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2020 Qualifiers for majors, THE PLAYERS, WGCs
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October 13, 2019
By Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM
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Lanto Griffin won the Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
In his first 32 starts on the PGA TOUR, Lanto Griffin competed in only two invitationals, both of which occurring during a three-week stretch in 2018. After sectional-qualifying for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills where he missed the cut, he placed T64 at the Quicken Loans National where he gained entry via a sponsor exemption.
His drought in the invites will be ending soon, however. In career start No. 33, the 31-year-old captured his first TOUR title at the Houston Open on Sunday.
Griffin is now exempt into all TOUR-hosted invitationals that aren’t World Golf Championships this season, including the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions. The victory also triggers exemptions for his debuts at THE PLAYERS, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
The Houston Open’s strength-of-field rating as determined by the Official World Golf Ranking was only 73, so Griffin’s first appearance in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational will need to be secured another way. The field at TPC Southwind did gain two over the weekend, however.
First, Shugo Imahira successfully defended his title at the Bridgestone Open to solidify his return to the WGC-St. Jude. The first of two designated events on the the Japan Golf Tour was reduced to 36 holes due to the significant impact of and destruction left by Typhoon Hagibis.
In his first appearance at TPC Southwind in July, Imahira placed T27. Incidentally, he was the only golfer who missed the cut in all four majors in 2018. He’s a career 0-for-7 in them.
Like Imahira, Bernd Wiesberger isn’t yet exempt into any of the 2018 majors, but the Austrian will be in due time. He prevailed at the Italian Open on Sunday for his third victory on the European Tour this season. The 34-year-old now has seven career titles on his home circuit. He’s also atop the Race to Dubai ranking.
Wiesberger’s win in Rome exempts him into the WGC-St. Jude next summer. Whether he makes the trip remains to be seen. He qualified for the 2018 edition when he won the Scottish Open two weeks prior, but elected not to compete in the WGC.
NOTE: While the HSBC Champions is a World Golf Championships event, some who automatically qualify do not commit. Since this might cause confusion, the tournament is omitted.
NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they recently haven’t competed in majors for which they are eligible (e.g. PGA Championship=David Toms; Open Championship=Ben Curtis, Justin Leonard).
TPC = THE PLAYERS Championship
MAS = Masters
PGA = PGA Championship
US = U.S. Open
OPEN = Open Championship
MEX = WGC-Mexico Championship
MP = WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
SJI = WGC-FedEx St. Jude InvitationalRecent Additions
TPC -- Lanto Griffin
MAS -- Lanto Griffin
PGA -- Lanto Griffin
US -- none
OPEN -- none
MEX -- none
SJI -- Shugo Imahira; Bernd WiesbergerGolfer Qualified Byeong Hun An TPC Abraham Ancer TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Kiradech Aphibarnrat TPC Ryan Armour TPC John Augenstein MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in each) Aaron Baddeley TPC Rich Beem PGA Daniel Berger TPC Jonas Blixt TPC Keegan Bradley TPC, PGA Scott Brown TPC Bronson Burgoon TPC Sam Burns TPC Ángel Cabrera MAS Rafa Cabrera Bello TPC Patrick Cantlay TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Paul Casey TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Bud Cauley TPC Cameron Champ TPC, MAS, PGA, SJI Stewart Cink OPEN Wyndham Clark TPC Darren Clarke OPEN Corey Conners TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Fred Couples MAS Joel Dahmen TPC John Daly PGA, OPEN Jason Day TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Bryson DeChambeau TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Jason Dufner TPC David Duval OPEN Ernie Els OPEN Matt Every TPC Tony Finau TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX Tommy Fleetwood TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX Rickie Fowler TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX Dylan Frittelli TPC, MAS, PGA Jim Furyk TPC Sergio Garcia TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Brice Garnett TPC Brian Gay TPC Lucas Glover TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Talor Gooch TPC Retief Goosen TPC Branden Grace TPC Lanto Griffin TPC, MAS, PGA Emiliano Grillo TPC Chesson Hadley TPC, US Adam Hadwin TPC Todd Hamilton OPEN Cole Hammer US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in each) Justin Harding MAS, MEX Brian Harman TPC Padraig Harrington PGA, OPEN Tyrrell Hatton TPC, PGA*, OPEN Russell Henley TPC Jim Herman TPC, PGA Charley Hoffman TPC J.B. Holmes TPC Max Homa TPC, MAS Billy Horschel TPC Charles Howell III TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Mackenzie Hughes TPC Sungjae Im TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Shugo Imahira SJI Trevor Immelman MAS Jazz Janewattananond PGA Dustin Johnson TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Zach Johnson TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Matt Jones TPC Sung Kang TPC, MAS, PGA Martin Kaymer PGA, US Si Woo Kim TPC, MAS Kevin Kisner TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Patton Kizzire TPC Russell Knox TPC Brooks Koepka TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Jason Kokrak TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Kelly Kraft TPC Matt Kuchar TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Martin Laird TPC Andrew Landry TPC Bernhard Langer MAS, OPEN Nate Lashley TPC, MAS, PGA Paul Lawrie OPEN Danny Lee TPC K.H. Lee TPC Marc Leishman TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Hao Tong Li OPEN, SJI Yuxin Lin MAS, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in each) Luke List TPC, PGA Zander Lombard MEX Adam Long TPC Davis Love III PGA Shane Lowry TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Sandy Lyle MAS Robert MacIntyre OPEN Peter Malnati TPC Hideki Matsuyama TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Denny McCarthy TPC Graeme McDowell TPC, US Rory McIlroy TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Troy Merritt TPC Shaun Micheel PGA Lukas Michel MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in each) Phil Mickelson TPC, MAS, PGA, OPEN Keith Mitchell TPC Larry Mize MAS Francesco Molinari TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Ryan Moore TPC Collin Morikawa TPC, PGA Sebastian Muñoz TPC, MAS, PGA Kevin Na TPC, MAS, PGA, SJI Joaquin Niemann TPC, MAS, PGA, SJI Alex Noren PGA* Andy Ogletree MAS, US, OPEN (must remain an amateur to compete in the Masters and The Open Championship) José Maria Olazábal MAS Thorbjørn Olesen PGA* Louis Oosthuizen TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Carlos Ortiz TPC Ryan Palmer TPC C.T. Pan TPC, MAS, OPEN, SJI Pat Perez TPC Victor Perez SJI Scott Piercy TPC J.T. Poston TPC, MAS, PGA, SJI Ian Poulter TPC, MAS, PGA* Andrew Putnam TPC Jon Rahm TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX Chez Reavie TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX Patrick Reed TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Patrick Rodgers TPC Justin Rose TPC, MAS, PGA*, US, OPEN, MEX Sam Ryder TPC Rory Sabbatini TPC Xander Schauffele TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Scottie Scheffler TPC Adam Schenk TPC Charl Schwartzel MAS Adam Scott TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Webb Simpson TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Vijay Singh MAS, PGA Roger Sloan TPC Cameron Smith TPC, OPEN, SJI Brandt Snedeker TPC, MAS, US, OPEN, MEX Sebastian Soderberg SJI J.J. Spaun TPC Jordan Spieth TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Scott Stallings TPC Kyle Stanley TPC Henrik Stenson TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Sepp Straka TPC Kevin Streelman TPC Steve Stricker US Chris Stroud TPC Brian Stuard TPC James Sugrue MAS, US (must remain an amateur to compete in each) Preston Summerhays US (must remain an amateur to compete) Ken Tanigawa PGA Nick Taylor TPC Vaughn Taylor TPC Justin Thomas TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX, SJI Michael Thompson TPC Cameron Tringale TPC Kevin Tway TPC Erik van Rooyen PGA Harold Varner III TPC Jhonattan Vegas TPC Jimmy Walker TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Matt Wallace MAS, PGA Nick Watney TPC Bubba Watson TPC, MAS, PGA* Mike Weir MAS Lee Westwood MAS, OPEN Bernd Wiesberger SJI Danny Willett TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, SJI Aaron Wise TPC Matthew Wolff TPC, MAS, PGA Gary Woodland TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN, MEX Tiger Woods TPC, MAS, PGA, US, OPEN Y.E. Yang PGA REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.
MASTERS (MAS) @ Augusta National Golf Club – April 9-12
• Winners of PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation for THE TOUR Championship through the week before the Masters.
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (Dec. 31).
• Winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 19).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (March 30).
• Special invitations to international players per Masters Tournament Committee as its discretion.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (PGA) @ TPC Harding Park – May 14-17
• Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before the 2020 PGA Championship.
• Top 20 from PGA Professional National Championship (April 29).
• Top 70 from special money list (i.e. "PGA Championship Points") on PGA TOUR from 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson through 2020 Wells Fargo Championship (May 3).
• *All 2018 Ryder Cup members, provided they are inside Top 100 of Official World Golf Ranking (May 3).
• Special exemptions per PGA of America. (This will likely include all golfers inside Top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking on May 3.)
• If necessary to compete the field of 156, golfers outside Top 70 from special money list (three lines above) will gain entry in order of position.
U.S. OPEN (US) @ Winged Foot Golf Club – June 18-21
• Winners of multiple PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation since the 2019 U.S. Open.
• Winner of THE PLAYERS (March 15).
• Winner of the Masters (April 12).
• Winner of the PGA Championship (May 17).
• Top 60 from Official World Golf Ranking (May 18).
• Sectional qualifying (late May-early June).
• Top 60 from Official World Golf Ranking (June 15).
• Special exemptions per the USGA.
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (OPEN) @ Royal St. George's Golf Club – July 16-19
• Winner of the Japan Open (Oct. 20).
• All members of both 2019 Presidents Cup teams. Captain's picks announced the week of Nov. 4.
• Winner of the VISA Open de Argentina (Nov. 17).
• Top 30 from Race to Dubai (Nov. 24).
• Top 2 on 2019 Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit (Dec. 8).
• Top 4, not otherwise exempt, inside top 12 from an Asian Tour event (TBD).
• Money leader on the 2019 Asian Tour (Dec. 15).
• Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside top 10 at an Australasian Tour event (TBD).
• Money leader on the 2019 Australasian Tour (Dec. 22).
• Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside top 10 at a Sunshine Tour event (TBD).
• Money leader on the 2019-20 Sunshine Tour (TBD).
• Winner of THE PLAYERS (March 15).
• Winner of the Masters (April 12).
• Winner of the PGA Championship (May 17).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (TBD).
• Winner of British Amateur, if still an amateur (June 20).
• Winner of U.S. Open (June 21).
• Winner of the European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 27).
• Top 5 and ties, not otherwise exempt, inside Top 20 in FedExCup points thru a PGA TOUR event in 2020 (TBD).
• Top 5 and ties, not otherwise exempt, inside Top 20 in Race to Dubai thru a European Tour event in 2020 (TBD).
• Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside top 10 and ties from European Tour events in 2020 (TBD).
• Leading players from PGA TOUR events in 2020 (TBD).
• Top 2, not otherwise exempt, inside top 8 and ties from a Korean Tour event to be determined (TBD).
• Top 4, not otherwise exempt, inside top 12 and ties from a Japan Golf Tour event to be determined (TBD).
• Top 2, not otherwise exempt, from Order of Merit on Japan Golf Tour ending with Japan Golf Tour Championship (TBD).
• Local Final Qualifying (TBD).
WGC-MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP (MEX) @ Club de Golf Chapultepec - February 20-23
• Top 20 from Race to Dubai (Nov. 24).
• Top 2 on Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit, not otherwise exempt (Dec. 8).
• Top 2 on Asian Tour Order of Merit (Dec. 15).
• Top 2 on Australasian Tour Order of Merit, not otherwise exempt (Dec. 22).
• Top 10 from Race to Dubai (Feb. 10).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (Feb. 10).
• Highest-ranked golfer from Mexico in the Official World Golf Ranking. If already eligible, the second-highest-ranked inside the Top 300 of the OWGR (Feb. 10).
• Top 10 in FedExCup Points (Feb. 17).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (Feb. 17).
• If necessary to complete the field of 72, golfers outside the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking on Feb. 17 will gain entry in order of position.
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (TPC) @ TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) - March 12-15
• Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before THE PLAYERS.
• Top 10 in FedExCup Points (March 2).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (March 2).
• If necessary to complete the field of 144, golfers outside the Top 10 in FedExCup Points on March 2 will gain entry in order of position.
WGC-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY (MP) @ Austin Country Club - March 25-29
• Top 64 inside Top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking (March 16).
WGC-FEDEX ST. JUDE INVITATIONAL (SJI) @ TPC Southwind - July 2-5
• All members of both 2019 Presidents Cup teams. Captain's picks announced the week of Nov. 4.
• Winner of the Indonesian Masters (Dec. 15).
• Winner of Australian PGA Championship (Dec. 22).
• Winner of Dimension Data Pro-Am (TBD).
• Winner of 2020 Japan Golf Tour Championship (TBD).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (June 22).
• Top 50 from Official World Golf Ranking (June 29).
• Winners of official tournaments from the Federation Tours with an Official World Golf Ranking strength-of-field rating of 115 points or more.
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