The Open 2024: Exploring the 16 LIV Golf Pros Headlining the Field After Sergio Garcia’s Qualifier Heartbreak

The final field of the 152nd Open should put a smile on Greg Norman’s face. Only 13 LIV golfers teed off at the Masters, 16 at the PGA Championship, and 13 at the U.S. Open. The Open Championship again will have 16 players carrying the LIV Golf banners. 11 from the Saudi-backed side were on the field across four qualifying sites in the UK. Sergio Garcia, most notable among them, fell two strokes shy of making it. With the qualifiers now done and dusted, here is the full LIV Golf field at Royal Troon. 

Former Open Championship winners

Four LIV Golfers are past Open champions. Phil Mickelson sealed his fifth major a week after claiming the Genesis Scottish Open title in 2013. Lefty came very close to another Open victory in 2016 but eventually lost to Henrik Stenson. The Swedish is also qualified on his status as a former Open champion.

HOYLAKE, ENGLAND – JULY 21: Phil Mickelson of the United States tees off on the 1st hole on Day Two of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 21, 2023 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Louis Oosthuizen, the only second South African to win the Open Championship, is also in the field as a former champion. The Stinger GC pro mounted a historic eight-shot triumph over Lee Westwood in 2010 at the Home of Golf. The other, and the most recent former champion is Cameron Smith. The Aussie erased Rory McIlroy & Viktor Hovland’s 54-hole lead in the 150th Open to lift the Claret Jug.

Four LIV golf pros qualify as past major champions 

Four bigwigs of LIV Golf will travel to Royal Troon as a former major champion. Bryson DeChambeau of course leads that category. He was already qualified based on his 2020 triumph at Winged Foot. The Crushers GC captain is also within the top 50 in OWGR. 

Smash GC captain, Brooks Koepka enters the field as a former PGA Championship winner. Whereas, Jon Rahm will travel to Royal Troon as a former U.S. Open champion. U.S. Open winners are granted a five-year exemption into the Open Championship. 

Dustin Johnson is the last in this list of former Major champions. The LIV Golf pro earned a five-year exemption to the Open Championship courtesy of his 2020 Masters victory. 

The first 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2024

The R&A also looks at the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking till week 21 in 2024. Tyrrell Hatton is one of the few LIV Golf pros inside the top 50 despite not earning any world ranking points since joining the PIF-funded side. Hatton, notably, is within the top 30 in the 2023 FedEx Cup points list, and top 30 in the 2023 Race to Dubai rankings. 

First 30 in the Final Race to Dubai Rankings for 2023

Adrian Meronk of Poland qualified for the Open Championship on his last year’s performance on the DP World Tour. The 31-year-old was fourth in the Race to Dubai rankings. Meronk was also slated to join the PGA Tour this year. However, the Polish star joined Cleeks GC in a surprise switch to LIV Golf.  This will be his third consecutive Open appearance netting a T23 and T24 in his last two outings, respectively. 

The first 5 players on the 2024 Federations Ranking List as of the closing date

This year, the R&A announced a few welcome changes to the qualification criteria. None of them were to solely benefit the LIV Golf pros, but one did get relief. The R&A added the Federation Ranking list by OWGR to his criteria for qualification. The International Federation Ranking List ranks the players from the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, Japan Golf Tour, and the PGA Tour of Australia. Andy Ogletree, who joined Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC early this year, earned his spot at Royal Troon via this. 

Three LIV Golf Pros qualify as National major winners

Joaquin Niemann, David Puig, and Dean Burmester made the most out of LIV’s off-season. Globetrotting Niemann earned the bragging rights at the Australian Open. Puig on the verge of missing the cut at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open fired back-to-back 62s on the weekend to claim his second Asian Tour victory and seal the Open Championship spot. Burmester, on the other hand, came back from a three-shot deficit to claim his 10th career win at the JoBurg Open. Royal Troon will be the South African’s third Open appearance. 

36-hole final qualifiers dish out two further LIV Golf players

Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC qualified from West Lancashire, the same spot where Garcia and Carlos Ortiz also teed off in the marathon 36-hole qualifier. Horsfield was 6-under earning the medalist honor at Liverpool. 

Ar Burnham & Burrow, from where Justin Rose qualified, Abraham Ancer shot 5-under to seal his spot. However, the Fireballs GC pro had to eliminate his fellow LIV Golf colleague Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC in the playoff. 

Ancer is having his best season at LIV, with one title and three further top-10s under his belt. For the Mexican, it will be the sixth Open appearance. Whereas, Horsfield will tee off for the third time in his career. 

Branden Grace of Stinger, Graeme McDowell of Smash GC and  Eugenio Chacarra of Fireballs teed off at Royal Clinque Ports. But none of them advanced through 36 holes. On the other hand, Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats signed up at Scottland’s Dundonald Links but settled for 18th.