Steve Stricker, Brian Gay, and Russell Henley, and Korea’s Seung-Yul Noh have qualified for next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon after high finishes at the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee.
The PGA Tour event was the sixth tournament in the Open Qualifying Series, which gives players the opportunity to qualify for the season’s third major without having to travel to the UK.
Stricker carded a final round 67 to finish in joint second with Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. The 49-year-old former Ryder Cup player picked up three birdies on the back nine to reach 10-under-par for the tournament, three shots behind winner Daniel Berger, who maintained his overnight lead to win his first PGA Tour event. Berger has already qualified for the Open after finishing in the top 30 leading qualifiers for the Tour Championship in 2015.
A final round 66 from Gay (pictured) propelled the 2009 FedEx St Jude Classic winner into sixth place on 8-under-par and he qualified for The Open for a fourth time, having played in 2001, 2009 and 2010.
A birdie on the 16th hole secured Henley’s place, the two-time winner finishing tied for seventh place on seven-under-par with Noh, who recovered from a double bogey on the 12th to pick up two shots in the final three holes to secure his place in the field at Royal Troon.
Stricker, who has played less than 20 tour events over the past two years, said: “It was fun getting in the mix again. I was a little bit nervous, but I handled it well and enjoyed the moment. I played well today and hit a lot of good shots. All in all, a really good week and I’m excited about how I played.”
Speaking about his return to the Open, Henley added: “The Open Qualifying Series is a good idea. You want guys who are playing well leading up to the tournament. A couple of years back you would have the guys that would qualify, which was good, but I think you want the guys that are playing well recently which makes for the best field. I’m a big fan of it and it’s definitely been something to play for. It’s exciting. My first three years on Tour I think I missed one WGC event and I was in all the majors, this year I wasn’t in the Masters or in the US Open, so I’m going the other direction and it’s nice to get into The Open.”