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.
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.
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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.
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
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