Six for Southgate

Matthew Southgate added another chapter to his Final Qualifying love story at Royal Cinque Ports.

The 37-year-old made it through to The 154th Open, at Royal Birkdale, as one of the five best finishers following a 36-hole shoot-out in Deal, Kent.

Southgate [top] finished third on 10-under-par, two strokes behind Baard Skogen and MJ Daffue.

It was the sixth time the Essex native – whose best finish in The Open was his T6 return at Royal Birkdale in 2017 – has qualified for The Open in this manner, and the fourth at Royal Cinque Ports.

“It’s obviously a course I love playing,” he said. “I’ve always been a good links player and I’m very passionate about playing in The Open.

“It seems to bring the best out in me, so [it’s] very, very rewarding to get up at 4:30am … and get a spot into Royal Birkdale again.

“It’s lovely to be part of The Open whatever position you’re in. [I have] great memories of playing at Birkdale. It’s extremely special to be going back.”

While this will be Southgate’s seventh appearance at golf’s original championship, Royal Birkdale will represent an Open – and major – debut for Skogen [above, right].

The Norwegian put on a masterclass at Royal Cinque Ports, shooting a four-under 68 for his first 18 before cutting loose and landing eight birdies in a blemish-free afternoon 64.

“It feels great,” he said.

“I haven’t had many opportunities to qualify for the majors. I’ve never played well on links courses at Amateur Championships so I was caught by surprise at how well I played.”

Skogen, who plays on the HotelPlanner Tour, had planned to go on a road trip around Europe with his parents this summer, but those plans have been cancelled for The Open, a Championship he has many good memories of.

He explained: “I went to The Open in 2008 when it was at Birkdale so that was pretty special.

“I went in 2010 when it was at St Andrews. I watch The Open almost every year and I am a huge Justin Rose fan so two years ago at Royal Troon I was watching really closely [as Rose contended].”

Daffue was the only player to match Skogen’s 12-under-par tally and he too enjoyed a fruitful afternoon.

He was two-under after 14 holes on his first 18 before back-to-back eagles ignited his charge.

The South African – whose only other major appearance came at the US Open in 2023 – took that momentum into his afternoon tee time, dropping just one shot among eight birdies.

“It was a good performance and I am really proud of it,” he reflected. “I played smart but I also executed amazing shots coming down the stretch and that is testament to my practice and preparation … but also I live in Texas so I am used to the wind.”

Daffue added: “I am so excited. I don’t know Royal Birkdale at all but I love links golf and I have been playing good golf this year so this is where I want to be.”

Like Southgate, Antoine Rozner [above] also has fond memories of Royal Cinque Ports, having qualified from the venue for The 151st Open in 2023.

The Frenchman hadn’t particularly threatened the top of the leaderboard all day but timed his run to perfection, sinking three birdies on his final three holes to take the fifth and final qualifying spot, edging out John Gough by a single stroke.

He said: “It feels awesome. I am really happy, I played super well.

“I made three birdies to finish my round and make it on the number. You have to stay patient, don’t get too hard on yourself, and your chances will come.

“It was such a long, tough day. I was outside of the cut line for a long time but managed to have an amazing finish. I am really excited to go to Royal Birkdale, it will be a great week.

“Majors are such different weeks. We play the toughest courses in the world. It’s exciting and I am looking forward to being there and discovering the course."

He added: “You need to have a good mindset when you go to a major, you need to be very strong mentally. Those courses will test you mentally. You need to be ready for everything and that is what I like about majors; they test every part of your game.”

Course familiarity was a theme among the five qualifiers, with Peter Uihlein [above, right] having entered Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports 12 months ago.

Uihlein’s six-under 66 was the best first-round score in Kent and he led for a long time on Tuesday, moving three strokes clear after an eagle on the opening hole of his second 18.

He was unable to maintain that form but a 69 was enough for him to finish fourth and seal a fifth Open appearance.

“I played here last year and really enjoyed the course,” said Uihlein of Royal Cinque Ports.

It’s nice to come back and play somewhere that you like. The golf course is fantastic. You can’t fake it round here.

“I got through qualifying for [the US Open at] Shinnecock Hills so it’s nice to do it again and reach another major.”

Uihlein’s best Open finish (T44) came at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

“I was playing a practice round with ‘Gracey’ [Branden Grace] the other day and we were talking about Birkdale.

“It’s a strong golf course. You have to drive it well round there, so we’ll see.”