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Among the few missing will be Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus was criticised in the British press for saying he would only go to St. Andrews this year if his sponsor, Royal Bank of Scotland, wanted him there for a corporate function.
RBS doesn't have any plans for Nicklaus, and Nicklaus doesn't have any plans to play.
But it's not the money or the hassle. Nicklaus said he simply doesn't want to tarnish the warm feelings he had from 2005, when he chose St. Andrews as the final major he played.
"It was my last time being involved in a major. It was perfect," Nicklaus said.
He said he has a contract with RBS to entertain clients at various tournaments, and he told them he really didn't want to return to St. Andrews for the British Open this year. RBC honored his request.
"I go to the Masters, but the Masters is different," Nicklaus said, alluding to the annual tradition of the Champions Dinner, the proximity to his home in south Florida and playing the Par-3 Tournament. "St. Andrews is where I finished by my career. That's got a special feeling and I want to keep that feeling."
Nicklaus said he called Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson a few weeks ago to let him know he wasn't coming, and why.
"He said, 'I suspect that's the reason. I honour that, respect that and I'll support that,"' Nicklaus said.
