The 2025 Open Championship field is now final after Chris Gotterup, Nicolai Hojgaard and Matti Schmid claimed the final three spots via the Genesis Scottish Open this past weekend.
The line-up is stacked as always for the final men's Major of the year, with the likes of World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau, home favorite and career grand slam champion Rory McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele headlining at Royal Portrush.
But what about the big names who aren't playing? From injured superstars to PGA Tour and LIV Golf players who narrowly missed out via the world rankings or Final Qualifying, we take a look at the big names missing the 2025 Open...
Tiger Woods
The biggest name in golf has missed all four men's Majors this year after undergoing surgery on a ruptured achilles tendon in March.
Woods will be 50 at the end of December so will have the option to play in both the regular and senior Majors next year, should he return to full fitness.
The three-time Claret Jug winner is expected to tee it up in December at the PNC Championship, where he can use a cart in the 36-hole event that he teams up with son, Charlie.
Max Homa
The six-time PGA Tour winner misses his first Open since since 2021 after struggling with his game over the past 12 months.
Homa has fallen to 101st in the world rankings but there are signs of progress with a T5 at the John Deere Classic being his best result of the year so far.
The Californian will be playing in the Barracuda Championship instead of The Open as he seeks more form to try and show Keegan Bradley he is worth a wildcard pick for Bethpage.
Billy Horschel
Last year's runner-up Billy Horschel is another big name on the sidelines.
Horschel had surgery on his right hip in May and said he hoped to return to PGA Tour action in the late summer/fall period.
He recently posted clips of him hitting iron shots at 50% speed so it seems that he is on course for teeing up in the fall.
Sahith Theegala
Prior to the RBC Canadian Open in early June, Theegala announced that he would be another big name taking time away to deal with injury.
"Doctors have advised me to put the clubs away for a little while as I get treatment and rest for an injury I've been battling the last few weeks, so this one stings," he said.
While he did not confirm the injury, he was struggling with a neck problem throughout the year, having withdrawn from the Truist Championship prior to the final round and then the PGA Championship.
Will Zalatoris
Will Zalatoris underwent his second back surgery in May after an MRI scan following the PGA Championship showed he had re-herniated two discs.
The three-time Major runner-up missed the US Open and sits out Portrush with plans to return to PGA Tour action in the fall.
Graeme McDowell
McDowell will be gutted to miss the 2025 Open as it returns to his hometown of Royal Portrush.
The 2010 Open champion grew up playing on the Valley Links as well as the main Dunluce, but he will be watching from the sidelines this time around.
The LIV Golfer played in Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports but finished at one-under-par, three back of the score needed to make a playoff.
Ian Poulter (and Luke Poulter)
Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter was also playing in Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports, where he finished on the same score as McDowell to end three strokes shy.
The Englishman was bidding to make his first Open, and Major, appearance since 2022.
His son, Luke, finished on the same score after reaching six-under-par at one stage, with the Florida Gators man once again coming close to making his Major debut. Just a month prior, Luke had lost in a playoff to agonisingly miss out on the US Open at Oakmont.
Gary Woodland
The 2019 US Open champion's exemption into The Open has now run out, and he hasn't been able to make his way back into the field.
Woodland is still trying to get back to the elite level after undergoing surgery for a lesion on his brain last year, and he has shown some signs - especially with his runner-up finish to Min Woo Lee at the Houston Open in March.
Currently ranked 106th in the world, the four-time PGA Tour winner is missing his first Open since 2015.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
The 26-year-old Dane looks to be one of Europe's most promising players, but missing out on The Open puts a huge dent in his Ryder Cup hopes.
Neergaard-Petersen, who won three times on the Challenge Tour last year, finished an impressive T12 at the US Open last month so clearly has the game to compete on the elite stage.
He is yet to play in The Open but will surely make many starts in the coming years.
Luke Clanton
Former FSU star Luke Clanton, who earned his PGA Tour card while still an amateur, had actually secured his spot in The Open, only to lose it once he turned professional.
That's because he qualified after winning the Mark H McCormack medal as the leading player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking - but he had to remain an amateur to keep his place.
Clanton will surely qualify for many Opens in the future.
David Puig
LIV Golf prospect David Puig looks to be a star of many future Ryder Cup teams but he is another who will likely miss out this year after not qualifying for Portrush. The Spaniard failed to advance at Royal Cinque Ports in Final Qualifying, where he finished two adrift after scores of 64 and 78.
He did play with Luke Donald at the BMW International Open for the first two days, where he shot eight-under-par for 36 holes, but a good Open result would have gone a long way to convincing him even further.
It means he plays in just one Major this year, the PGA Championship, after making his way into three last year.
Sebastian Munoz
Sebastian Munoz is the highest-ranked LIV Golfer in the season standings not to qualify for the 2025 Open.
The Colombian, who had a win on the PGA Tour before joining the Saudi-backed tour, played in both the 2021 and 2022 Opens. He has not made his way into a Major since the 2023 US Open.
The Torque GC player has eight top-20s in LIV Golf this year including a T2 in the Riyadh event at the start of the season.
Other notable PGA Tour players missing The Open:
- Jake Knapp
- Alex Noren
- Joe Highsmith
- Nick Dunlap
- Matt Kuchar
- Erik Van Rooyen
Other notable LIV Golf players missing The Open:
- Sam Horsfield
- Paul Casey
- Adrian Meronk
- Anirban Lahiri
- Harold Varner III
- Peter Uihlein
- Charl Schwartzel
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