Who earned a spot at The Open Championship through Final Qualifying?

Matt Chivers

It’s golf’s oldest major and anyone can take part if they’re good enough. This is what you need to know about who came through Final Open Qualifying

Matthew Jordan at Final Open Qualifying | Source: Getty Images

Qualification for The Open was first introduced in 1907, and involves the process a player must go through to play in the prestigious fourth major of the year if they are not otherwise exempt.

So, just how does Open Qualifying work?

Before Final Qualifying, there is Regional Qualifying, which in 2026 took place on June 22 across 15 different venues: Bearwood Lakes, Caldy, Chart Hills, Craigielaw, Enville, Ferndown, Fulford, Gog Magog, Hesketh, Kilmarnock (Barassie), Lindrick, Minchinhampton, Moor Park, North Hants, Rochester & Cobham Park, and The Island.

124 players qualified from the thousands that competed, including YouTube sensation George Bryan, who came tied at the top of the leaderboard at Hesketh.

These players then enter the final round – Final Qualifying – which is played across four different venues over 36 holes. 288 players have entered, and there are five spots available at each venue.

**Matthew Jordan at The 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon | Source: Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images**

Final Open Qualifying: The results are in…

At West Lancs, local lad and fan favourite Matthew Jordan beat Joe Dean and amateur Sam Easterbrook in a playoff to secure the very last spot for The Open. He played with former PGA Tour winner and YouTube sensation Wesley Bryan, who finished one shot out of the playoff.

Sam Bairstow, Kazuma Kobori, LIV Golfer Jose Luis Ballester and Tiger Christensen didn’t need the playoff and occupied the top four spots on Merseyside.

Sergio Garcia finished on 1-under-par after feeling unwell in the second round, while Matt Wallace eventually withdrew and Danny Willett also failed to qualify on Merseyside, too.

At Royal Cinque Ports of Kent, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen of Norway and MJ Daffue of South Africa finished tied on 12-under after two rounds, with Final Qualifying specialist Matthew Southgate, LIV Golfer Peter Uihlein and DP World Tour player Antoine Rozner filling the rest of the spaces.

Down at Burnham & Berrow in the southwest, James Nicholas and LIV Golfer Caleb Surratt finished at the top of the pile respectively on 10- and 9-under-par. Tom Sloman, amateur Alejandro De Castro Piera and Austen Truslow also qualified.

Jack McDonald of Whitecraigs led the way at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire on 5-under-par, one shot ahead of Matthew Baldwin of Royal Birkdale, and amateur David Howard. Amateur Nevill Ruiter and American Marcus Plunkett filled the other two spots.

**Sergio Garcia at Final Open Qualifying in 2026 | Source: NCG**

ALSO: How to qualify for The Open Championship

ALSO: The Open Championship field: Who is playing in 2026?

Here is who qualified at Open Championship Final Qualifying in 2026

Burnham & Berrow

James Nicholas, Caleb Surratt, Tom Sloman, Alejandro De Castro Piera (a), Austen Truslow

Dundonald Links

Jack McDonald, Matthew Baldwin, David Howard (a), Nevill Ruiter, Marcus Plunkett

Royal Cinque Ports

Baard Bjoernevik Skogen, MJ Daffue, Matthew Southgate, Peter Uihlein, Antoine Rozner

West Lancs

Sam Bairstow, Kazuma Kobori, Jose Luis Ballester, Tiger Christensen, Matthew Jordan

NOW READ: Future Open Championship venues

NOW READ: Winners of The Open Championship

NOW READ: Should The Open be shown on free-to-air television?

Do you like to go and watch Open Championship Final Qualifying? Tell us on X!

About the author

Matt Chivers

Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.

Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.

Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.

Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as the Masters, The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spoken to many of the biggest names in the sport.

Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.

What’s in Matt’s bag: Cleveland HiBore XL Driver driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, Benross BR-Pro irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.

Twitter