Palmer, Norman Join British Open Field

Two-time winner Arnold Palmer and defending champion Greg Norman are among the 1,407 golfers entered for the 116th British Open Golf Championship.

Eighty-seven players players are exempt from qualifying for the the July 16-19 event at Muirfield, Scotland, including Palmer, Norman and seven other former winners--Seve Ballesteros of Spain, Sandy Lyle of Britain, Gary Player of South Africa, Jack Nicklaus, Bill Rogers, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.

“The quality of the international entry is exceptional,” said Michael Bonallack, the secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. “It is the strongest ever assembled for an Open championship.”

Bonallack said 18 of the world’s top-20 players are included in the field, the second-largest field in the tournament’s history. Only the 1,413 players entered for the Open at St. Andrews three years ago top this year’s field, Bonallack said.

The 57-year-old Palmer, who won the 1961 and 1962 British Open, last played the British Open in 1984. He played at Muirfield in 1980, the last time the Open was held there.

Seven qualifying tournaments, plus the British Amateur Championship and the U.S. Open Championship, will be used to fill the field with the 87 automatic qualifiers.