Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship 2026 will be played on Monday 22 June 2026 at 16 venues across Great Britain and Ireland. The route matters because it is one of the ways into the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale G.C., where 156 players will compete from 16-19 July 2026.
The qualifying ladder is now set in sequence. Final Qualifying follows on Tuesday 30 June 2026, and Last Chance Qualifying will be played at Royal Birkdale G.C. on Monday 13 July 2026 as a 12-man event over two rounds of nine holes.
Matt MOLONEY and Royal Birkdale G.C.
Matt MOLONEY has already earned a place in that Last Chance Qualifying field through his efforts at Royal Liverpool G.C. The Amateur Championship runner-up now has one more path to Royal Birkdale G.C., where the final places for the championship will be sorted in the days before the main event.
That route sits inside a wider qualifying structure. Twenty spaces have been allocated to Final Qualifying, while 26 places have been set aside through The Open Qualifying Series across 15 professional tour events in 13 countries.
Jackson KOIVUN and the field
The amateur side of the field already includes Mason HOWELL, Fifa LAPAKDEE, Mateo PULCINI, Jack BUCHANAN and Stuart GREHAN. Jackson KOIVUN adds a wrinkle: he was the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal winner, but he is now ineligible under that category after turning pro.
That leaves the qualifying routes doing the rest of the work. Regional Qualifying is open to amateur and professional golfers with a handicap index no higher than 0.4 or a WAGR listing of 1st-2,000th during 2024-25, and the remaining amateur places will be shaped by the European Amateur, which runs from 24-27 June 2026. Four more amateurs came through Final Qualifying last year to reach Royal Portrush, lifting the number of amateurs there to nine.
Great Britain and Ireland
The practical takeaway is simple for anyone chasing Royal Birkdale G.C.: the first gate opens on 22 June, the next on 30 June, and the last on 13 July. Which two remaining amateur spots will be resolved after the European Amateur ends? That answer will determine how much room is left when the final field comes together for the 154th Open Championship.
