Ewen Ferguson’s victory at the BMW International Open in Munich on Sunday came with an extra reward: an exemption into The Open, which will take place in two weeks at Royal Troon.
Ferguson, who won by two shots ahead of Jordan Smith and David Micheluzzi, jumped 45 places in the Race to Dubai standings, landing at No. 16. This earned him the fifth and final Open invite available to top players in the DP World Tour’s points race.
According to The Open’s exemption criteria, Category 8 offers spots to the “first five DP World Tour members and any Race to Dubai members tying for fifth place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai rankings on completion of the 2024 BMW International Open.”
“I made a big decision this week,” Ferguson said. “I played really well the last two weeks at the KLM and Italian Open, and I was supposed to fly on Sunday night to play in Open Qualifying on Tuesday in Scotland. But after my performance on Sunday, I thought, ‘You know what? I think I’m playing well, maybe I can just qualify by myself.’ I didn’t want to tire myself out. I felt like I could either win this week or finish in the top ten in Scotland and secure my own spot with good golf.”
“So, we decided to pull out of Open Qualifying, and it turned out to be a great decision. It kept me fresh, and now I’m here with the trophy.”
Joining Ferguson in receiving Open invites are Jesper Svensson (fifth in Race to Dubai), Laurie Canter (10th), Nacho Elvira (11th), and Matteo Manassero (15th). Adrian Otaegui (17th), who missed the cut in Germany, was bumped out by Ferguson.
Canter is a reserve player for LIV Golf and has participated in each of the league’s first two tournaments this year.
With the addition of these five DP World Tour players, The Open field now comprises 154 players. Two spots will be up for grabs on Sunday at the John Deere Classic, while three more are available at next week’s co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open.
This means he is confident in himself, I need to make a bet too.