5 top-ranked LIV golfers missing from the Open Championship 2023
The Open Championship 2023 is almost around the corner. The final major of the golf season will see a 156-player field equivalent to the other majors. The tournament is set to be held from July 20-23 at the Royal Liverpool Golf Course.
The field consists of top players across the golf circuit. Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, and Jon Rahm are some of the top golfers to watch out for.
Who are the LIV golfers not participating in The Open Championship 2023?
Previous Open champions under the age of 60 such as Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, David Duval, Paul Lawrie, and Tiger Woods have decided not to enter the 151st edition due to their own reasons.
On that note, here are the five LIV golfers missing from The Open Championship 2023:
#5 Martin Kaymer
Two-time major Championship Martin Kaymer is set to miss the 151st Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. He has only participated in the US Open this season, where he did not manage to make the cut.
#4 Graeme McDowell
Graeme McDowell, the 2010 US Open winner, is set to miss the upcoming Open Championship. Interestingly, he has not participated in any major tournament since 2021.
However, he did try to secure a spot by playing at the Northwood Open Championship qualifying event this year, where he finished tied 12th.
#3 Ian Poulter
Despite not winning any major tournaments in his career, Ian Poulter is one of the most reputed European golfers. He is set to miss The Open Championship for the third time in his career.
Interestingly, he has not qualified for any of the majors this season. He also plays in the LIV Golf league and misses out on valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
Ian Poulter had been a constant participant in The Open Championship. He only missed out on the qualification in 2001 and 2016.
#2 Lee Westwood
Former World No. 1 Lee Westwood is set to miss The Open Championship for the third time in his career. He has missed the tournament twice earlier in 2019 and 2022. He is a prominent face at the tournament since 1995.
The Englishman has had five top-10 finishes in tournament and has been the runner-up once in 2010. The reason behind him missing it is that he did not qualify by any of the 27 criteria and also did not try to compete at any qualifying event due to a clashing schedule with the LIV Golf League.
#1 Sergio Garcia
The third Spaniard to win the Masters Tournament, Sergio Garcia, is set to miss the upcoming major tournament. Interestingly, it will be the first time in 26 years that he will not be participating in the event.
Since Garcia is currently signed to LIV Golf, he has been missing out on getting valuable OWGR points, which is a major reason behind his falling short of eligibility criteria.
However, he did try to get a spot by competing at the West Lancashire qualifier. But, he fell short of three strokes to secure a place in the major tournament.