'Means a lot'

Sam Bairstow led the way at West Lancashire Golf Club as he topped the leaderboard on a thrilling day at Final Qualifying on England’s north-west coast.

With five places up for grabs, the Sheffield-born player put together two excellent rounds to finish on ten-under-par – good enough to punch his ticket to The 154th Open at nearby Royal Birkdale.

The 27-year-old put himself in a good position at the halfway stage after crafting a first-round 66 – a blemish-free round which featured six birdies, five of which came in a six-hole stretch on the front nine.

The Hallowes member then backed that up with a composed 68 including an eagle the 1st and further birdies at the 2nd and the 3rd.

The success marks the third time Bairstow has come through Final Qualifying, having done so twice as an amateur at St Annes Old Links in 2021 and 2022. The second of those came soon after he had lost the final of The Amateur Championship to Aldrich Potgieter.

Bairstow went on to make the cut at St Andrews and said: “Getting back to The Open means a lot, I’ve missed it the last few years.

“Birkdale is close to home and I’m sure it’s going to be great. I didn’t have my best game in the morning, but I managed to get it from tee to green and get a decent score out of it so that gave me a boost going into the afternoon. It is great to get through.”

Bairstow will be joined at Royal Birkdale by New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, Spaniard Jose Luis Ballester Barrio and Germany’s Tiger Christensen, all of whom finished T2 on nine-under.

Kobori and Ballester Barrio both turned on the style their respective second rounds, producing superb seven-under-par rounds of 65 after opening with 70s.

Kobori last appeared at The Open in 2024 when he made his debut at Royal Troon during a year in which he won three times in the space of four weeks on the PGA Tour of Australasia's WebEx Players Series.

“The second round, I felt more familiar with the golf course,” he said. “I was able to read the greens better and see how the bunkers played. I got used to the links conditions and played the tougher holes better. There were some good stand-out shots.

“I played Troon two years ago and I really loved the experience there. It feels incredible to have qualified for The Open again. I played really well out there and I felt like I deserved it.”

Ballester Barrio avoided a play-off as he dramatically birdied the par-4 18th to move to nine-under. He will now make his third appearance at The Open after playing at Royal Liverpool in 2023 as European Amateur champion, and at The 153rd Open last year following his win at the 2024 US Amateur.

“This is my fourth time trying to qualify for The Open and this is the first time I’ve made it through,” he said. “My thought process is always the same, I try to give myself an opportunity on the last nine holes.

“I wish I didn’t have to work as hard at the end, I made a few nice birdies to give myself the opportunity, and I’m glad I managed to close it out. It feels really special to be coming back to The Open.”

Christensen’s rounds were a reversal of Kobori and Ballester Barrio’s as he shot 65 first time around before closing with a 70 to reach The Open for a second time after coming through Final Qualifying at the same venue in 2023.

“It will be the highlight of the season to play in The Open. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say,” said the man named after Tiger Woods.

Matthew Jordan took the last qualifying spot on offer after he prevailed in a three-man play-off against amateur Sam Easterbrook and Joe Dean after all three finished on eight-under.

Jordan, who finished T10 at The Open in both 2023 and 2024, clinched his place with a birdie on the second play-off hole following an exquisite approach, as Easterbrook and Dean could only manage a par apiece.

“I’m really pleased to have qualified for The Open,” said Royal Liverpool member Jordan, who hit the first shot of The 151st Open on his home course.

“Days like this are really long and to not come away with qualification after a play-off would have been gutting so getting it done makes it all worthwhile. The support was amazing and I’m really looking forward to Royal Birkdale.”

Elsewhere in the field, former Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett missed out on a place at Royal Birkdale after the former finished on one-under while the latter finished three shots ahead of his former Ryder Cup teammate.

And Wesley Bryan, one half of the popular Bryan Bros YouTube channel, fell agonisingly short of forcing his way into the play-off after the former PGA Tour winner bogeyed the 18th to slip to seven-under-par and miss out by one shot.

His brother George finished on two-under after rounds of 70 and 72, and at one point found himself on five-under with eight holes left to play.

“I loved it. It was really cool and something I'll remember for a long time," added George.