What's In The Bag Database & Tour Stats
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What's In The Bag Database & Tour StatsPreview — the 2027 field is filling but not set (T-303 days). Locked in so far: past champions, the 2026 Open top-10 and ties, the 2026 major winners including Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open), and the full top 30 from the 2026 FedEx Cup, finalised at East Lake on August 30 with Scottie Scheffler crowned champion. Next up: the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth (September 17-20), the Race to Dubai top 25 (DP World Tour Championship, November 12-15), and the Open Qualifying Series — whose 2027 events The R&A has yet to announce.
The Open Championship — golf's oldest major, dating to 1860 — is conducted by The R&A and contested entirely on links courses in the British Isles. The 2027 Open marks a landmark return to St Andrews, the Home of Golf, where the Old Course hosts The Open for a record-extending 31st time and the first time since the 150th Open in 2022 (Cameron Smith, -20). Ryan Fox arrives as defending champion after birdieing the 72nd hole at Royal Birkdale to become just the second New Zealander ever to lift the Claret Jug. The 156-player field is set through 25+ exemption categories plus a global Open Qualifying Series, Regional and Local Qualifying across Great Britain & Ireland, and Final Qualifying in early July 2027.
The last five winners of this championship — chronological, newest first. The most recent name returns as defending champion.
A live timeline of every qualifying event feeding the championship. Completed events show their winners; upcoming events show their dates and stakes.
2026 U.S. Open — Shinnecock Hills
Wyndham Clark won wire-to-wire at 4-under 276, one clear of Sam Burns — his second U.S. Open. As a 2022-2027 U.S. Open champion he is exempt for St Andrews.
2026 U.S. Amateur — Merion
Jack Whaley (England, Florida State) beat Jay Leng Jr. 4&3 in the final. The U.S. Amateur champion receives an Open invitation, provided he remains an amateur. Preston Stout (Oklahoma State) separately earned the 2026 McCormack Medal as world No. 1 amateur, which carries an exemption into the 155th Open.
2026 FedEx Cup — Tour Championship, East Lake
Scottie Scheffler beat Viktor Hovland by three for his second FedEx Cup. The final top 30 — from Scheffler down to Ryan Fox at No. 30 — is now locked in as an exemption category.
BMW PGA Championship — Wentworth
The DP World Tour's flagship. Its winner joins the BMW PGA exemption category; Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Open champion Ryan Fox headline the field. Alex Noren defends.
DP World Tour Championship — Race to Dubai finale
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai. The final 2026 Race to Dubai standings lock the top-25 exemption category.
Open Qualifying Series 2026-27
A global series of designated events across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. Leading non-exempt finishers earn Open spots. As of mid-September 2026 The R&A has not yet announced the 2027 events — none have been played.
OWGR Exemption Cutoffs
Players inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking at set 2027 cutoff dates (typically after the U.S. Open) earn exemptions.
Regional & Local Qualifying (GB&I)
Open to professionals and amateurs (handicap limit) at venues across Great Britain & Ireland, feeding into Final Qualifying.
Final Qualifying — 4 GB&I venues
36-hole one-day shootouts at four venues; roughly 12 spots total. Venues confirmed by The R&A in 2027.
Every confirmed player, grouped by qualifying pathway. Click a player to view their bag.60 / 156
St Andrews, Scotland
The Old Course is the Home of Golf — public links owned by the town, played over since the 15th century. Its defining features are the seven vast double greens shared by two holes each, shared fairways, the treacherous Road Hole 17th (with its Road Hole bunker and the road and wall behind), the cavernous Hell Bunker on 14, and the Swilcan Bridge crossing on the 18th, where champions and retiring legends alike pause for the walk up the last. St Andrews rewards ground-game creativity and canny wind play over aerial power. In 2022, Cameron Smith closed with a 64 — the lowest final round by a Champion in 30 Opens at the Old Course — to catch Rory McIlroy and win the 150th Open at -20.
The complete list of qualifying criteria — even those nobody has yet earned. Most players qualify through more than one path.
Past Open Champions remain exempt through age 60 (extended from 55 in 2017). Older champions are honorary, non-competing.
Players who finished in the top 10 (and ties) at the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale. Ryan Fox won at -10.
Players ranked inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking at the designated 2027 cutoff dates (typically the week after the U.S. Open, plus an earlier reference week) earn exemptions. Determined in mid-2027.
Winners of the Masters from the last six years are exempt. Rory McIlroy (2025, 2026), Scottie Scheffler (2022, 2024) and Jon Rahm (2023) hold the window so far; the 2027 winner (April 2027) will be added.
Winners of the PGA Championship from the last six years are exempt. The 2027 winner (May 2027) will be added.
Winners of the U.S. Open from the last six years are exempt. The 2027 winner (June 2027) will be added.
Recent Open Champions are exempt (also covered by the past-champion category).
The most recent three winners of THE PLAYERS Championship are exempt.
All 30 players who reached the 2026 Tour Championship at East Lake (August 27-30) are exempt. Scottie Scheffler entered as No. 1 and won the FedEx Cup by three over Viktor Hovland; Ryan Fox squeezed in at No. 30.
The top 25 players from the final 2026 DP World Tour Race to Dubai standings are exempt. Determined in November 2026.
The leading five DP World Tour members not otherwise exempt from the 2027 Race to Dubai standings after a designated June 2027 event earn exemptions.
The top five not-otherwise-exempt PGA Tour members ranked in the top 20 of the FedEx Cup after the 2027 Travelers (late June) earn exemptions.
Recent winners of the DP World Tour's flagship event at Wentworth are exempt.
The leader of the 2026 LIV Golf Individual Standings (one spot) and top non-exempt finishers from the 2027 LIV standings at a designated cutoff earn exemptions if not otherwise exempt. Jon Rahm clinched a third straight LIV individual title in 2026 (season ended August 30 in Indianapolis) — he is already exempt as 2023 Masters champion, so the spot passes down.
The Open Qualifying Series spans a set of designated tournaments worldwide on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, Japan Golf Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. The leading non-exempt players from each event earn Open spots. The 2026-27 series runs from autumn 2026 through summer 2027; The R&A has said the 2027 events will be announced in due course, and none had been confirmed or played as of mid-September 2026.
Reserved for the reigning champions of The Amateur Championship, the U.S. Amateur, the European Amateur, the Asia-Pacific Amateur, the Latin America Amateur, and the African Amateur, plus the Mark H. McCormack Medal winner (top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking). Winners must remain amateurs to take their places. Known so far: Jack Whaley (2026 U.S. Amateur, Merion) and Preston Stout (2026 McCormack Medal, Oklahoma State). The 2027 Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush (June 14-19, 2027) and the remaining 2026-27 titles are still to be decided.
Open Qualifying gives every professional and eligible amateur a route in: Regional and Local Qualifying across Great Britain & Ireland in spring 2027 feed into Final Qualifying — 36-hole one-day shootouts at four GB&I venues in early July 2027, awarding roughly 12 places in the field.
The Open Championship 2027 is broadcast on NBC, USA Network and Peacock in the United States, on Sky Sports (live) and the BBC (highlights and limited live) in the UK & Ireland, and via 30+ broadcast partners across 199 countries worldwide.
Times shifted earlier than other majors due to the UK time zone.
30+ broadcast partners across 199 countries/territories per The R&A.
Peacock streams are geo-restricted to the US — see VPN section below.
A VPN unlocks every US-only stream — including the free official coverage.
The 155th Open will be played July 15-18, 2027 on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland — the Home of Golf. It is the 31st Open at St Andrews and the first since the 150th Open in 2022. Practice rounds and Championship build-up run from Monday July 12.
Ryan Fox won the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, birdieing the 72nd hole to finish at -10, one clear of Cameron Young. It was his first major and made him just the second New Zealander to win The Open, after Bob Charles in 1963. He returns to St Andrews as defending champion.
About half the 156-player field qualifies via exemption categories — past Open champions (through age 60), recent major winners, the top 50 in the OWGR, the top 30 of the FedEx Cup, the top 25 of the Race to Dubai, and more. The rest come through the global Open Qualifying Series, Regional and Local Qualifying across Great Britain & Ireland, and Final Qualifying — 36-hole one-day shootouts at four GB&I venues in early July 2027.
Not yet, but it is filling. Ten months out, the locked-in groups are past champions, the 2026 Open top-10 and ties, recent major winners such as Wyndham Clark (2026 U.S. Open) and Aaron Rai (2026 PGA), and — since the Tour Championship on August 30 — all 30 players from the final 2026 FedEx Cup standings, from champion Scottie Scheffler down to Ryan Fox at No. 30. The Race to Dubai top 25 locks in November 2026; OWGR cutoffs, the Open Qualifying Series (events still to be announced by The R&A) and Final Qualifying run through July 2027.
In the US, NBC, USA Network and Golf Channel split lead coverage with all four rounds streaming on Peacock. In the UK & Ireland, Sky Sports Golf carries all four rounds; the BBC has highlights and limited live coverage under rights through 2030. International viewers can use a VPN to reach US or UK streams.
St Andrews is the Home of Golf — a public links played over since the 15th century and the most frequent Open venue, hosting for the 31st time in 2027. Its signatures are seven enormous double greens shared between holes, shared fairways, the fearsome Road Hole 17th, the Hell Bunker on 14, and the Swilcan Bridge on the walk up the 18th. It rewards ground-game creativity and wind management over pure power. Cameron Smith's closing 64 to win the 150th Open here in 2022 was the lowest final round by a Champion in 30 Opens at the Old Course.
The first Open was played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, won by Willie Park Sr. — making it 35 years older than the U.S. Open and 76 years older than the Masters. It is the only major contested entirely on links courses, where firm turf, wind, and pot bunkers reward creativity over power.
Yes — eligibility is via the same exemption categories as everyone else. Past Open champions (Cameron Smith), recent major winners (Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm), top-50 OWGR players, and Open Qualifying Series spots are all open to LIV members. The leader of the LIV Golf Individual Standings also earns a place if not otherwise exempt.
No player has successfully defended The Open since Padraig Harrington in 2007-08. Fox arrives at St Andrews — a venue that rewards the canny, wind-tested links play that carried him at Birkdale — with the chance to become the first back-to-back Open champion in two decades and New Zealand's first multiple major winner.
