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Four Asian Tour events included in The Open Qualifying Series
Published 23/09/2025 - 12:30:35
Asian Tour members will once again have an outstanding opportunity to compete in the game’s oldest Major next year, following an announcement by The R&A today.
Four Asian Tour events have been included in The Open Qualifying Series, with all roads leading to Royal Birkdale Golf Club for The 154th Open – from 16-19 July.
The tournaments are this year’s Link Hong Kong Open, next year’s New Zealand Open and Kolon Korea Open, plus one other event – which will be confirmed once the 2026 Asian Tour schedule is finalised.
The winners, not otherwise exempt, of the Hong Kong, New Zealand and Korea tournaments will earn a place in The Open, while two spots will go to the fourth event.
Today’s news comes soon after the groundbreaking announcement by The R&A and Augusta National Golf Club that the winner of the Link Hong Kong Open will be invited to play in The Open and the Masters Tournament next year.
The Open Qualifying Series will begin in October and players will be able to qualify for The 154th Open through 15 events in 13 countries being played on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, KPGA Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events and its global nature is reflected in the number of outstanding opportunities we offer to golfers to qualify for the Championship through our exemptions and professional tour events held internationally each year.
“The Open Qualifying Series generates great excitement and intrigue each year as players compete to earn a coveted place in the Championship and so we look forward to seeing what stories emerge in the months ahead and the field coming together as we get closer to staging another memorable Open at Royal Birkdale next July.”
Regional and Final Qualifying events, which are open to professional and amateur golfers worldwide who meet the entry criteria, will take place at venues around Great Britain and Ireland in June ahead of the Championship.
A new Last-Chance Qualifier will be played at Royal Birkdale on Monday, 13 July. The field of 12 players competing for the final place in the Championship will be determined using an approach which complements the existing qualification criteria for The Open.
Main picture: Sadom Kaewkanjana competing at The Open this year. Courtesy Getty Images.
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