The route for Scottish golfers to join Bob MacIntyre - Paul Lawrie is also among the current exemptions but is unlikely to play - in the field for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in July has been mapped out by The R&A. The headline news, of course, in Monday’s announcement about the Claret Jug event was that a new exemption has been added to the list that will see one player secure a spot directly through this season’s LIV Golf standings. A similar announcement was made last week by the USGA for this year’s US Open at Oakmont and, given that the two governing bodies normally work closely together, it seemed inevitable that The R&A would follow suit. Has The R&A’s stance on LIV Golf changed since Mark Darbon took over from Martin Slumbers as the CEO at the end of last year? Slightly perhaps but, at the same time, the process that was already in place for The Open led to 18 LIV Golf players - six more than then US Open - teeing up in last year’s Open at Royal Troon. What seems abundantly clear, though, from the moves made by the two governing bodies is that LIV Golf, especially now with a new CEO Scott O’Neil at the helm, is here to stay no matter what eventually comes out of these ongoing talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Lawrie, of course, is on the list of exemptions as a former champion but hasn’t played in the event since 2022 due to the fact he no longer feels he can compete against the young guns and would rather a spot went to someone else. MacIntyre, meanwhile, fulfilled two categories, firstly through finishing in the top 30 in last year’s FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour then also by ending up in the top 25 in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai. The Genesis Scottish Open champion will be licking his lips about heading back to Royal Portrush because, after all, that’s where he gave everyone a glimpse of what was to come from him when finishing joint-sixth behind Shane Lowry on his major debut in 2019. So how will other Scots be looking to secure spots in the final major of the 2025 campaign? Well, the best opportunity for DP World Tour players will be either through the Italian Open or Genesis Scottish Open - two spots will be up for grabs in the former and three in the latter - while, in addition to that, the top five not otherwise exempt in the top 20 in the Race to Dubai Rankings on the completion of the BMW International Open on 6 July will be heading to County Antrim as well. Then, of course, there is the old-fashioned route of coming through Regional and Final Qualifying, with two Scottish courses - Craigielaw and Kilmarnock (Barassie) - set to stage Regional Qualifiers on this occasion. A total of 15 one-round shoot-outs will take place around UK and Ireland on 23 June, with the players successful in those then progressing to Final Qualifying over 36 holes at Dundonald Links, Burnham & Berrow, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire on 1 July. For amateurs, other routes are through the Amateur Championship, European Amateur Championship and by winning The Open Amateur Series, which Nairn’s Calum Scott did last year before going on to claim the Silver Medal as leading amateur at Royal Troon. The first event in this year’s Open Qualifying Series has already taken place in Australia and, with others to come in New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Macau, Korea and Japan, there can certainly be no denying that The R&A is ticking its box in trying to “offer a wide range of opportunities globally”.