WHICH TWENTY PLAYERS SECURED PLACES AT THE OPEN

Dean Burmester was the pick of the qualifiers as twenty players earned their place in The 153^rd Open at Royal Portrush through Final Qualifying.
 
The 153rd Open will be played at Royal Portrush from 13-20 July 2025.. Five places in The Open were available at each venue.

BURNHAM & BERROW

Justin Walters will make his first appearance in The Open since 2014. The South African, who lost his DP World Tour card in 2023, finished in first place at Burnham & Berrow with a nine-under-par total. Walters, who was visibly emotional afterwards, carded two rounds of 65 and 68 to secure his place in the field at Royal Portrush.

The 2024 Amateur Champion Jacob Skov-Olesen secured a swift return to The Open after finishing tied for second on eight-under-par to book his place in golf’s original championship once again.

Finishing alongside Skov-Olesen, Harry Hall maintained the fine form that has marked him out on the PGA Tour this season, posting a pair of composed 67s to seal his debut Open appearance. The Cornwall native delighted spectators with three consecutive birdies early in his second round to book his place at Royal Portrush.

Amateur Fraser Jones produced a remarkable late surge to claim fourth place at seven-under-par. With his father on the bag, the 19-year-old thrilled the hardy spectators who stayed until dusk, playing the closing holes in five-under-par to make his Open dreams come true.

The final qualifying spot went to OJ Farrell, whose six-under-par total from the early finishers proved enough to secure the Englishman a maiden appearance in a major championship.

DUNDONALD

Former world number one Lee Westwood was the leading qualifier at Dundonald Links to secure his 28th appearance in The Open at Royal Portrush. The 52-year-old Englishman was at two-under-par after his morning round and, starting his second round on the 10th, moved up a gear after the turn with four birdies in six holes from the 2nd (his 11th) to finish on a seven-under-par total of 137.

Playing partners Angel Hidalgo and Daniel Young finished one shot further back to secure their places in the Championship. Hidalgo, who won his first event on the DP World Tour at the Acciona Open De Espana last year, came through Final Qualifying at Dundonald for the second consecutive year while Young bounced back from the disappointment of missing out last year to follow him and make his Open debut at Portrush.

Sweden’s Jesper Sandborg will make his major championship debut at The Open after birdieing the last (the 9th for him) to finish on five-under-par.

Walker Cup player Connor Graham finished on four-under-par and had an agonising wait to learn whether it would be enough to qualify before compatriot Paul O’Hara finished on the same mark. The former R&A Junior Open champion showed his poise to win the first extra-hole by nervelessly rolling in an eight foot birdie putt to secure his Open berth.

Lee Westwood said:

“The first time I played in The Open was in 1995 when I qualified at Leven and I thought it would be great to come back here and try to qualify for another one at Royal Portrush. It’s a fantastic golf course and I played well there the last time, I finished fourth in 2019, so that was another reason to come and play. The Open Championship is the greatest tournament in the golfing calendar.”

ROYAL CINQUE PORTS

South Africa’s Dean Burmester claimed the first qualifying place at Royal Cinque Ports with a 70 in the morning followed by a course record equalling 64 in the afternoon. With a ten-under-par total of 134, Burmester will compete in The Open for a fourth time.

Englishmen Nathan Kimsey and Curtis Knipes finished in a tie for second on six-under-par. While Kimsey will make his major championship debut this month, Knipes returns to Royal Portrush for a second time after he qualified for The 148th Open in 2019 and was the youngest player in the field.

English amateur Sebastian Cave earned his place in The Open thanks to rounds of 67 and 72 while John Axelsen of Denmark finished a shot further back on four-under-par to claim the final qualifying place.

Notable players who missed out on qualifying included 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell, Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter and Spain’s David Puig, who set the Royal Cinque Ports course record at 64 in the morning round.

WEST LANCASHIRE

Lucas Herbert led the qualifiers at West Lancashire and finally sealed a place in The Open after narrowly missing out on opportunities at the Emirates Australian Open, the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport and the International Series Macau earlier this season.

Despite a dropped shot at the last, his eight-under-par total of 136 was enough for the Australian to clinch first spot ahead of Sampson Zheng, the runner-up in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne, who finished one shot further back on seven-under-par.

George Bloor delighted watching friends and family to clinch the third spot on six-under-par 138 to qualify for Royal Portrush where he will make his debut in The Open. A crucial birdie on the 16^th of the second round ensured that the Englishman moved ahead of the chasing pack and as he parred out the final two holes, the emotions began to sink in as a childhood dream was realised.

A four-man play-off between Richard Teder, Oliver Lindell, Ronan Mullarney and Sam Bairstow determined the final two places.

Lindell was the first player to book his place at Royal Portrush with a birdie three on the second play-off hole, before rapturous scenes greeted Teder’s hole-out for eagle two on the next hole as the Estonian amateur becomes the first player from his country to qualify for The Open.

The 153rd Open will be played at Royal Portrush from 13-20 July 2025.