Englishman Matthew Jordan qualified for his fifth consecutive Open Championship in a sudden-death playoff, while three LIV Golf members also earned their way into the field at Royal Birkdale via final qualifying Tuesday around the United Kingdom.
Four final qualifying sites were staged at Dundonald Links, West Lancashire, Burnham & Berrow and Royal Cinque Ports. Five spots in the Open were available at each site for a total of 20 qualifiers.
Jordan, 30, has made a habit of playing the Open each year. While he has yet to win on Europe’s DP World Tour and did not appear in another major until the 2025 U.S. Open, Jordan has played every Open since 2022. He went through final qualifying in 2023 to compete at Royal Liverpool, his home course, and he finished T10 there before tying for 10th again in 2024.
Jordan went to a three-for-one playoff at West Lancashire against countrymen Joe Dean and Sam Easterbrook, an amateur. On the second playoff hole, Jordan landed a perfect approach shot inches away from the hole to set up his winning birdie.
“I’m really pleased. Days like this are long and to come away from it saying you didn’t qualify in a playoff would be gutting, so it makes it all worthwhile,” Jordan said.
“I woke up last night feeling terrible for whatever reason, so I was tired coming here and then once I finished 18 I could feel my body kind of giving up on me because I was so tired. Seeing all these people gave me a bit more adrenaline, but I think I’ll be knackered tonight.”
Samuel Bairstow of England finished the 36-hole qualifier at West Lancashire in first place at 10-under 132. Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand, Josele Ballester of Spain and Tiger Christensen of Germany were tied at 9 under, and Jordan, Easterbrook and Dean finished 8 under.
Ballester is one of the LIV Golf members to successfully play their way into the Open. The 22-year-old former U.S. Amateur champ has not appeared in a major in 2026, and he will play in his second Open following his debut in 2023.
American vet Peter Uihlein, on LIV since its introduction in 2022, was one of five to advance from Royal Cinque Ports. Uihlein, 36, also qualified for the earlier this month U.S. Open and finished T56 there in his first major appearance since 2018.
The third LIV player to qualify Tuesday was Caleb Surratt, a member of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII. Surratt finished second to fellow American James Nicholas at Burnham & Berrow. His appearance at the U.S. Open this month (T63) was his major championship debut.
The 20 players to qualify Tuesday are:
–Dundonald Links: Jack McDonald (Scotland), Matthew Baldwin (England), amateur David Howard (Ireland), amateur Nevill Ruiter (Netherlands), Marcus Plunkett (U.S.)
–West Lancashire: Samuel Bairstow (England), Kazuma Kobori (New Zealand), Josele Ballester (Spain), Tiger Christensen (Germany), Matthew Jordan (England)
–Burnham & Berrow: James Nicholas (U.S.), Caleb Surratt (U.S.), Tom Sloman (England), amateur Alejandro de Castro Piera (Spain), Austen Truslow (U.S.)
–Royal Cinque Ports: Baard Bjoernevik Skogen (Norway), MJ Daffue (South Africa), Matthew Southgate (England), Peter Uihlein (U.S.), Antoine Rozner (France)
Spaniard Sergio Garcia followed a 68 with a 75 at West Lancashire to post 1 under and fall short of returning to the Open. The LIV stalwart qualified last year and tied for 34th, but that was his only appearance at the Open since 2022.
Other notable players who failed to qualify include Australians Cameron Davis and Marc Leishman, India’s Anirban Lahiri, Belgium’s Thomas Detry and South Africa’s Branden Grace.
–Field Level Media
Comments