Final Qualifying

Following an absorbing day of Final Qualifying, find out more about the 20 players who sealed their spot at The 153rd Open…

Dundonald

Lee Westwood

Played 27 consecutive Opens following his debut in 1995 and now returns for the first time since 2022 after ending at the summit on eight-under at Dundonald.

Finished second at St Andrews in 2010, T3 at Muirfield three years later and shared fourth at Royal Portrush in 2019.

Daniel Young

Lost in the final to Robert MacIntyre in the final of the 2015 Scottish Amateur Championship at Muirfield and will now join his compatriot on the Royal Portrush fairways.

The Perth native, attached to Kingsbarns Golf Club, plays on the HotelPlanner Tour and hailed playing partner Angel Hidalgo for giving him a ‘pep talk’ ahead of the nine-footer which sealed his place.

Angel Hidalgo

Came through Final Qualifying for the second year in a row, having holed from the fairway in Richard Teder-esque circumstances last time out.

He missed the cut on his Open debut at Royal Troon 12 months ago but the two-time Spanish Amateur Champion will hope for better this time around.

Jesper Sandborg

Sandborg had never attempted to qualify for a major before, let alone played in one, but took to Dundonald like a duck to water.

The 32-year-old Swede, who graduated to the Challenge Tour for the 2025 season, said: “I have been struggling for a couple of weeks, so it’s nice to hit some good numbers. I can’t even describe how it will feel to play in The Open.”

Connor Graham

The teenager was victorious in a play-off to seal his spot and continue a fine spell of form.

He has been a standout player for Texas Tech on the College circuit and topped The Amateur Championship strokeplay standings for the second consecutive year.

An ambassador for the Paul Lawrie Foundation, he battled through FQ sporting a shirt bearing the image of the Champion Golfer of 1999.

West Lancashire

Lucas Herbert

Topped the charts on eight-under at West Lancashire to seal a fifth Open appearance.

His best finish is T15 at St Andrews in 2022 and he warmed up for his successful FQ appearance by practising on a beach near Hoylake on Monday night.

Herbert will be one of nine Australians in the field, as it stands.

Sampson Zheng

Runner-up at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne in 2023, Zheng arrived in West Lancashire determined to banish those demons and did so by finishing on seven-under.

Turned professional last year after a standout college career. He is originally from Tianjin, in China, and lived in Japan for a couple of years as a youngster before moving Stateside.

George Bloor

Former Premier League footballer Jimmy Bullard was leading the congratulations on George Bloor’s Instagram after the 29-year-old booked his place at Royal Portrush.

Bloor was the leading player on the Clutch Pro Tour’s Order of Merit in 2023, graduating to the HotelPlanner Tour as a result, and said: “It’s a childhood dream to play The Open. When it finally sinks in, I’ll be counting down the days.”

Richard Teder

Nobody in this list qualified quite like the Estonian, who holed a fairway chip for eagle in the third hole of the play-off.

In doing so, he became the first player from a nation boasting just 12 golf courses to qualify for The Open. He has three wins on the amateur circuit in the last year.

Oliver Lindell

The 26-year-old Finn thought his five-under-par score would be surpassed when he entered the clubhouse but it was enough for a play-off, which he then succeeded in.

A dominant junior player in his homeland, in 2017 he became the first player in Kenya Open history to hit a hole-in-one and won a car as a result. Graduated to the DP World Tour this year.

Royal Cinque Ports

Dean Burmester

Among the LIV golfers to make a dash back from Dallas for Final Qualifying, it was worth the trip for Burmester as he equalled a course record on his way to a 10-under-par 36-hole aggregate.

He has made the cut on all three of his previous Open appearances with a best of T11 at St Andrews in 2022.

Nathan Kimsey

Twelve years on from forming part of the 2013 Walker Cup team, where he halved a singles clash with Justin Thomas, Kimsey will make his major championship debut.

His partner is Lauren Taylor, who has fond memories of Royal Portrush having won the 2011 Women’s Amateur Championship there.

Curtis Knipes

The youngest player in the field, aged 18, when The Open was last played in Portrush in 2019, Knipes sealed a return by finishing six-under at Royal Cinque Ports – a week after coming through Regional Qualifying at Bearwood Lakes.

The Toot Hill native knows Portrush well – he also reached the last 16 of the 2018 Boys Amateur Championship there.

Sebastian Cave

Talented teenager Cave is – like Frazer Jones, who qualified at Burnham & Berrow – part of the University of North Carolina, arriving back in the UK fresh from setting a Charlotte Men's Golf single season stroke average record of 70.67.

He hails from Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire and hit his first-ever hole-in-one at the age of seven.

John Axelsen

Finished on four-under to end a shot clear of three players and seal an Open debut.

Axelsen joined the Hojgaard twins in helping Denmark win the World Amateur Team Championship in 2018 and returned to the HotelPlanner Tour last year.

Burnham & Berrow

Justin Walters

The South African took a break from the game after losing his DP World Tour card in late 2023 but has battled back and topped the leaderboard at Burnham & Berrow.

He made his Open debut in 2014 but admitted the imminent arrival of his son meant he was ‘not in the right headspace for a major’. Eleven years on, he will hope to take his FQ momentum to Royal Portrush.

Jacob Skov Olesen

The 2024 Amateur Champion made the cut on his debut at Royal Troon last year and came through a Final Qualifying group also containing the man he beat in the final, Dominic Clemons.

He turned professional in November 2024, forfeiting his exemption for the Masters and US Open, and now returns to the major stage.

Harry Hall

The 27-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season on the PGA Tour, with four top-10 finishes in 2025, and took that form to the Somerset coast.

The Cornishman, who hails from Camborne, won his first PGA Tour event at last July’s ISCO Championship, chipping in for a birdie on the third play-off hole.

Frazer Jones

The 19-year-old, who plays at Kirby Muxloe in Leicestershire and has just finished his second year at UNC Charlotte in the USA, sealed his spot with a stunning back nine.

He has represented Leicestershire and England and will have his dad on the bag at Portrush.

OJ Russell

Has won four events on the Clutch Pro Tour and credited his work with a psychologist as key to his Final Qualifying Triumph.

“I have been rehearsing the course in my mind and playing shots I thought I would need,” he said. “My prep allowed me to be relaxed going into it.”