<Li> 2008: Exemption for previous Open champions restricted to those aged 60 or under (with transitional arrangement for those born between 1942 and 1948) </Li> <Li> 2014: Open Qualifying Series introduced replacing International Final Qualifying </Li> <P> In Britain, the tournament is best known by its official title, The Open Championship, or simply the Open . Outside of the United Kingdom, the tournament is often referred to as the "British Open" to disambiguate the tournament from other national open golf tournaments, such as the U.S. Open . Likewise, the Masters and PGA Championship are often referred to as the "U.S. Masters" and "U.S. PGA Championship" outside of the United States, the latter being distinguished in the UK from the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship . In recent years, the R&A has worked to discourage media outlets from referring to the event as the British Open; for instance, the tournament's current television deal with U.S. network NBC contractually forbids the broadcaster from doing so . NBC presenter Johnny Miller admitted that during their first year as broadcaster, he sometimes had to correct himself on - air after accidentally referring to the event as the British Open . The Open's women's counterpart, however, is officially titled the Women's British Open . </P> <P> Some U.S. critics have argued that the insistence of referring to the tournament as "The Open" expresses an opinion of exceptionalism for the event by the R&A in comparison to other open golf tournaments, albeit one that is justified due to its history . Alastair Johnston of IMG, who markets the tournament and its media rights internationally, remarked that negotiations in some regions had been complicated by local executives who did not believe it was appropriate to refer to the event as simply "The Open Championship". </P>

When did the british open become the open
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