Making the Grade
Earning an invitation or qualifying exemption to a major is not easy—never has been, shouldn’t be—nor is it straightforward, and even less so during a pandemic. We cast an eye over some of the ways to tee up in the big four in 2021
To spare repetition, there are a cluster of criteria that earn golfers tee times in all the majors, such as:
• Major champs from past four or five years are in • Winners of the Players Championship and Tour Championship receive at least one year’s exemption across all four majors
• Golfers securely ranked in the world’s top-50 over the past year are clear
• Past champs are always welcome at that particular tournament (although the Brits draw the line at the age of 60 for The Open)
• Top-10 finishers from last year can come back for more (top 12 for Masters, top 15 at PGA) • U.S. and British Amateur champions qualify for the Masters, U.S. Open and [British] Open
TTHE SCENT OF AZALEA
Masters, April 8-11
he invitation of every golfer’s dreams: “The Board of Governors of the Augusta National Golf Club cordially invites you to participate in the Two Thousand and Twenty One Masters Tournament to be held at Augusta, Georgia the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh of April,” signed “Fred S. Ridley, Chairman.”
Reflecting the historic amateur career of Augusta National founder Bobby Jones, the club invites a string of champion amateurs, including from the Latin America Amateur (the Asia-Pacific Amateur & U.S. Mid-Amateur champs are usually included, but these events were cancelled in ’20). The U.S. Amateur runner-up also receives an invitation.
A key date for some of the last Masters invitations in 2021 is March 14. This marks Week 11 of the Official World Ranking and all golfers in the top-50 on that date are in.
Lastly, the Masters Committee, at its discretion, also invites international players not otherwise qualified.
STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL
PGA Championship, May 20-23, Kiawah Island
As the only major not to include amateurs, and with qualification closely aligned to PGA Tour rankings, many consider the PGA Championship the strongest field of 156 golfers in the majors each year. With the exception of international qualifiers, all competitors “must be a PGA of America member in good standing.”
Notable for the PGA is exemption for the top 20 finishers from the annual PGA Professional Championship. This is a vast, nationwide competition for PGA of America member pros—essentially the country’s club pros—with its own regional qualifiers and purse. The 52nd Championship, in 2019, had a prize fund of $650,000, with $55,000 awarded to winner Alex Beach, the assistant pro at Westchester CC, New York. The 2021 PGA Pro Championship will unfold at PGA Golf Club at Port St Lucie, Florida, April 25-28.
LAND OF THE LINKS
The Open, July 11-18, Royal St. George’s
The [British] Open—the oldest of the four majors, dating back to 1860—was the only major to be cancelled outright in 2020, so Royal St. George’s in Kent is keeping its powder dry for the 149th Open in July. 106 golfers already had qualified for The Open in 2020, and organisers the R&A are honoring all these places, leaving just 50 spots to be decided in 2021.
The Open reaches corners of the globe the other majors can’t reach, with exemptions available in Europe, Asia, South Africa, South America, Australasia and the United States. The Open has a number of exemption categories tied to the European Tour and its Race to Dubai ranking, with June 27 being a key date—that is the final day of the BMW International Open in Munich, after which the European Tour’s top five golfers for the 2021 season so far gain exemption.
THE AMERICAN STANDARD
U.S. Open, June 17-20, Torrey Pines
To many in America, the U.S. Open is golf’s ultimate prize due to its extensive qualifying process and because it is the original American major. About half of the 156-man field usually comes from the qualifying process, and despite a tighter timeframe in 2021 due to the pandemic, the set-up is familiar: 108 Local Qualifyers will be contested in the U.S., over 18 holes, between April 26–May 18. (The last golfer to win the U.S. Open having started at a Local Qualifyer was Orville Moody in 1969). For this 121st U.S. Open, there is then a series of 11 Final Qualifiers, each over 36 holes. Nine are in the States, May 14-June 7, with two more in Canada and Japan. The USGA is also conducting a qualifying series in conjunction with three European Tour events in May and June, with 10 golden tickets to Torrey Pines available.