The latest tournament in the Open Qualifying Series takes place this week with the Asian Tour’s IRS Prima Malaysian Open.
That means, as well as the $1m prize fund and world ranking points, there are also places available in this year’s Major at Royal Troon for those who finish in the top three not already exempt.
No one in the field has currently qualified for the tournament, leaving the chance for any of the 150 players to book a place, and two of those teeing it up at the Mines Resort & Golf Club are LIV golfers David Puig and Sam Horsfield.
Spaniard Puig only has one career Major appearance to his name, and he performed encouragingly in it, finishing T39 at last year’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Englishmen Horsfield has considerably more Major experience, with eight starts, including a T67 at the 2021 Open, which was followed by a second appearance at the tournament for the 150th edition at St Andrews. However, on that occasion he missed the cut.
Without a change in the world rankings to allow LIV Golf to offer the points to its players, it will become increasingly difficult for many of its stars to qualify for Majors, particularly those who have never won one.
As a result, it’s not surprising that Puig, who is in the field courtesy of his maiden pro victory at the 2023 International Series Singapore and Horsfeld, who received a tournament invitation, are grabbing the possibility of earning a place at The Open with both hands.
After two events in two weeks to open the LIV Golf League season, the next tournament doesn’t take place until 1 March in Saudi Arabia, meaning the players will also have ample recovery time after their efforts in the Far East.
The tournament is the third of the Open Qualifying Series after last year’s Joburg Open and ISPS Handa Australian Open. In the first of those, another LIV golfer, Dean Burmester, booked his place at Royal Troon with a win, along with Darren Fichardt and Dan Bradbury.
A week later, another player from the circuit, Joaquin Niemann, won in Australia to book his place at The Open, along with Rikuya Hoshino and Adam Scott.
By Sunday evening, both Puig and Horsfield will hoping they have been added to the list for the 152nd edition of the Major, which will be held between 18 and 21 July.
