AMENDMENTS MADE TO ENTRY

CRITERIA AHEAD OF

2010 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
November 16, 2009, St Andrews: 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 July 11-18, 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.

Watson and Norman have influenced R&A's rethink

FROM THE GUARDIAN.CO.UK WEBSITE
Tom Watson, who was 59 at last year's Open, came within a shot of being the oldest winner of a major by 11 years.
Now, thanks to the R&A changing their championship criteria, Watson will be able to go on playing in the Open beyond next year's championship at St Andrews.
The American was one putt away from lifting a record-equalling sixth Claret Jug at Turnberry in July – and at 59 would have been the oldest major winner of all time by a staggering 11 years.
Now 60, Watson would have lost his past champions' exemption next summer under the old rules, but the Royal & Ancient Club has responded not just to his performance, but also that of 54-year-old Greg Norman, who at Birkdale last year led with nine holes to play before eventually finishing third.
A new entry category has been introduced for the 2010 Open which exempts from qualifying any past champion who finished in the top 10 and ties in any of the previous five Opens, thus effectively providing them with a five-year exemption.
"We have introduced this 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, the R&A chief executive.
"We rightly reduced the age of exemption for past champions from 65 to 60 in 2007 and our intention was never to remove players still at the top of their game from competing in the Open."
Watson needed to par the last hole in July, but went just over the green, putted nine feet past and missed the return.
The bogey sent him into a four-hole play-off with his compatriot Stewart Cink, who won it comfortably by six strokes.
The drama came on the same course where Watson beat Jack Nicklaus for the second of his five titles in 1977.