Australian Deyen Lawson earned a place in the starting line up for next month’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s after finishing top of the leaderboard at Prince’s Golf Club in Kent, on what was a day of high drama at the four Final Qualifying host venues for the season’s final major.
Lawson, who goes by the nickname ‘Digger’, followed up a two-under-par 70 that mixed six birdies and four bogeys with a second round 71 to finish on three-under-par. He finished one shot clear of English pairing Sam Forgan and Connor Worsdall, who secured the two remaining qualifying places available at the Kent links, which is only a pitching wedge from where The Open will be played next month.
Worsdall, who is attached to The Essex Golf & Country Club, only turned pro four years ago, got off to a flying start in round one with a five-under-par 67 that included six birdies, but found the going tough in the afternoon with the Colchester-based player making six bogeys during a three-over-par 75.
Forgan, who finished first in his Regional Qualifying event held at Prince’s last weekend, was level-par after the first round and started the second round convincingly with three birdies on the bounce early on. However, a double-bogey six on his 16th hole led to a nervy finish with two vital pars in the closing holes securing the Felixstowe Ferry player a major championship debut next month.
Up in Lancashire, Ben Hutchinson led the field at St Annes Old Links, carding rounds of 66 and 65 to finish top of the standings on a 13-under-par and qualify for The Open for the first time in his career.
The 25-year-old from Leeds plays out of Howley Hall and has competed on the Challenge Tour and the MENA Tour. His run of three birdies in the closing holes of the second round proved crucial in securing his place at Royal St George’s.
Joining him will be amateur Sam Bairstow, who fired nine birdies in an outstanding bogey-free 63 to set a new course record in the opening round. Three birdies either side of the turn, including two back-to-back in the closing holes, ensured that the Englishman signed off for a second round 69 and a 12-under-par total. Winner of the North of England Open Amateur Championship and Hampshire Salver in 2019, and a quarter-finalist at last month’s Amateur Championship, Bairstow will make his Open debut when he tees it up on the Kent coast.
Seven-time European Tour winner Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño was also in sizzling scoring form during the first round which saw him roll in seven birdies and an eagle on the way to an eight-under 64. A bogey-free 68 in the second round ensured the Spaniard claimed the final qualifying place on the same mark as Bairstow to reach The Open for the first time since 2014 when he played at Royal Liverpool. It will be his seventh appearance in the Championship with his best finish of tied 47th coming at Turnberry in 2009.
Daniel Hillier led the qualifiers at Hollinwell in Nottinghamshire after clinching a birdie on the final hole to edge out local member Jonathan Thomson on a 11-under-par total.
The New Zealander started the event in ominous form with an eight-under-par 64, which tied the course record, and included a remarkable run of five birdies from the 13th in among a total of ten for the round. A three-under 69 ensured Hillier qualified for The Open and he will make his second appearance in a major championship after the US Open.
Thomson delighted the small band of members following his progress and he pressed home advantage to seal the second qualifying place on 10-under. The Englishman will also debut at The Open after rounds of 69 and 65 on his home patch. Richard Mansell finished one shot further back on nine-under-par to also secure a first ever Open appearance.
Nicholas Poppleton was the leading qualifier at West Lancashire on a 10-under total of 134 and he will take his place in The Open for the first time. The Englishman opened with two birdies in the first round and picked up further shots on 5 and 9 before the turn. Four additional birdies at 10, 11, 13 and 14 led to an opening seven-under-par 65, before he followed up with a second round 69, which included five birdies.
Three shots further back was South African Louis De Jager who secured the second qualifying place on a seven-under-par total of 137. The 34-year-old, who counts five wins on the Sunshine Tour in his career so far, will also make his Open debut after rounds of 67 and 70 on England’s golf coast.
The final spot was clinched by PGA Professional Daniel Croft, who finished one shot further back on six under. The Englishman played steady golf in the first round, carding three birdies in a two-under-par round of 70, before stepping it up in the second round with six birdies, including three-in-a-row from the 5th hole on the way to a 68.