woo Kim, Tom Kim, Chris Kirk, Kirt Kitayama, Brooks Koepka, KH Lee, Hideki Matsuyama, Adrian Meronk, Taylor Moore, Joaquín Niemann, Séamus Power, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Sepp Straka, Sahith Theegala, Justin Thomas, and Will Zalatoris*.

*Will Zalatoris will not play.

Rickie Fowler lifts 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic

First 30 in the DP World Tour rankings for 2022

Adri Arnaus, Richard Bland, Ewen Ferguson, Rasmus Højgaard, Pablo Larrazábal, Thriston Lawrence, Hurly Long, Robert McIntyre, Guido Migliozzi, Alex Norén, Thorbjørn Olesen, Adrián Otaegui, Yannik Paul, Victor Perez, Thomas Pieters, Richie Ramsay, Shubhankar Sharma, Callum Shinkwin, Jordan Smith, and Connor Syme.

The BMW PGA Championship winners for 2019-2022

2019 – Danny Willett, 2020 – Tyrrell Hatton, 2021 – Billy Horschel, and 2022 – Shane Lowry.

Shane Lowry won The Open in 2019 using Srixon irons.

The first 5 DP World Tour members and any DP World Tour members tying for fifth place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the DP World Tour rankings on completion of the 2023 BMW International Open.

Marcel Siem, Joost Luiten, Romain Langasque, Jorge Campillo, and Alexander Bjork.

The U.S. Open Champions for 2018-2023

2018 – Brooks Koepka, 2019 – Gary Woodland, 2020 – Bryson DeChambeau, 2021 – Jon Rahm, 2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick, and 2023 – Wyndham Clark

RELATED: What’s the weather forecast for The Open?

The Masters Tournament Champions for 2018-2023

2018 – Patrick Reed, 2019 – Tiger Woods, 2020 – Dustin Johnson, 2021 – Hideki Matsuyama, 2022 – Scottie Scheffler, and 2023 – Jon Rahm.

The PGA Champions for 2017-2022

2017 – Justin Thomas, 2018 & 2019 – Brooks Koepka, 2020 – Collin Morikawa, 2021 – Phil Mickelson, 2022 – Justin Thomas, 2023 – Brooks Koepka.

Brooks Koepka won by two shots at Oak Hill to win his third PGA Championship.

The PLAYERS Champions for 2021-2023

2021 – Justin Thomas, 2022 – Cameron Smith, 2023 – Scottie Scheffler

Top 30 players from the final 2022 FedExCup Points List

Talor Gooch, J.T. Poston, Scott Stallings

RELATED: Morikawa – “My Open win was no fluke”

The first 5 PGA TOUR members and any PGA TOUR members tying for fifth place, not exempt in the top 20 of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Points List for 2023 on completion of the 2023 Travelers Championship

All of the top 20 are already exempt

The 116th VISA Open de Argentina 2022 Champion

Zack Fischer

Jordan Spieth won The Open in 2017.

First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Final Order of Merit of the Tour of Australasia for 2022-23

David Micheluzzi

First and anyone tying for 1st place on the Final Order of Merit of the Sunshine Tour for 2022-23

Ockie Strydom

The Japan Open Champion for 2022

Taiga Semikawa

The Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Champion for 2022

Shugo Imahira

First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, on the Final Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2022

Kazuki Higa, Rikuya Hoshino

First and anyone tying for 1st place, not exempt in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2022 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2022 Japan Tour Championship. 

Hiroshi Iwata

THE OPEN: Shane Lowry – “Winning The Open hasn’t changed me”

The Senior Open Champion for 2023

Darren Clark

The Amateur Champion for 2023

Christo Lamprecht (a)

The U.S. Amateur Champion for 2022

Sam Bennett (forfeited exemption by turning professional)

Sam Bennett has a message from his father tattooed on his forearm.

The European Amateur Champion for 2023

Jose Luis Ballester (a)

The Mark H McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking) winner for 2022

Keita Nakajima (a)

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion for 2022

Harrison Crowe (a)

The Latin America Amateur Champion for 2023

Mateo Fernandez De Oliveira (a)

The Open Amateur Series winner 2023

Alex Maguire

RELATED: Britain’s best links golf courses

OQS South Africa – The 2023 Joburg Open

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dan Bradbury, Sami Valimaki

OQS Hong Kong – The World City Championship

Taichi Kho, Bio Kim, Travis Smyth

OQS Australia – The 2023 Vic Open

Haydn Barron, Alejandro Canizares, Min Woo Lee,

OQS USA – The 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Ben Griffin, Trey Mullinax, Davis Riley

OQS Japan – The 2023 Mizuno Open

Kensei Hirata, Takumi Kanaya, Keita Nakajima, Kazuki Yasumori

OQS Denmark – The 2023 Made in Himmerland

Nacho Elvira, Kalle Samooja, Marc Warren

OQS USA – The 2023 Wells Fargo Championship

Michael Kim, Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd

Ryan Fox uses the Srixon ZX5 driver.

OQS England – The 2023 Betfred British Masters

Daniel Hillier, Gunner Wiebe, Oliver Wilson

OQS Korea – The 2023 KOLON Korea Open

Seungsu Han, Kyungnam Kang

OQS Scotland – The 2023 Genesis Scottish Open

Byeong-hun An, David Lingmerth, Nicolai Højgaard 

OQS USA – The 2023 The Memorial Tournament

Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Adam Schenk

Charl Schwartzel Open Qualifying 2023

Final Qualifying – West Lancashire, Royal Cinque Ports, Dundonald Links, Royal Porthcawl

West Lancashire: Matt Wallace, Matthew Jordan, Kyle Barker, Alex Fitzpatrick, and Tiger Christiensen (a)

Royal Cinque Ports: Martin Rohwer, Thomas Detry, Charl Schwartzel, Brandon Grace, and Antoine Rozner

Dundonald Links: Michael Stewart, Marco Penge, Connor McKinney, and Graeme Robertson

Royal Porthcawl: Laurie Canter, Brandon Robinson-Thompson, Matthew Southgate, Jazz Janewattananond, and Oliver Farr

Full alphabetical list of all competitors:

Byeong-hun An

Abraham Ancer

Adri Arnaus

Jose Luis Ballester

Haydn Barron

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Alexander Bjork

Richard Bland

Dan Bradbury

Keegan Bradley

Sam Burns

Jorge Campillo

Alejandro Canizares

Patrick Cantlay

Stewart Cink

Wyndham Clark

Darren Clarke

Corey Conners

Harrison Crowe (a)

John Daly

Jason Day

Bryson DeChambeau

Ernie Els

Nacho Elvira

Harris English

Ewen Ferguson

Mateo Fernandez De Oliveira (a)

Tony Finau

Zack Fischer

Matt Fitzpatrick

Tommy Fleetwood

Rickie Fowler

Ryan Fox

Talor Gooch

Ben Griffin

Emiliano Grillo

Seungsu Han

Brian Harman

Padraig Harrington

Tyrrell Hatton

Russell Henley

Lucas Herbert

Kazuki Higa

Daniel Hillier

Kensei Hirata

Lee Hodges

Tom Hoge

Rasmus Hojgaard

Nicolai Højgaard 

Max Homa

Billy Horschel

Rikuya Hoshino

Viktor Hovland

Sungjae Im

Hiroshi Iwata

Dustin Johnson

Zach Johnson

Takumi Kanaya

Kyungnam Kang

Taichi Kho

Bio Kim

Michael Kim

Si Woo Kim

Tom Kim

Chris Kirk

Kurt Kitayama

Brooks Koepka

Christo Lamprecht

Romain Langasque

Pablo Larrazabal

Thriston Lawrence

K.H. Lee

Min Wo Lee

David Lingmerth

Hurly Long

Shane Lowry

Joost Luiten

Robert MacIntyre

Alex Maguire

Hideki Matsuyama

Denny McCarthy

Rory McIlroy

Adrian Meronk

David Micheluzzi

Phil Mickelson

Guido Migliozzi

Francesco Molinari

Taylor Moore

Collin Morikawa

Trey Mullinax

Keita Nakajima

Joaquin Niemann

Alex Noren

Thorbjorn Olesen

Louis Oosthuizen

Adrian Otaegui

Yannik Paul

Victor Perez

Thomas Pieters

JT Poston

Seamus Power

Andrew Putnam

Jon Rahm

Richie Ramsay

Patrick Reed

Davis Riley

Justin Rose

Kalle Samooja

Xander Schauffele

Scottie Scheffler

Adam Schenk

Adam Scott

Taiga Semikawa

Shubhankar Sharma

Callum Shinkwin

Marcel Siem

Cameron Smith

Jordan Smith

Travis Smyth

Jordan Spieth

Scott Stallings

Henrik Stenson

Sepp Straka

Ockie Strydom

Connor Syme

Nick Taylor

Sahith Theegala

Justin Thomas

Brendon Todd

Sami Valimaki

Marc Warren

Gunner Wiebe

Danny Willett

Oliver Wilson

Gary Woodland

Kazuki Yasumori

Cameron Young

MORE FROM THE OPEN
Player bios
Jack Nicklaus Exclusive Interview
Zach Johnson “I took the Claret Jug to a waffle house!”
Open Legends: Seve Ballesteros
– Open Legends: Gary Player
Tee times and groupings

BECOME A TODAY’S GOLFER MEMBER: Unlimited access to premium content and exclusive rewards!

- Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us.