Impressive List in Final Qualifying for 155th Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The R&A announced the final qualifying draw for the 153rd Open Championship on Tuesday, and it is filled with names you would recognize.
Just going through the list, there are major champions in Graeme McDowell and Danny Willett.
There’s also former world No. 1 Lee Westwood of England, along with numerous PGA and DP World Tour winners.
A couple of years ago, I attended the Final Qualifying at West Lancashire and was treated to a fun-filled day with a much bigger gallery and many big-name players, including Sergio Garcia, Matt Wallace, Alex Fitzpatrick and McDowell.
It had the enjoyment factor of attending a U.S. Amateur or Walker Cup with no ropes of any consequence and players digging deep to play 36 holes to qualify for The Open.
It was a coming-out party for Fitzpatrick, who played at Wake Forest and was part of the GB&I Walker team.
He is also the little brother of U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick, a point of pride at times and consternation at other times.
On that July 4 in 2023, Fitzpatrick shot 70-65 to finish 9-under and qualify for his first major championship at Hoylake.
He was giddy.
“I feel like I’ve worked pretty hard for a long time and haven’t felt like I’ve got a lot out of the work I’ve put in,” Fitzpatrick said back in 2023 of his game and how he struggled to find success. “Today was just a lot of patience, and I managed to stay calm, and even after a few bogeys and stuff, just kind of kept myself in it.”
Fitzpatrick was familiar with Hoylake from playing in the Walker Cup for Great Britain and Ireland in 2019, but he could never imagine how his four days in his first Open would go.
The younger Fitzpatrick shot a 65 in the third round and found himself on the leaderboard and in contention in a major.
Ultimately, Fitzpatrick would finish T17 at Royal Liverpool and left the Southport coast with a bit of skip to his step. He would win weeks later on the Hotel Planner Tour at the British Challenge and two tournaments later finish runner-up at the ISPS Handa World Invitational on the DP World Tour. Then came a T5 at the Omega European Masters and eventually his DP World Tour card.
All of this came out of a good final qualifying at West Lancashire.
“We were saying, me and my caddie, it’s like, 7:30 this morning, there was about 2,000 people in the rain and the cold,” Fitzpatrick said recalling the early-morning start. “So, I couldn’t believe the support. I had a massive group follow me, which was amazing.”
Below is a list of some of the players’ names in next week’s final qualifying. The Open Championship will be held July 17-20 at Royal Portrush.
Caleb Surratt
Matthew Southgate (England)
Anirban Lahari (India)
Harry Hall (England)
Luke Poulter (England)
Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain)
Erik van Rooyen (South Africa)
Graeme McDowell (NRI)
Ian Poulter (England)
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Denmark)
Tom Lewis (England)
Alex Fitzpatrick (England)
Jamie Donaldson (Wales)
Lee Westwood (England)
Lucas Herbert (Australia)
Sam Horsfield (England)
Doc Redman
David Puig (Spain)
Abraham Ancer (Mexico)
Chris Wood (England)
Eddie Pepperell (England)
Kevon Chappell
Dean Burmester (South Africa)
Peter Uihlein
Adrian Meronk (Poland)
Alex Noren (Sweden)
Danny Willett (England)
Harold Varner III
Branden Grace (South Africa)
Paul Casey (England)
Oliver Wilson (England)
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
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