The final field is set for the 2026 Open Championship, with the world’s best golfers heading to Royal Birkdale in pursuit of the Claret Jug. From major champions and rising stars to LIV Golf standouts and players who earned their place through Final Qualifying, this year’s championship features one of the deepest fields in golf.
As always, The Open brings together players from multiple tours through a variety of qualification pathways, ensuring a mix of established stars, former champions, international talent, and exciting newcomers. However, the 156-player field has also undergone several late changes, with injuries forcing some notable withdrawals in the days leading up to the championship.
Full British Open Championship Field
Here is a complete list of players participating in the 2026 British Open Championship field, per the PGA Tour:
British Open champions under 60 on July 20
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Brian Harman
Cameron Smith
Collin Morikawa
Shane Lowry
Francesco Molinari
Jordan Spieth
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy
Darren Clarke
Louis Oosthuizen
Stewart Cink
Padraig Harrington
David Duval
Top 10 and ties 2025 British Open
Masters champion (five-year exemption)
PGA champions (five-year exemption)
U.S. Open champion (five-year exemption)
The Players champions (three-year exemption)
BMW PGA champions (three-year exemption)
Top 25 in 2025 Race to Dubai
Top 30 from the 2025 FedEx Cup
Top 50 from May 25 world ranking
Top five from the leading 20 players in FedExCup through Travelers Championship
Top five from leading 20 players in Race to Dubai through BMW International Open
Leading player from LIV Golf through LIV Golf-Andalucia
Top five players from OWGR Federation ranking on May 23, 2026
U.S. Amateur champion
Asia-Pacific Amateur champion
Latin America Amateur champion
Africa Amateur champion
British Amateur champion
Stuart Gregan
European Amateur champion
a – Tim Wiedemeyer
Open Amateur Series winner
a – Lev Grinberg
Open Qualifying Series – Spanish Open
Open Qualifying Series – Japan Open
Open Qualifying Series – Hong Kong Open
Open Qualifying Series – Australian Open
Open Qualifying Series – New Zealand Open
Open Qualifying Series – South African Open
Open Qualifying Series – Argentina Open
Open Qualifying Series – Arnold Palmer Invitational
Open Qualifying Series – Singapore Open
Open Qualifying Series – Korea Open
Open Qualifying Series – Mizuno Open
Open Qualifying Series – the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
Open Qualifying Series – Canadian Open
Open Qualifying Series – Italian Open
Open Qualifying Series – Genesis Scottish Open
Final qualifying
James Nicholas
Caleb Surratt
Austen Truslow
Tom Sloman
a – Alejandro De Castro Piera
Jack McDonald
Matthew Baldwin
a – David Howard
Marcus Plunkett
a – Nevill Ruiter
Baard Skogen
M.J. Daffue
Matthew Southgate
Peter Uihlein
Antoine Rozner
Sam Bairstow
Kazuma Kobori
Tiger Christensen
Josele Ballester
Matthew Jordan
To fill the field from the July 5, 2026, world ranking
Sam Stevens
Nico Echavarria
Pierceson Coody
Ryo Hisatsune
Michael Brennan
David Puig
Tom Kim
Eric Cole
Keith Mitchell
Matt Wallace
Sami Valimaki
Max Homa
Thomas Detry
Max Greyserman
Sahith Theegala
Louis Oosthuizen Withdraws From Field
Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has withdrawn from the 2026 Open Championship because of a back injury, ending his streak of appearances at golf’s oldest major.
The 2010 Champion Golfer of the Year announced on social media that he will also miss next week’s LIV Golf UK event, saying his focus is on making a full recovery before returning to competition.
“Not the update I was hoping to share. Unfortunately, due to a back injury, I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from both The Open Championship and LIV Golf’s JCB event,” Oosthuizen said.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to miss two events I always look forward to, but my priority now is to focus on my recovery and make sure I’m fully fit before returning to competition.”
Oosthuizen, who also withdrew before the final round of LIV Golf Andalucia, will miss The Open for the first time since 2008. His place in the field goes to fellow South African Aldrich Potgieter.
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