The last of the four men’s Majors of 2026, The Open, sees more LIV Golf representation than the previous three.
At The Masters in April, just 10 players from the circuit teed it up at Augusta National, with 11 playing in the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
The third Major of the year was the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, where 13 LIV Golfers appeared, while 15 will play in The Open at Royal Birkdale. It would have been 16, too, but 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has withdrawn because of a back injury.
While there are still five more LIV Golfers than at The Masters, the number is still four fewer than a year ago, when the tournament came from Royal Portrush.
The reduced number is down to various factors, including 2016 champion Henrik Stenson’s LIV Golf relegation, Phil Mickelson’s continued absence from the game, and Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed’s decision to end their LIV Golf careers.
Nevertheless, there will still be plenty of optimism in the LIV Golf hierarchy that the 15 representing the circuit at the Major will perform well, and that one of them can become the first active LIV Golfer to lift the Claret Jug.
Here are the LIV Golfers in The Open field, and how they qualified.
Josele Ballester
The Fireballs GC player has only played in The Open once before, resulting in a missed cut at Royal Liverpool in 2023, and he will be confident of a stronger performance at Royal Birkdale during a season that sees him a creditable 15th in the Individual Championship.
The Spaniard shot a nine-under at West Lancashire during Final Qualifying to ensure his first Major appearance of the year.
Laurie Canter
Laurie Canter had seemed set for a stint on the PGA Tour after claiming his card thanks to his finishing position on the DP World Tour’s 2025 Race to Dubai rankings.
However, he instead opted for a second bite of the LIV Golf cherry, joining Majesticks GC for the start of the season.
It’s thanks to Canter’s finish in the previous season’s Race to Dubai rankings that he lines up at The Open, though.
The top 25 of the rankings all claim a spot, and as a result, Canter will make his seventh appearance at The Open.
Bryson DeChambeau
The Crushers GC captain has endured a nightmare Major season so far, with three missed cuts leading up to The Open.
After a T10 a year ago, though, he’ll surely feel confident of a strong display at Royal Birkdale, despite Sir Nick Faldo’s claim that he has “zero clue of strategy” when it comes to links golf.
DeChambeau qualifies thanks to his win in the 2024 US Open, and he will surely be out to prove his doubters wrong and finish his Major campaign on a high.
Thomas Detry
The 2026 LIV Golf season saw the introduction of world ranking points for the first time. One player who has taken advantage of that is Thomas Detry.
Thanks to some consistent performances in his debut LIV Golf season, he has remained high enough in the world rankings to make the field as one of the highest-ranked players not otherwise exempt on July 5th.
Because of that, the Belgian makes his fifth Open start.
Tyrrell Hatton
Tyrell Hatton has made a habit of performing well in Majors since joining LIV Golf, and that has continued in 2026 with two top-10s in the big events.
He has yet to win a Major, but, playing in his homeland, the Englishman will be expected to do well this week.
Hatton has two top-10 finishes at The Open, the most recent coming in 2019 with a T6.
Thanks to his position in the top 50 of the world rankings after week 21, he has another chance to impress.
Lucas Herbert
The Ripper GC player makes his second Major appearance of the year, having missed the cut at the US Open.
Herbert’s best finish at The Open came in 2022, when he placed T15 at St Andrews, and he’ll be hoping for another strong performance in what will be his sixth appearance at the Major.
Herbert heads to Royal Birkdale off the back of some recent success, including victory at LIV Golf Virginia in May.
However, it’s thanks to his runner-up at the New Zealand Open that we will see him at Royal Birkdale, which was enough to claim his spot via The Open Qualifying Series.
Tom McKibbin
Another player indebted to a strong performance in an Open Qualifying Series tournament is the Northern Irishman.
McKibbin won the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open in 2025 to book his place for Royal Birkdale. Because of that, he will make his third appearance at The Open, having placed T66 in 2024 and missed the cut in 2025.
At the very least, he will be hoping for his best Major finish, which is currently a T41 achieved at the 2024 US Open.
Joaquin Niemann
One of LIV Golf’s most gifted players, Joaquin Niemann, has yet to fully translate his huge success onto the Major stage, with two top-10 placings from 28 appearances in the big tournaments to date.
They both came in the last two years, though, suggesting the Chilean may finally be ready to become a consistent challenger in Majors.
So far, he has made seven appearances at The Open, with a best finish of T53 four years ago. He gets his eighth chance to impress thanks to being the highest-placed LIV Golfer in the Individual Championship not otherwise exempt after its Andalucia event.
Victor Perez
The Cleeks GC player is yet to make a real impression in Majors, with his Open record reading two missed cuts, one T34 and one T41.
However, he heads to Royal Birkdale in good form, having produced three top 10s in recent weeks, including T9 at the Genesis Scottish Open.
That performance was enough to ensure his fifth Open appearance, where he joined PGA Tour pros Johnny Keefer and Michael Thorbjornsen as a top-three finisher not otherwise exempt via The Open Qualifying Series.
David Puig
Spaniard Puig is one of LIV Golf’s most talented young players, as demonstrated by some consistent performances since joining the circuit, along with a couple of Asian Tour wins.
Five top-10 finishes on LIV Golf so far in 2026 meant he was able to maintain a high enough world ranking to reach The Open as a player not otherwise exempt on July 5th.
As a result, he will make his second appearance at The Open after missing the cut at Royal Troon two years ago.
Jon Rahm
While Puig is a promising Spaniard in the LIV Golf ranks, in Rahm, it has the best the country has to offer.
The former World No.1 was assured of his place thanks to his most recent Major win, which came at the 2023 Masters, but his world ranking would have also seen him qualify comfortably.
After some uncertain form in Majors following his LIV Golf move, Rahm has shown signs of returning to his best at the events, with three top 10s in his last five starts.
His best finish at The Open came with a T2 in 2023. Is this the year he adds a third Major title to get three-quarters of the way to his career Grand Slam?
Cameron Smith
A LIV Golfer with some disappointing recent Major form is Cameron Smith. He has missed seven of the last eight cuts at the tournaments, including a year ago at Royal Portrush.
One ray of light came with a T7 at this year’s PGA Championship, and that could well spur him on to a good week.
After all, Smith has already won the Claret Jug, when he beat Cameron Young in the 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022.
Not only did that give the 32-year-old his maiden Major title, but it also ensured he’ll be able to play in The Open until the age of 60 thanks to being grandfathered in to play until that age as a winner before the limit was lowered to 55.
Caleb Surratt
The Legion XIII player’s maiden Major appearance came at the 2026 US Open, where he missed the cut after making it into the field via Final Qualifying.
It was also through Final Qualifying that he will make his Open debut this year, having finished nine-under at Burnham & Berrow to book his place at Royal Birkdale.
Like Ballester, McKibbin and Puig, Surratt is regarded as one of LIV Golf’s stars in the making, and he’ll be hoping to demonstrate those credentials on one of golf’s biggest stages.
Peter Uihlein
Peter Uihlein is another LIV Golfer who reached The Open thanks to his performance in Final Qualifying, where he shot nine-under at Royal Cinque Ports.
Uihlein will be making his fifth appearance at The Open thanks to that achievement, although it’ll be his first since 2018.
On that occasion, he missed the cut. A year earlier, he played at Royal Birkdale, where he achieved what remains the best Major finish of his career, a tie for 44th.
He’ll be hoping to at least better that this week.
Scott Vincent
Scott Vincent will tee it up for only the third time in a Major at Royal Birkdale.
The South African missed the cut in his maiden debut at the 2022 Open at St Andrews. He had to wait four years for his second Major appearance, which came in the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he also failed to make it to the weekend.
Will it be third time lucky at The Open? That will certainly be the HyFlyers GC player’s aim, where he gets his chance thanks to his placing in the top five of the Federation Ranking List after week 21 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
