Dream homecoming

Matthew Baldwin secured an emotional Royal Birkdale homecoming as one of five players to progress through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links.

The 40-year-old, who lives only a few miles from the famed Southport venue and is a Royal Birkdale member, carded a four-under-par, 36-hole total of 140 to earn his place at The 154th Open.

It will be his fourth appearance at golf’s original championship and a chance to compete on his home course with family and friends watching on.

Baldwin finished alongside Irish amateur David Howard on four-under, while Scotland's Jack McDonald topped the qualifying standings at five-under. Dutch amateur Nevill Ruiter and American Marcus Plunkett claimed the final two spots on three-under.

"It's a bit of a dream really," said Baldwin. "I get emotional just thinking about it. It will be incredible. I've played Opens at Hoylake and Lytham before, but to do it at my home club in front of my wife, my mum and my family will be amazing.

"For me it's a dream come true."

Baldwin, who is from the same town as Tommy Fleetwood, finished T23 at The 141st Open in 2012, before making further appearances at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and Royal Portrush in 2019.

In a field packed with Open experience, it was American John Vogelpohl, a man with excellent recent form on the Tartan Pro Tour, who made the early running.

Having advanced through Regional Qualifying at Kilmarnock (Barassie) a week earlier, Vogelpohl raced to six-under through his opening seven holes before signing for a stunning seven-under-par 65 in the morning round.

Angel Hidalgo and Scottish amateur Connor Graham, both previous qualifiers from Dundonald, remained in contention as the afternoon round began. However, as Vogelpohl slipped back and Hidalgo and Graham struggled to recreate their previous success, McDonald produced one of the standout performances of the afternoon.

The Scot carded four birdies and an eagle in a three-under-par round of 69 to move to five-under overall and secure his place as the leading qualifier.

The 33-year-old had also progressed from Dundonald in 2023, winning a play-off to earn a spot in The 152nd Open at his home course, Royal Troon.

"I am just excited to go and play it again," said McDonald. "It's the best week ever.

"When I played at Troon, it was one of those weeks where I just wanted to play The Open again. I missed the cut by a shot, but it was such a good event that I wanted to get back there."

Howard will make his Championship debut after impressive rounds of 69 and 71 helped him reach four-under-par at the only Final Qualifying event taking place in Scotland. An eagle at the par-5 5th was the highlight of his afternoon round.

The performance follows a remarkable rise through the amateur ranks for the Irishman.

The East of Ireland Amateur champion was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a child and is now a proud ambassador for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

Howard, who was 1,456th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) coming into Final Qualifying, follows in the footsteps of fellow Irish amateur Stuart Grehan who claimed an Open place after winning The Amateur Championship last week.

"It hasn't sunk in yet, but it's pretty special and I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I only started playing Irish championships as an amateur three years ago, so it can't get much better than this.

"It's mad. I actually can't even imagine it."

Howard has also spoken of the importance of representing the cystic fibrosis community on one of golf's biggest stages.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, he said: "My thing is always to show the younger kids coming up that if they can see me do this, anything is possible if you put in the work. It's good for the whole CF community that someone with CF can play in a major championship."

The final two qualifying places were secured by amateur Nevill Ruiter and professional Marcus Plunkett, both of whom will make their major championship debuts at Royal Birkdale.

Ruiter, a College of Charleston student, was rock solid in a bogey-free afternoon round of 70. Birdies on the two par-5s – the 5th and 14th – were enough to move him into one of the five qualification spots.

The Dutchman arrived in Ayrshire ranked 182nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and earlier this year claimed his first collegiate victory. Last month he competed in, and made the cut, at the KLM Open on the DP World Tour.

Plunkett's route to The Open has been a distinctive one. After playing collegiate golf at West Point, he spent five years serving in the United States Army as a transportation officer, with postings including South Korea and Afghanistan.

Since returning to competitive golf towards the end of his military service he has competed on the Asian Tour and will now make his first major championship appearance.

"To play in the most historic event, I couldn't have dreamed it up better," said Plunkett. "It's going to be awesome. All those stingers I hit on the driving range as a kid really paid off!"

A total of 20 players earned places at Royal Birkdale for The 154th Open during another thrilling day of Final Qualifying.

Qualification specialists, Open regulars and amateur stars were among the players who made it through, with five qualifiers progressing from each venue.

View full results from Dundonald Links, Burnham & Berrow, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire here.