Aldrich Potgieter punctuated an impactful weekend of golf around the world with his breakthrough victory in a five-hole playoff at the Rocket Classic. And while there was a checkpoint for entry into The Open Championship when the tournament concluded, he wasn’t among the qualifiers.

First, the good stuff...

Potgieter, who won’t turn 21 years of age until Sept. 13, outlasted Max Greyserman to win the seventh edition of the annual stop at Detroit Golf Club. (Chris Kirk was eliminated from the three-man playoff on the second hole.) The PGA TOUR rookie from South Africa is the ninth first-time winner of the season. The title secures exemptions into The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship next year. His membership in the winners category extends through 2027.

Potgieter also climbs 37 spots in the FedExCup but to only 36th in the standings. That’s in terrific position for the upcoming FedExCup Playoffs for which the top 70 are eligible, but he’s still not in the field at Royal Portrush for The Open Championship.

At the conclusion of the Rocket Classic, the top five, who are not yet exempt for The Open, inside the top 20 of the FedExCup would gain entry. However, all of them are, so no exemptions were distributed. (At 29th in the FedExCup, Michael Kim is the highest-ranked golfer not yet exempt into The Open.)

Four other qualifying criteria for The Open were determined on the weekend, all of which fulfilled.

The parade of freshly minted entrants began with Filip Jakubcik of the Czech Republic on Saturday. He won the European Amateur Championship by three strokes at Vasatorps Golfklubb in Sweden, so he is now exempt The Open provided he remains an amateur. The world’s ninth-ranked amateur just completed his junior year at the University of Arizona.

The European Amateur Championship also concluded The Open Amateur Series that consists of three tournaments. With the most total points, Cameron Adam of Scotland earned the exemption and also must remain an amateur to play The Open via this method of entry. Although he failed to advance to the match play of The Amateur Championship in Britain, he won the St. Andrews Links Trophy and finished T9 at the European Amateur Championship.

Come Sunday, the Italian Open on the DP World Tour promised another two exemptions into The Open. They were snared by winner Adrien Saddier and runner-up Martin Couvra. It’ll be the major debut for both Frenchmen.

Lastly, the leader among the top five in the LIV Golf individual season standings who isn’t yet eligible for The Open would gain entry at the conclusion of that circuit’s most recent event in Dallas. Because all of the top four in points are exempt, the exemption goes to Sergio Garcia in fifth. It’ll mark the Spaniard’s 26th appearance in the major and first since 2022.

This page will update midweek once all golfers from Final Qualifying on July 1 are determined.

UPDATE (July 1): Final Qualifying for The Open Championship was conducted across four sites as scheduled on Tuesday. However, instead of the original plan of four exemptions up for grabs at each, the R&A added one to all. So, a total of 20 qualifiers for Royal Portrush were determined.

By and far, the most accomplished among them is Lee Westwood. With a 36-hole score of 7-under 137, the Englishman medaled at Dundonald Links. Now 52 years of age, Westwood will be making his 28th appearance in the major and first since 2022. He’s cashed 21 times. He was the runner-up in 2010, placed T3 in 2013 and finished fourth twice, including a T4 the last time that Royal Portrush hosted in in 2019.

Only seven of the 20 qualifiers have appeared in The Open at least once previously, but all of the other three medalists are among the subset. Dean Burmester (3-for-3 in The Open) recorded the largest margin of four strokes at Royal Cinque Ports where he posted 10-under 134. Lucas Herbert (2-for-4) led the way at West Lancashire at 8-under 136. And at 9-under 133, Justin Walters (0-for-1) set the pace at Burnham & Berrow.

The only PGA TOUR member to qualify was Harry Hall. The Brit checked up one stroke back of Walters.

Exactly one amateur advanced from each site. The quartet includes Richard Teder at West Lancashire, who experienced arguably the greatest and most meaningful swing in performance of the day. When he double-bogeyed the par-4 18th hole to conclude his second round, it left him in a four-way playoff for the last two spots. All he did then was hole out for eagle to secure his debut in the tournament. With it, the 20-year-old becomes the first player from Estonia ever to qualify.

NOTE: Until all methods of entry are released by the governing bodies, traditional criteria are used to determine qualifiers. Refer to remaining qualifying criteria at the bottom of the page for details.

OPEN = The Open Championship

Recent additions

OPEN -- Cameron Adam; John Axelsen; Dean Burmester; George Bloor; Seb Cave; Martin Couvra; OJ Farrell; Sergio Garcia; Connor Graham; Harry Hall; Lucas Herbert; Ångel Hidalgo; Filip Jakubcik; Frazer Jones; Nathan Kimsey; Curtis Knipes; Oliver Lindell; Jacob Skov Olesen; Adrien Saddier; Jesper Sandborg; Richard Teder; Justin Walters; Lee Westwood; Daniel Young; Sampson Zheng

NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they recently haven’t competed in majors for which they are eligible (e.g., The Open Championship = David Duval, Paul Lawrie).

Remaining qualifying criteria

Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.

The Open Championship (OPEN) at Royal Portrush: July 17-20

• Top five, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the BMW International Open (July 6).
• Top three, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 13).