Regional Qualifying

Peter Finch was among the names to progress through Regional Qualifying and move one step closer to a place at The 153rd Open on Monday.

YouTuber and golf broadcaster Finch was one of 131 players who made it through to Final Qualifying on July 1 and will now play for the opportunity to tee it up at Royal Portrush this summer.

The popular influencer finished in a tie for first place at Caldy, one of 15 Regional Qualifying venues, after an impressive 1-under par round of 71 on a day of windy weather conditions.

He was later joined at the top of the leaderboard by local amateur Cameron Walker, and the pair were among nine players from Caldy to make it through to Final Qualifying.

Finch played his front nine in level-par after birdies on the 4th and 7th holes were cancelled out by bogeys on the 5th and 8th.

However, it was on the back nine he made his mark, recording a superb eagle on the par-5 11th. Despite a wayward drive he was able to produce a quality approach shot to the green before draining the putt.

Despite a bogey on 12, another birdie – his third of the round - came on 16 after a fantastic approach shot.

Elsewhere, Jamie Van Wyk finished top of the leaderboard at Hesketh and was among nine players from the historic Southport venue to progress to Final Qualifying.

Van Wyk, who competed at The 130th Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports a matter of days ago – losing out in the match play stage to eventual Champion Ethan Fang - carded a two-under-par score, three shots better than anyone else in the field at Hesketh.

Also fresh from The Amateur Championship is Kris Kim, who lost in the round-of-32 stage in Sandwich but made it through to Final Qualifying this week after play-off success at Bearwood Lakes. Kim is a highly-rated young player and was the winner of the Boys’ Amateur Championship in 2023.

At Ferndown in Dorset three-time Open participant Robert Dinwiddie made it through in some style. Dinwiddie holed out from distance for an eagle two on the 18th hole – helping him to a 3-under par round of 68, and solo second place at the venue behind Jake Burnage.

Another two players with Open experience in Michael Stewart and Marc Warren progressed from Kilmarnock (Barassie), and they will be teeing it up at Final Qualifying next week hoping to secure a return to golf’s original championship.

There was a lot of high-quality golf played throughout the day, and two aces were recorded along the way. Jack Yule managed a hole-in-one on the 4th hole at Gog Magog, while John Ambridge managed the same feat at Moor Park, where he was club captain in 2023.

Robert Harrhy was the class of the field at Frilford Heath, posting the lowest score of the day with a six-under 66 that saw him finish three clear of his nearest competitors.

In total almost 2,000 players entered Regional Qualifying, with former Premier League footballers Jimmy Bullard and Peter Odemwingie among those who were unable to progress on this occasion.

Bullard shot a three-over-par 74 at Rochester & Cobham Park, while Odemwingie posted an 82 at Enville.

Final Qualifying will take place on Tuesday 1 July at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire.

The 153rd Open will take place at Royal Portrush from 13 to 20 July.

---

Players to qualify at Regional Qualifying

Bearwood Lakes: John Gough (-3), Thomas Plumb (-3), Stephen Ferreira (-2), Ian Fritz (-1), Curtis Knipes (-1), Reggie Fear (Even), Joey Lussier (Even), Charlie Townsend (+1), Kris Kim (+1).

Caldy: Peter Finch (-1), Cameron Walker (-1), Tim Ford (Even), Jon Beesley (Even), Max Ranson (Even), George Holland (+1), Caolan Burford (+1), Sam Johnston (+2), Thomas Matthews (+2).

Craigielaw: Jack McDonald (Even), Matthew Wilson (Even), Jordan Sundborg (+2), Euan MacDonald (+2), Oliver Mukherjee (+2), Archie Finnie (+2), Ross Munro (+2), Joe Bryce (+2).

Enville: Jacob McGoldrick (-5), OJ Farrell (-4), Ryan Brooks (-4), Dani Hoof (-4), James Claridge (-3), James llsley (-3), Luke Blocksidge (-3), Jack South (-2), Joel Tarry (-1).

Ferndown: Jake Burnage (-4), Robert Dinwiddie (-3), Joe Retford (-2), Tom Sloman (-2), Finbar Kane (-2), Andrew Richardson (-2), Jake Bolton (-1), Jack Singh Brar (-1), Craig Sutherland (-1).

Frilford Heath: Robert Harrhy (-6), Will Tate (-3), Matthew Hibbs (-3), Harry Richardson (-3), Jamie Dick (-2), Ollie Brimfield (-2), Max Nicholls (-2), William Robbins (-2), Alex Ching (-1).

Fulford: Huey Cunningham (-3), Habib Khan (-3), Michael Hay (-2), Ashton Turner (-1), Charlie Box (-1), Joe Knox (-1), Ollie White (-1), Ashley Mansell (Even), Jack Peters (Even).

Gog Magog: Ed Featherstone (-3), Timmy Moncur (-3), Jack Hawksby (-3), Giles Evans (-1), Max Weaver (-1), Max Hopkins (-1), James Jankowski (-1), Callum Hilton (-1), Sam Byford (Even).

Hesketh: Jamie van Wyk (-2), Nick Marsh (+1), Tom Hughes (+1), Luke Harries (+2), Joe Emery (+2), Greg Holmes (+2), Lewis Pownell (+3), Rhys Nevin (+3), Matt Lever (+4).

Kilmarnock (Barassie): Liam Johnston (-3), Michael Stewart (-2), Scott Henry (-2), James Donaldson (-1), Marc Warren (-1), Adam Chapman (Even), Mitchell Cowie (Even).

Lindrick: Frazer Jones (-3), Bailey Gill (-2), Oliver Sullivan (-1), Julian Wood (-1), Sam Potter (Even), Josh Crumplin (Even), Rob Harris (Even).

Moor Park: Adam Batty (-3), Habebul Islam (-3), Michael Vonbank (-3), Ville Virkkala (-3), Matt Gauntlett (-2), Arran Kanth (-2), Niklas Adank (-2), Nick Ward (-2), Owen Benson (-1).

North Hants: Freddie Turnell (-4), Robert Wheeler (-2), Lawrence Courtney (-1), Harry Ellis (-1), Harry Bowness (Even), Greg Hurley (Even), Josh McCartain (Even), Joshua Millington (Even), Charlie Preston (+1).

Rochester & Cobham Park: Max Jordan (-3), Jonathan Exon-Taylor (-2), Oliver Lewis-Perkins (-2), Finn Lord (-2), Ant Tarchetti (-2), Jack Lee (-1), Carl Burrows (-1), Raul Gomez (-1), Sam Smitherman (-1).

The Island: Paul McBride (-3), Keith Shannon (-2), Rowan Lester (-1), Finlay Eager (-1), Ronan Mullarney (-1), Brendan McCarroll (-1), Alex Hietala (+1), Ruaidhri McGee (+1), Niall Kearney (+2), Alex Maguire (+2).