R&A Chief’s comment on The Open exemptions for LIV has media reports ‘off the mark’

Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Slumbers commented about potential invitations to LIV golfers for future Open Championships, leaving room for rumors to grow.

Rumors surfaced last weekend that LIV Golf and the R&A were in discussion for potential exemptions for LIV golfers to play in The Open. Amid that news, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers commented on those rumors ahead of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne on Thursday.

That left many media outlets to conclude Slumbers shut down those reports. But clearly, they failed to read between the lines.

“There has been some speculation in the media recently, and I would say that it is completely off the mark,” Slumbers said. “I would like to make it very clear that exemptions for The Open, we do not discuss them with anyone, nor would we at any point in time.”

“I think it’s very important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that The Open is intended to be open to everybody, but you earn your place in the field and through exemptions, and that won’t change.”

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Slumbers does not specifically deny anything. It certainly appears there is a definite possibility of exemptions for members of the LIV Golf tour, among others.

“There are plenty of opportunities for any player in the world who thinks they are good enough to have a chance to qualify and play in The Open Championship, irrespective of which tour they are participating on, and that will not change,” Slumbers said.

But as he said, whether that is going to be the case or not, he would not announce it publicly until next year at the earliest.

This isn’t the first time Slumbers and LIV Golf have been linked.

Slumbers played a round with the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the Dunhill Links Championship and invited him to the Open earlier this summer.

Interestingly, Slumbers is on the board that recently voted and unanimously denied LIV Golf OWGR points.

Then this week, the Saudi-backed tour also received news that their players were prohibited from 2024 President Cup qualifications.

LIV chief operating officer Gary Davidson propositioned that as many as 12 players from their end-of-season points list could be included in The Open.

Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson are two of the biggest proponents of that idea.

The governing bodies review their qualification criteria yearly and will release those in early 2024.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

In no way does the R&A chief executive suggest he will deny LIV Golf’s request because they aren’t focused on 2024 qualifications yet. With the Open being the final major of the year, the R&A usually doesn’t rush to post their eligibility requirements.

The way qualifications have it now, only five LIV players are exempted into all four majors next year. Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, DeChambeau and Mickelson have all recently won majors, earning them exemptions.

Talor Gooch, who won the individual title for LIV Golf this year isn’t eligible to play in any majors in 2024. He ranks No. 214 on the current OWGR rankings despite winning three times on the LIV tour this year.

Do you believe more LIV players should be allowed to play in majors? Is the goal to have the best players in the world at the biggest events, or did they sacrifice that honor by joining LIV? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.