Former Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett both failed to earn a spot at The 154th Open through Final Qualifying, as YouTube sensation Wesley Bryan also narrowly missed out.
A total of 20 major invites were up for grabs across the one-day event, played over 36 holes and split across four UK venues – Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire.
The top five players at each site will now feature at The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale from July 16-19, live on Sky Sports, where Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion and Rory McIlroy will be among those looking to win the Claret Jug.
Kazuma Kobori, Sam Bairstow, Tiger Christensen and Matthew Jordan were among the players to earn major spots
Two-time Open runner-up Garcia finished seven strokes outside of the qualification spots at West Lancashire, having blamed lunchtime lasagne for following an opening-round 68 with a three-over 75.
“I had a little bit of food there in the players’ lounge and it did not sit well with me,” Garcia told reporters. “I only ate the lasagne and I just felt nauseous the whole front nine. In the afternoon, I felt like I was going to vomit pretty much on every hole.”
Willett was three strokes better than Garcia but still fell short after rounds of 71 and 69, while five-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace also missed out after withdrawing during his second round.
Sam Bairstow topped the leaderboard at West Lancashire on 10 under, ahead of Kazuma Kobori, Jose Luis Ballester and Germany’s Tiger Christensen, named after Tiger Woods, while Matthew Jordan claimed the final spot following a birdie on the second extra play-off hole.
Wesley Bryan, the former PGA Tour player turned YouTube sensation as one half of ‘Bryan Bros Golf’, missed a seven-foot par putt on his 36th hole that would have seen him join the play-off for the fifth and final spot at West Lancashire.
The closing bogey saw him finish tied-sixth at seven under, with his brother George Bryan on two under, while James Nicholas – a Korn Ferry Tour player with a large social media following – topped the standings at Burnham & Berrow.
LIV Golf’s Caleb Surratt – part of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton’s team – was among the qualifiers at the same venue, as Marc Leishman failed to qualify. Royal Birkdale member Matt Baldwin was among the qualifiers at Dundonald Links.
Three-time DP World Tour winner Antoine Rozner and LIV Golf’s Peter Uihlein both progressed at Royal Cinque Ports, where Matt Southgate came through Final Qualifying for a sixth time as Luke Poulter – son of Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter – fell short after rounds of 75 and 71.
Final Qualifying: Who progressed to The Open?
Burnham & Berrow Golf Club: James Nicholas (-10), Caleb Surratt (-9), Austen Truslow (-8), Tom Sloman (-8), Alejandro de Castro Piera (-8)
Dundonald Links (Ayrshire, Scotland): Jack McDonald (-5), Matt Baldwin (-4), David Howard (-4), Marcus Plunkett (-3), Nevill Ruiter (-3)
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club (Deal, England): Baard Skogen (-12), MJ Daffue (-12), Matthew Southgate (-10), Peter Uihlein (-9), Antoine Rozner (-8)
West Lancashire Golf Club: Sam Bairstow (-10), Kazuma Kobori (-9), Tiger Christensen (-9), Josele Ballester (-9), Matthew Jordan (second play-off hole)
When is The Open live on Sky Sports?
Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with over 75 hours of live coverage from across the seven days of tournament week at Royal Birkdale.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from the final round of The Open from Royal Portrush, where Scottie Scheffler clamed an impressive win
Live coverage begins at 9am for each of the three practice days, before wall-to-wall action from the final men’s major of the year gets under way at 6.30am on Thursday July 16 on Sky Sports Golf.
There will be at least 15 hours of action on both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App, with extended coverage then starting at 9am on Saturday July 18 and 8am on Sunday July 19.
Who will win The 154th Open? Watch exclusively live from July 16-19 on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
