Marcus Kinhult might have envisaged adding to his trophy cabinet and playing at Royal Troon next month after setting the clubhouse lead at the KLM Open on Sunday.
But the Swede walked away from a sudden-death playoff with no DP World Tour trophy and no spot at The 152nd Open Championship after losing to Guido Migliozzi at The International in Amsterdam.
Kinhult, looking for his second win on the tour, was first to 11-under after 72 holes, but Yorkshire’s Joe Dean and Migliozzi both birdied the par-5 18th hole to match him and take proceedings to a three-way playoff.
The KLM Open is part of the Open Qualifying Series, offering two spots to golf’s oldest major in Scotland next month. Entering extra holes, neither player in this trio were qualified.
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DP World Tour playoff ends in disappointent in more ways than one for Kinhult
The winner of the playoff would get a spot and the second spot would be decided not by count-back, but by the Official World Golf Rankings. The highest ranked player that didn’t win the playoff would play at The Open.
After each player birdied the 18th hole in the first round of sudden death, Kinhult found the water with his second shot on the second extra hole, opening the door for Migliozzi and Dean not just to victory, but to Troon.
Dean could only manage a par and Migliozzi, who was the highest-ranked player of the trio at 198, cosied his ball up to the hole for another birdie to win his fourth DP World Tour title.
Although Dean was denied his first win on the tour four months after hitting headlines for coming second in Kenya having recently worked for Morrisons as a delivery driver, his consolation was that he’d earned a place at The Open. Ranked 472nd in the OWGR, he toppled Kinhult who is ranked 532nd.
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Kinhult last played in The Open Championship in 2021, whereas Migliozzi has played in the last three editions of the event. Dean has played in The Open once in 2017.
The Italian Open on the DP World Tour this coming week will also offer two Open spots. Failing that Kinhult could use Final Qualifying at the start of July in another bid to qualify.
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