Qualifiers for all 2024 Signature Events, THE PLAYERS and majors
Tom Hoge qualified for The Open Championship with a T3 at Travelers.
Scottie Scheffler prevailed in a playoff at the Travelers Championship, but he wasn’t the only winner when the dust settled after the shootout at TPC River Highlands.
The final Signature Event of the season was a checkpoint for entry into The Open Championship. The top five, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 of the FedExCup standings qualified. It’s rare when as many as five exemptions are determined via this criterion, so it’s not surprising that only Tom Hoge (18th) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (20th) were not yet exempt into the final major of the year.
Hoge closed out the Travelers with an 8-under 62 that positioned him in a two-way share of third place (with Sungjae Im). He began the tournament at 32nd in the FedExCup. It’ll mark his third appearance in The Open in which he’ll be chasing his first payday.
Bezuidenhout was 16th in the FedExCup before the Travelers. His 64 on Sunday at TPC River Highlands lifted him into a four-way T23 that yielded enough FedExCup points to clear defending Open champion Brian Harman (T9 after a final-round 62) in 21st by a little over seven points. The South African will be making his fifth start in The Open.
Three other conduits for entry into The Open were up for grabs on the weekend.
The party stated when Jacob Skov Olesen defeated Dominic Clemons in the 36-hole finale of the The Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin Golf Links in Ireland, 4 and 3. The 25-year-old lefty is the first Dane to win this championship. After winning the 2020 NJCAA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award at Ranger College, he transferred to TCU where he contributed for three years. He then went to the University of Arkansas as a graduate student where he just wrapped a season during which he set the Razorbacks’ scoring record and a member of First-Team All-SEC.
Come Sunday, a pair of stops on the Open Qualifying Series each identified two golfers for the field of 156 at Royal Troon. Both reserved space for the top two finishers not otherwise exempt.
With his second victory in three years at the KOLON Korea Open, MK (MinKyu) Kim has qualified for his first major. Three strokes back and alone in second place, Young-han Song secured the second berth with a birdie-4 on the last hole at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan. In Song’s only previous appearance in The Open, he finished T62 at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
A few hours later, Guido Migliozzi emerged from a three-way playoff to win the KLM Open at The International in Amsterdam. With a two-putt birdie on the second playoff hole, he outlasted Joseph Dean and Marcus Kinhult. The Italian will be making his fourth consecutive start in The Open.
Dean wrestled possession of the other exemption by virtue of the tiebreaker. The Brit’s Official World Golf Ranking of 472 upon arrival was better than Kinhult at 532. In his only appearance in any major, Dean finished T70 at The Open in 2017.
REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (OPEN) @ Royal Troon – July 18-21
Winner of the European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 29).
Top 2, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Italian Open (June 30).
Leader in World Amateur Golf Ranking points accumulated at the St. Andrews Links Trophy (June 9), The Open Championship (June 22) and European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 29).
Final Qualifying. Top 4 at each of four sites: Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, West Lancashire (July 2).
Top 5, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the BMW International Open (July 7).
Top 2, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the John Deere Classic (July 7).
Top 3, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 14).
Rob Bolton is a Golfbet columnist for the PGA TOUR. The Chicagoland native has been playing fantasy golf since 1994, so he was just waiting for the Internet to catch up with him.