Ewen Ferguson bets on himself, joins 4 DP World Tour pros into The Open
Ewen Ferguson’s BMW International Open victory on Sunday in Munich came with something extra special: an exemption into The Open, to be held in two weeks at Royal Troon.
Ferguson, who finished two shots clear of Jordan Smith and David Micheluzzi, jumped 45 spots in the updated Race to Dubai standings, to No. 16, which 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 actually made a big decision this week," Ferguson said. "I played really well the last two weeks at KLM and Italian Open, and I was supposed to be flying on Sunday night to play in Open Qualifying on Tuesday in Scotland. But after I got done on Sunday, I was like, 'You know what? I think I'm playing well, maybe I can just play in myself.' I didn't want to tire myself out. I felt like I could maybe win this week or maybe finish in the top ten in Scotland and get my own spot that way with just good golf.
"So we decided to pull out of Open Qualifying and it's obviously a really good decision. It kept me fresh and I'm here with the trophy."
Joining Ferguson in receiving Open invites were Jesper Svensson (fifth in R2D), 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 on LIV Golf and played in each of the league’s first two tournaments this year.
With the addition of these five DPWT players, The Open field is now at 154 players. Two spots are up for grabs Sunday at the John Deere Classic while three more are available at next week’s co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open.
