Despite no bans, LIV Golf stars Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz lost qualifications for the Open Championship: Reports

LIV Golf stars Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz, two of the most recent to defect from the PGA Tour, have lost their spot in the Open Championship this year.

This has nothing to do with their status in LIV Golf, as the Open decided not to bar them from competing. They followed in the footsteps of the Masters and the U.S. Open, both of whom also refused to ban LIV players simply for being on LIV.

Most of the qualifications stayed the same, but two exemptions have been removed from the qualifications. The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams exemption was removed. The Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup exemption, which isn't being played this year, is also being removed.

It's an unfortunate twist for LIV stars Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz, but PGA Tour players Taylor Pendrith and Cameron Davis are in the same boat now.

Since much of the other available exemptions stem from the OWGR leaderboard, something LIV players cannot move on, they'll have to earn one of the four spots available at the World City Championship held in March. There are also two spots up for grabs at the Korea Open in June.

Martin Slumbers, R&A chief executive, admitted that they might look into changing the qualifications (via Golf Monthly):

"Looking ahead to The Open next year, we have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That's not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open."

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, also said:

“We have created an exciting schedule of events which takes in many regions around the world and provides the chance for golfers to earn a place in The Open at Royal Liverpool."

"We are grateful to our colleagues at the professional tours for their support and look forward to seeing who emerges from each event to book a sought-after place in the Championship this year.”

The Open didn't want to ban LIV Golf players and they haven't. They did change one slight thing, which might end up costing two recent LIV joinees their chance at playing in the major championship.

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Which LIV Golf players can play in the Open Championship?

If Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz fail to capture an alternate way into the Open Championship, they will be two of the few high-profile LIV Golf players not to be eligible.

PIF Saudi International - Day Two

The Open refused to ban LIV players, which means a lot of them will be participating. Here are the golfers who qualified and how they qualified:

• Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen (past champions)
• Cameron Smith (reigning champion)
• Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau (top 10 at St. Andrews last year)
• Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed (major wins since 2018)
• Thomas Pieters, Richard Bland (top 30 in Race to Dubai)
• Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch (top 30 in 2022 FedEx Cup)

It's not an extremely exclusive major, which is why there are so many ways to qualify. Unfortunately, for Pereira and Munoz, those spots have quickly gotten taken.