6D August
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Aldrich Potgieter drains a 56-foot birdie on No. 18 at John Deere
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Recent PGA TOUR winner Aldrich Potgieter will headline the field in the inaugural Last Chance Qualifier when 12 players go head-to-head at Royal Birkdale on Monday for the final spot in The Open.
R&A reports this. In December, among a number of improvements designed to enhance the fan experience at The Open, the 18-hole qualifying tournament will be played on the same Southport courses where the champion will lift the claret jug seven days later. The 12 will include each of the tournament’s first two alternates, who – after the recent addition of 15 players according to the Official World Golf Ranking – are ranked No. 77 in the Potgieter world and No. 78 in the world. Matti Schmid.
Winner of the 2022 British Amateur at the age of 17, Potgieter has previously played at The Open twice and will defend his first TOUR title at the Rocket Classic later this month. Schmid became a surprise contender at the PGA Championship, ultimately finishing T4 behind. Aaron Rye in Aronimink. According to the rules set by The R&A, each of the tournament’s first two reserves must play in a qualifying match to retain their place on the reserve list.
The 12-person group will include five DP World Tour players, including four with Open experience. Spaniard Adri Arnaus has made three starts in the Open Championship. Angel Hidalgo and Joe Dean each made two. Englishman Andrew Wilson made his only major start at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush, while Dane Markus Helligkilde will try to achieve his first appearance at a major.
Former TOUR winner Wesley Bryan will also take part in the Royal Birkdale tournament along with John Gough and Charles Huntzinger. Rounding out the amateur field are Matt Maloney, who earned an invitation to qualify thanks to his runner-up finish at last month’s Amateur Championship, and Sam Easterbrook. Easterbrook and Dean lost 3-to-1 playoffs in final qualifying, while seven other players in the qualifying field – Arnaus, Gough, Wilson, Huntzinger, Hidalgo, Brian and Helligkild – each missed one shot on their respective 36-hole qualifying course.
Players will begin play in four groups of three starting at 7:30am BST on July 13, with a hole-by-hole playoff used in the event of a tie.
It is important to note that the results of the Last Chance Qualifier will be used to create the final alternate list for tournament week. If they fail to qualify, Potgieter and Schmid will retain their places at numbers 1 and 2 respectively on the alternative list. From number 3 onwards, the results of the qualifying matches will determine the alternate list, with any ties broken due to OWGR status.