Ewen Ferguson won the BMW International Open in Munich on Sunday, bringing with him a special gift: a spot in the British Open at Royal Troon in two weeks.
Ferguson moved up 45 spots to 16th in the latest Race to Dubai standings, two shots ahead of Jordan Smith and David Micheluzin, earning him the fifth and final Open invitation for top players to compete in the DP World Tour points event.
According to the Open’s exemption criteria, Category 8 offers entry to “Competition to Dubai members who finish in the top 20 of the Competition to Dubai standings and tied for fifth place (not exempt) after the 2024 BMW International Open.”
“I actually had a big decision to make this week,” Ferguson said. “I played really well the last two weeks at the KLM and Italian Opens, and I was supposed to fly to Scotland on Sunday night to play in the Open qualifiers on Tuesday. But after Sunday’s match, I thought, ‘You know what? I feel like I played pretty well, maybe I can make it myself.’ I didn’t want to tire myself out. I felt like I could probably win this week, or maybe get in the top 10 in Scotland, and just earn my place by playing good golf.
“So we decided to withdraw from the open qualifiers, which was obviously a very good decision. It kept me alive and I'm here with the trophy.”
Ferguson was joined by Jesper Svensson (5th in R2D), Laurie Kant (10th), Nacho Elvira (11th) and Matteo Manassero (15th) in the Open. Adrian Otaegui (17th), who failed to qualify in Germany, was bumped out by Ferguson.
Kanter was a reserve for LIV Golf and played in the league’s first two games this year.
With the addition of the five DPWT players, the Open field now stands at 154. Two spots will be available at the John Deere Classic on Sunday and three spots will be available at the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open next week.
