Four links venues – Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Porthcawl and West Lancashire – will each welcome fields of 72 on Tuesday, with a total of 19 places available across the four courses for The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool later this month
Tuesday 4 July 2023 21:38, UK
Ryder Cup stalwarts, LIV Golf stars, former DP World Tour winners and a golf fans’ favourite are among those set to feature in Final Qualifying for The 151st Open.
The 36-hole event is taking place over four venues across the UK on Tuesday - Dundonald, Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Porthcawl and West Lancashire - with each course offering a minimum of four spots into the final men's major of the year later this month.
An additional place will be allocated to the three venues with the strongest field on offer, taking the total number of available spots to 19, with those who progress then being added to the field for The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool from July 20-23.
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia headlines a strong field at West Lancashire, where the Spaniard - who finished joint-second behind Rory McIlroy when The Open was last at Royal Hoylake in 2014 - looks to avoid missing the major for the first time this century.
Garcia had to also go through qualifying to continue his streak of US Open appearances last month, with the 43-year-old one of at least 12 LIV players involved in Final Qualifying on Tuesday. As many as 21 were listed in the initial field, although many since elected not to feature.
Graeme McDowell is involved at the same venue while fellow LIV players Jason Kokrak and reserve member Andy Ogletree are at West Lancashire, plus Anirban Lahiri and Laurie Canter are listed in the field at Royal Porthcawl.
Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is joined by Stingers GC team-mates Dean Burmester and Branden Grace, who fired the lowest round in Open history with a third-round 62 in 2017, with David Puig, Wade Ormsby and Kieran Vincent also set to be involved at Royal Cinque Ports.
Away from LIV, former Ryder Cup players Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson aim to qualify at West Lancashire, where Matt Wallace - a winner on the PGA Tour this season - and Matt Fitzpatrick's younger brother, Alex Fitzpatrick, are scheduled to play.
Another notable name involved at that course is amateur Matthew McClean, a Northern Irishman who has competed in the Masters and US Open already this year following his success in the 2022 US Mid-Amateur.
Michael Block, the unlikely star of this year's PGA Championship after making a hole-in-one alongside McIlroy on the final day at Oak Hill, features at Dundonald Links and is in the same group as teenage star Ratchanon 'TK' Chantananuwat.
David Howell, a veteran of 14 previous Open appearances, as among the others chasing a major appearance, along with Harry Hall and Thomas Detry. Antoine Rozner and Dale Whitnell - both winners on the DP World Tour this season - are also in the draw.
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director - Championships, said, "We know that there are many golfers aiming to secure a place in The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool and so are pleased to offer more places through Final Qualifying.
"We look forward to seeing who will emerge from the field of competing professional tour players, club professionals and elite amateur golfers to earn a coveted spot in the Championship."
Sky Sports News will be offering updates from Final Qualifying throughout Tuesday, while a full list of players who qualified will be available on the Sky Sports website from Tuesday evening.
The 151st Open then takes place from July 20-23, with exclusive coverage throughout tournament week live on Sky Sports Golf.
