Matthew Southgate

Matthew Southgate’s best Open return was a T6 finish at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

The Essex native returns to Southport this summer after yet another successful stint in Final Qualifying.

Southgate came through a gruelling 36 holes at Royal Cinque Ports at the end of June – the sixth time he has made it to The Open in this manner and the fourth at the Deal course.

He was T12 at Royal Troon in 2016 – the year after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer – and followed that with a best-ever Open performance 12 months later.

Winner of the 2010 St Andrews Links Trophy in his amateur days, Southgate was denied the chance of a maiden DP World Tour victory only by Jon Rahm at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2017, and has twice been a runner-up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Victor Perez beat him by a single stroke in 2019 and Matt Fitzpatrick triumphed by three in 2023.

He achieved his maiden victory on the HotelPlanner Tour just weeks before qualifying for The 154th Open, winning the Swiss Challenge at Golf Sempach.