The majors attract the very best players in the world of golf and Portrush is no different for the 153rd Open which starts on July 17 on Northern Ireland’s glorious north coast.
Some 156 players are invited to one of the finest golf courses anywhere in the world to battle for the famous Claret Jug on the 153rd staging of the Open Championship.
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While former winner Tiger Woods is still not back on the course due to injury, the field is stacked with the top players in the world based on world ranking. Others have qualified as winners of the Open in the past or of other competitions while some have come through a gruelling Open qualifying process in recent weeks.
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Masters and career grand slam champ Rory McIlroy will likely attract the biggest following around the Dunluce Links at Portrush but there will ne no shortage of talent. Shane Lowry won the event here in 2019 and is always a big draw for golf fans.
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World number one Scottie Scheffler is the bookies favourite while LIV golf star Jon Rahm is the most fancied of the others.
A year ago, the R&A ran into the unusual issue of having too many players qualify for the championship at Royal Troon—159 golfers meeting the 27 criteria outlined by the governing body. That won’t be the case this year; 153 players had earned spots for 2025 as of July 7, with just three more spots available via automatic qualifying.
Specifically, at the upcoming Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned event on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour schedule, the top three finishers not already in the Open Championship field will also earn invites.
Below is everybody in the field, prior to the Scottish Open concluding this week.
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The Open winners 60 or under on July 20
Top 10 and ties from the 2024 Open
A view of the course at Royal Portrush during the 2019 Open Championship -Credit:©INPHO/Matt Mackey
Masters winners (five-year exemption)
PGA Championship winners (five-year exemption)
U.S. Open winners (five-year exemption)
BMW PGA Championship winners (three-year exemption)
Top 25 in the 2024 Race to Dubai
Top 30 from the 2024 FedExCup
Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking on May 25, 2025
Leading five players from the top 20 in the Race to Dubai through the BMW International Open
Leading player not already exempt from the top five in LIV Golf standings through LIV Golf Dallas
Argentina Open winner
Qualifiers from the Federations ranking on OWGR
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Japan Open champion
Senior Open champion
The Amateur champion
European Amateur champion
Shane Lowry after winning The Open in 2019 -Credit:R&A
Latin America Amateur champion
Open Amateur Series winner
Africa Amateur champion
Open Qualifying Series: ISPS Handa Australian Open
Open Qualifying Series: New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport
Open Qualifying Series: South African Investec Open Championship
Open Qualifying Series: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Open Qualifying Series: International Series Macau presented by Wynn
Open Qualifying Series: KOLON Korea Open
Open Qualifying Series: Mizuno Open
Open Qualifying Series: the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
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Open Qualifying Series: RBC Canadian Open
Open Qualifying Series: Italian Open
Open Qualifying Series: Genesis Scottish Open (three spots)
To be determined July 13
Final Regional Qualifying
The 153rd Open will be played at Royal Portrush from July 13 to 20 -Credit:Francois Nel/Getty Images
Late additions
Aldrich Potgieter Brian Campbell Nico Echavarria Michael Kim Bud Cauley Davis Thompson
The Open has a 156-man field, and it became clear two weeks ago that it would have only 150 players who either qualified or met the various exemption criteria.
The Open uses this week’s world ranking for an alternate list. Potgieter was No. 123 in the world when he won the Rocket Classic two weeks ago, while Campbell was at No. 115 when he won the John Deere Classic on Sunday.
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Both moved high enough in the world ranking to be among the leading six players not already exempt for the Open.
The 153rd Open is in Portrush from July 17-20 and tee times will be confirmed two days ahead of the tournament.
