Of the four major championships, The Open prides itself on having the most internationally diverse field.
Part of how that field is selected is through the R&A’s ‘Open Qualifying Series,’ a list of 12 to 13 tournaments hand-picked by the R&A each year. The top finishers at these events—who are not already exempt—receive invites to participate in The Open.
The Australian Open kicked off the Open Qualifying Series this year with three spots up for grabs.
American Ryggs Johnston triumphed, winning his first DP World Tour title in just the second start of his career. He fired a 4-under 68 on Sunday to finish atop the leaderboard while booking a trip to Royal Portrush next July. Yes, Johnston’s maiden victory secured him a spot in The 153rd Open Championship, which will mark the first major of his career.
“It feels great, just knowing that [I get] more playing opportunities and [I get] into bigger events,” Johnston said.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but it’s an amazing feeling.”
Finishing three strokes behind Johnston was Australian Curtis Luck, who also received an invite to Royal Portrush. He has never played in the Open before but has some major championship experience. He tied for 47th at Augusta National in 2017 as an amateur. He also qualified for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2020 but missed the cut.
Marc Leishman secured the third invite thanks to his T-3 finish at Kingston Heath. Jasper Stubbs, another young Aussie, also tied for third, but because Leishman has a higher Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), the R&A gave the 41-year-old Australian the third and final ticket.
Leishman, who joined LIV Golf in August 2022, has had tremendous success at majors in his career. He has six top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at St. Andrews in 2015, when he lost to Zach Johnson in a playoff. His most recent top-10 came at The Masters in 2021 when he tied for fifth.
Yet, Leishman has not played in a major since joining LIV. His OWGR has plummeted to 575th in the world because the OWGR does not award points at LIV events. But now Leishman will return to Royal Portrush, where he missed the cut at The Open in 2019. In fact, Leishman has missed the cut in his last three Open appearances. But given that he was not eligible to play in the previous two editions, the Aussie has to feel ecstatic that he will return to a major.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
