Regional qualifying for the 152nd Open at Royal Troon happened on Monday across 15 UK venues.
There were 100 spots available for the final qualifying round on July 2, and some well-known players made it through, including Robert Rock.
Rock, who retired from professional golf 18 months ago, surprised everyone by making it to the US Open final qualifying in May. He played well in Pinehurst No.2 Major’s opening round with a level par of 70 but didn’t make the cut eventually. Now he has another chance to play in a Major tournament after scoring three-under 67 at Kedleston Park, placing him T3.
Jack Floydd also kept his hopes alive by finishing T3 at five under at Bearwood Lakes. He previously reached the 150th Open at St Andrews through final qualifying and aims to do it again this year.
Sam Forgan is another Englishman aiming for The Open. After playing in the Major back in 2021 and considering retirement afterward, he now has another shot after making it through five playoff holes at Frilford Heath .
More Players Making Headlines:
Jonathan Thomson finished T53 in the 2021 Open with a memorable hole-in-one. He scored two-under 68 at Kedleston Park to keep his chances alive for another appearance.
Justin Harding from South Africa also progressed with a six-under finish at Moor Park. He’s hoping for his sixth appearance at The Open.
However, not everyone had a great day. YouTube star Rick Shiels scored an 81 and finished T87 at Caldy, missing out on qualification.
Fans might feel mixed emotions about these results; some favorites didn’t make it while others shined unexpectedly .
Peter Finch and Matt Fryer were other notable YouTubers competing but didn’t qualify either. Finch ended up T95 with a score of twelve-over-83, expressing his disappointment on Instagram as “gutted.” Fryer did slightly better with six over-77 but still missed out despite hitting a hole-in-one on the second hole!
Paul Dunne also fell short this time around; he finished one-under at County Louth but couldn’t secure a spot for final qualifying despite past successes like leading after three rounds in the 2015 tournament .
Final qualifying will be held on July 2nd across four locations: Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, and West Lancashire. Big names like Sergio Garcia are expected to compete for one of the minimum sixteen places available in The Major event .
What do you think about these results? Do you have any favorites you’re rooting for?
