A general view image of the clubhouse at Royal Birkdale.

Royal Birkdale, 13 July 2026

LAST-CHANCE QUALIFIER

Joe Dean won the Last-Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale to claim the final place in the field for The 154th Open.

The Englishman took the spoils with a two-under-par round of 68 enough to seal his third appearance in golf’s original championship.

South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter and Matt Moloney, this year’s Amateur Championship runner-up, were the only two golfers to birdie the opening hole.

Dean picked up his first shot at the par-3 7th. Another followed at 11 before an eagle at 14 cancelled out a bogey either side. He parred his final three holes and won by a single stroke from Potgieter and Andrew Wilson.

The field

A total of 12 players – including a former Amateur Champion and a YouTube star – competed for the final Royal Birkdale place at the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier.

All players earned their places after meeting the exemption criteria set out by The R&A in December.

The full field was as follows: Aldrich Potgieter, Matti Schmid, Matt Moloney (a), Joe Dean (pictured), Sam Easterbrook (a), Adri Arnaus, John Gough, Angel Hidalgo, Charles Huntzinger, Andrew Wilson, Wesley Bryan, Frazer Jones (a).