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6 opens get automatic Master, Open Championship berths, but not Korea's

Published: 28 Aug. 2025, 14:11

The Open's list of countries that will receive automatic berths for next year's championship [THE OPEN]

The winners of six national golf open tournaments — the Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open — will earn automatic berths to the Masters and The Open Championship starting next year.

The Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A said Wednesday in a joint statement that the decision to grant major invitations to winners of these historic national tournaments was intended to “open doors for players around the world, raise the profile of golf in each region and enhance the quality of the championships.”

The Korea Open, however, was not included on the list — despite Korea being home to the world’s third-largest golf market and producing a steady stream of top-tier golfers. Golf enthusiasm and consumer spending in Korea are considered among the highest globally.

While the Japan Open, founded in 1927, boasts a long history, the Hong Kong Open, which started in 1959, is actually younger than the Korea Open, which began in 1958. Korea's market size and golfing population are significantly larger than Hong Kong’s — by more than 50 times — and Korean broadcasters also pay far higher fees for major tournament rights.

The decision appears aimed at appealing to the Japanese and Chinese markets, but Korea's exclusion has raised eyebrows. China, in contrast to Korea, has historically associated golf with corruption, once dubbing the sport "green opium."

Including screen golf, Korea has over six million golfers — more than Japan’s 5.5 million and far surpassing Hong Kong’s 100,000. Korea also outnumbers the combined golfing populations of Scotland with 400,000, Spain with 300,000 and others on the list.

Some critics are calling the omission a diplomatic failure by the Korea Golf Association (KGA). “You have to wonder if the KGA even knew this was happening,” said a source familiar with the matter.

The Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) has also come under scrutiny. Given that the selected tournaments are leading national titles from the Asian Tour for Hong Kong, Japan Tour, Sunshine Tour for South Africa, Australian Tour and European Tour, the KPGA's Korean Tour appears to lack international recognition.

Until last year, The Open distributed one to three qualifying berths through 11 global tournaments, including the Korea Open. Korea received two spots through 2023 but saw its allocation reduced to one this year. The qualifying series schedule for 2026 will be announced in September.

Meanwhile, both organizations confirmed they will discontinue invitations for winners of PGA Tour fall series events, which are considered to be of relatively lower competitiveness.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SUNG HO-JUN [[email protected]]