R&A Gives Tom Watson Five-Year Open Exemption Without Mentioning His Name

Five years for a top ten finish! Looks like Watson can say farewell in 2015 at St. Andrews unless he grabs a top ten in the next five years, which is very possible.

For Immediate Publication

AMENDMENTS MADE TO ENTRY CRITERIA AHEAD OF 2010 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

16 November 2009, St Andrews, Scotland: The R&A has announced changes to the entry criteria ahead of The Open Championship’s 150th Anniversary, to be played at St Andrews from 11 – 18 July 2010.

A new exemption category has been introduced for the 2010 Open. Condition F(4) exempts from qualifying any past Open Champions who finished in the top 10 and ties in any of the previous five Open Championships, thus effectively providing them with a five year exemption into the Championship.
 
“We have introduced this exemption as a direct response to seeing two of our great Open Champions, both in their fifties, challenging to win our championship these last two years,” explained Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A. “We rightly reduced the age of exemption for past champions from 65 to 60 two years ago and our intention was never to remove players still at the top of their game from competing in The Open.”

Competitors at The Open Championship; International Final Qualifying - Australasia, Asia, America and Europe; and at Local Final Qualifying will be subject to the new clubface groove regulations as per Decision 4-1/1 of Decisions on the Rules of Golf.

Comments

[smails]

so Norman gets the exemption as well, no?

[RM]

Sounds good to me.

[Mark Holthoff]

Though I'm as big a fan as anyone, I wouldn't wager on old Tom getting another top 10. I think this was it.

[FWIW]

Norman doesn't really get any kind of extension. He was 53 when he contended at Brkdale and he already has an exemption to 60. I'm assuming the five-year exemption starts immediately after your most recent top 10. And Watson wouldn;t make it as far as 2015 on this one, if my math and understanding of this change is correct. He'll get to play through 2014, the site to be determined. Here's hoping it is Carnoustie, where he won his first.

[Farmingdale]

What a pleasant development...

[Hawkeye]

I'm just wondering if Watson set an all-time Tour record this year as oldest player to finish in the Top 125 on the money list - 114th at age 60! Or did Snead better him back in the 70's? Does anybody know?

[Sir Real]

The best call by the R&A in years. If you can contend...play away! Five years may be a bit long though...three would have been fairer to the field. If ya still got it, you'll top ten again by then.