The Open: The race to qualification
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Bryson DeChambeau grabbed the final qualifying spot for the 146th Open at Royal Birkdale with a win at the John Deere Classic.
DeChambeau birdied both the 17th and 18th holes to win his first victory on the PGA Tour by a shot over Patrick Rodgers, with the added bonus of qualifying for the third major of the year.
Callum Shinkwin missed out on victory at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in a play-off against Rafa Cabrera Bello, but he did take one of the three qualifying spots with Andrew Dodt and Matthieu Paven.
Just a week earlier Scottish pair Richie Ramsay and David Drysdale were joined by Australian Ryan Fox as the trio secured their spots at Royal Birkdale after brilliant performances to finish behind Jon Rahm in the Irish Open.
Across the pond, Xander Schauffele’s back-to-back birdie finish for victory at the Greenbrier Classic put him at the top of the list of four qualifiers for The Open, alongside Robert Streb, Jamie Lovemark and Sebastian Munoz.
Ian Poulter had led the way as 15 players made it through final qualifying in various venues on the 4th July, with the Ryder Cup star recording rounds of 70 and 68 at Woburn to gain entry to the thrid major of the year.
No less than seven players had qualified just two days earlier through the Open Qualifying Series at the weekend through the HNA Open de France and the Quicken Loans National, and now there are just four events where remaining players can earn their spots in the field at Royal Birkdale.
Peter Uihlein, Mike Lorenzo Vera and Alexander Björk all booked their spots in the field with high finishes in France, while Tommy Fleetwood clinched victory at the 2018 Ryder Cup Venue.
Kyle Stanley was rewarded with a spot thanks to his win at the Quicken Loans National, and will be joined at Royal Birkdale by Charles Howell III, Martin Laird and Sunghoon Kang.
The Quicken Loans National was the first of three PGA TOUR events which feature in The Open Qualifying Series and four places were available for golf’s most international major championship when it was played at TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm.
Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy have also earned their place thanks to being the highest ranked non-exempt players in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of Week 25.
The Open: Field
