Nov. 30, 2011

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The Royal and Ancient Club announced Wednesday that UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay will receive an exemption into the 2012 British Open at Royal Lytham in July.

Golf's international ruling body announced a change in its exemptions policy that will allow Cantlay to play in the Open Championship by virtue of his world No. 1 ranking and his acceptance of the McCormack Medal. The World Golf Amateur Rankings (WGAR) currently ranks more than 6,000 amateur players in 125 countries.

"I'm very grateful the R&A has extended me an invitation to play in the British Open at Royal Lytham," Cantlay said. "I'm very much looking forward to participating. I think the new exemption given to the McCormack Medal winner is great for amateur golf and I'm very appreciative to be the first recipient of this exemption."

Cantlay rose to prominence this summer by finishing in the Top 25 in four professional events, including a T21 as the low amateur at the U.S. Open. He also fired a 60 (-10), the lowest round by an amateur in a professional event, at the Travelers Championship in June near Philadelphia. At the U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills in August, Cantlay advanced to the finals of match play competition, a result that earned him a trip to the 2012 Masters Tournament.

As a freshman last season, Cantlay won three tournaments outright and tied for first in another to set a UCLA freshman record. He was voted the Pac-10 Freshman and Golfer of the Year and earned consensus first-team All-America honors. In addition, he won the Nicklaus Award (Division I POY), the Mickeleson Award (Freshman POY) and the Fred Haskins Award as the nation's top collegiate golfer. For the year, he set the UCLA scoring record at 70.5 after playing 37 rounds in 30-under par.