The 135th Open Championship entry form is today published on the internet (www.opengolf.com
Male professional golfers and male amateurs (whose playing handicaps do not exceed scratch) may now be joined at Regional Qualifying by the top five women and ties from each of the four major championships in the women’’s game. In addition, any women meeting the entry requirements for International Final Qualifying, Local Final Qualifying and The Open itself can enter at these stages directly.
Commenting on the new entry conditions, R&A Chief Executive, Peter Dawson, said: "Our Championship Committee pledged to review entry conditions and to assess how women golfers might compete on equal terms with men for a place in The Open. As a result, I am delighted that a qualification route has now been established for the best women players to gain access to the Championship, competing alongside men on the same courses and from the same tees."
The new eligibility rules conform to two guiding principles set down by the Championship Committee:
1) That entry to The Open should be based on playing ability irrespective of gender;
2) That the strength and quality of the Championship and Qualifying fields should be maintained at the highest level. Female golfers eligible to compete in Regional Qualifying for the 2006 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake (20-23 July 2006) are the top five and ties from each of:
The 2005 Weetabix Women’’s British Open Championship
The 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship
The 2006 McDonald’’s LPGA Championship
The 2006 US Women’’s Open Championship
Elsewhere on the entry form, exemptions from Regional, Local Final and International Final Qualifying have been expanded to include the leading player in the first ten and ties, not exempt, from each of the 2006 Open de France and the 2006 Buick Championship. As before, exemption is also given to the leading player, not exempt, in each of the 2006 Smurfit European Open, the 2006 Barclays Scottish Open, the 2006 Western Open and the 2006 John Deere Classic where the "first ten and ties" requirement also applies.
The entry form can be downloaded from www.opengolf.com
Notes:
1. The Weetabix Women’’s British Open Championship is staged after The Open and therefore the 2005 top five and ties eligible to enter Regional Qualifying for the 2006 Open Championship are: 1st Jeong Jang (KOR), 2nd Sophie Gustafson (SWE), tied 3rd Young Kim (KOR), Michelle Wie (USA), and tied 5th Cristie Kerr (USA), Liselotte Neumann (SWE) and Annika Sorenstam (SWE).
2. International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship will be at:
Africa
Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, South Africa on 16 and 17 January 2006;
Australasia
Kingston Heath, Melbourne, Australia on 31 January and 1 February 2006;
Asia
Sentosa, Singapore on 6 and 7 April 2006;
America
Congressional, Bethesda, Maryland, USA on 26 June 2006;
Europe
Sunningdale, Berkshire, England on 26 June 2006.
3. The Open Championship Regional Qualifying courses (16) for 18 holes of stroke play on 3 July 2006 are: Ashridge, Effingham, Little Aston, Minchinhampton, Musselburgh, Notts, Old Fold Manor, Orsett, Pannal, Pleasington, Prestbury, Rochester & Cobham Park, Royal Ashdown Forest, Silloth on Solway, The Island and Trentham.
4. The Open Championship Local Final Qualifying courses (4) for 36 holes of stroke play on 10 and 11 July 2006 are: Conwy (Caernarvonshire), Formby, Wallasey and West Lancashire.
5. The R&A is golf’’s world rules and development body and organiser of The Open Championship. It operates with the consent of more than 125 national and international, amateur and professional organisations, from over 110 countries and on behalf of an estimated 28 million golfers in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and The Americas (outside the USA and Mexico). The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the game’’s governing body in the United States and Mexico.
