The R&A contends that this British brings together 18 players from LIV, the ‘major’ with the most

He CEO of Royal & Ancient, one of the two governing bodies of world golf, Martin Slumbersbelieves there are enough ways for LIV Golf members to qualify for the tournament without having to take a direct path.

LIV Golf has given up on its attempts to gain Official World Golf Ranking accreditation and receive world ranking points for its 54-hole no-cut event. The circuit, with the support of Saudi Arabia, continues to promote that certain places are guaranteed for its best players in the four Grand Slams.

In the usual press conference before the Open, in Royal Troon (Scotland), Slumbers, 64 years old and leaving office in January 2025, emphasized the fact that 18 LIV players are playing this week, the most of the big four‘.

These players qualify based on their past results (winning a ‘major’ or finishing in the top 10 and tying for the previous year’s Open), by qualifying for the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour or the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour , for finishing on top of an ‘Open Qualifying Series’ around the world or for qualifying in the final round of qualifying earlier this summer.

“Last year, after the Hoylake Open, we decided that we wanted to make sure that all players, regardless of the circuit they played, had a good chance to get into the Open,” said Slumbers “We used our qualifying series for the Open. We chose the tests available to all players. “We turned to the Asian Tour (there, for example, David Puig got the place) and the last stage of qualification to create those opportunities.”

“I think we have 18 LIV players on the field, and I think we have the best players in the world. And that’s what we want to have, the best players in the world. So I think we made the chances that.” Will it increase in the coming years? I think it depends on how the game evolves, but we continue to want the best players in the world to access the Open in an adequate way.

His position is different from his North American counterpart. USGA CEO Mike Whan said last month that the USGA will study an exemption category for LIV Golf in the offseason (the Fall Series in October and November).

Slumbers also defended the Open’s prize money, which rose to $17 million in total and $3.1 million for the winner, but was still behind the other majors. “If we think about a pie, which is the financial economic value of golf, one part goes to development, one part to work and one part to the evolution of the sport,” said Slumbers.

“What we are really talking about is getting the balance between prize money and investment in the sport, so that we can make sure that the pie grows, and if the pie grows, we will all be better off. , there is a real risk that the pie has shrunk.