LIV Golf's Open Exemption Under Threat Amid Circuit's Shaky Future

Anyone who remains with the LIV Golf League may find their chances of competing at The Open Championship significantly reduced in 2027.

The R&A released its schedule of events for The Open Qualifying Series as well as exemption categories for St Andrews on Tuesday, with one key change from 2026 noted.

While events on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour are among those to have retained their spots in the OQS, The R&A confirmed there was no guarantee LIV Golf would be offered a pathway for its players at this stage.

Previously, The R&A had awarded an exemption to the top player in the LIV Golf individual season standings who was not already exempt.

But, after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy recently and remaining in the process of establishing what the next version of LIV might look like, very little has been fully confirmed prior to the 2027 season - whatever that might look like.

And as a result of the league's turmoil, The R&A did not feel it could commit to offering up at least one spot at this stage.

The R&A did not rule out the possibility of the situation changing, however.

A press release announcing the 2027 Open Championship qualifying pathways read: "Exemption categories are also reviewed and updated annually to ensure that places awarded in The Open reflect results achieved by golfers on the professional tours.

"The exemption for the LIV Golf Order of Merit remains under review until the 2027 LIV Golf schedule is confirmed."

Regardless of whether LIV Golf ends up with a route to The Open or not, LIV players who are not otherwise exempt will still have a chance to compete at the oldest Major of the four.

Winning any of the 13 OQS events outside of the PGA Tour between this week's French Open and the Scottish Open next July would lock up a tee time, as would a top-two or top-three finish in select tournaments.

Alternatively, heading through Regional Qualifying and Final Qualifying is another potential route.

The R&A has said Final Qualifying will be played at Burnham & Berrow, Glasgow Gailes, Prince’s and West Lancashire on 29 June next year.

The Last-Chance Qualifier will also return on the Monday of Championship week after the success of this year's inaugural edition.

A dozen players are expected to make up that field, with The R&A not revealing how those 12 golfers will be selected at this stage.

Instead, it said: "The field of players competing for the final place in the Championship will be determined using an approach which complements the existing qualification criteria for The Open."

THE OPEN QUALIFYING SERIES 2027