Who made it through Final Qualifying for The Open 2026

Final Qualifying for The Open is one of the most exciting days on the golfing calendar and this year's edition did not disappoint as 20 players successfully made it through to compete in the 154th championship at Royal Birkdale later this month.

There was a starting field of 288 competing at 36-hole events held at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire. Five places in The 154th Open were available at each venue.

Let's see who qualified from each location.

Burnham & Berrow  

Qualifiers Total (to par)

James Nicholas -10

Caleb Surratt -9

Tom Sloman -8

Alejandro De Castro Piera (a) -8

Austin Truslow -8

American James Nicholas overcame all the seasons at Burnham & Berrow to secure his debut appearance at The Open, finishing top of the leaderboard on a ten-under-par.

Nicholas backed up a bogey-free opening round of 65 with a superb 67 in the ever-changing afternoon conditions to finish one shot clear of fellow American Caleb Surratt, who will also make his Open debut at Royal Birkdale after rounds of 67 and 66.

Fresh from his major debut at the US Open, 22-year-old Surratt’s excellent second round ensured he finished second on his own ahead of three more debutants on eight-under-par, who all had a nervy wait to see if one of the late finishers could force a play-off.

Home favourite Tom Sloman, playing alongside Surratt, made the most of his course knowledge as the weather started to turn after lunch to post the best second round total, with three birdies in the last six holes for a 65 to finish on eight-under-par.

Spanish amateur Alejandro De Castro Piera will also make his major debut at The Open after following up an opening, bogey-free 65 with a 69 to join Sloman on eight-under-par, with Austen Truslow completing the qualifiers after rounds of 66 and 68.

The 30-year-old American, who got engaged last week, admitted he considered giving up golf last year, but he is now set for his first appearance in The Open and said it will be a "dream come true" to tee it up at Royal Birkdale.

Dundonald Links

Qualifiers Total (to par)

Jack McDonald -5

Matthew Baldwin -4

David Howard (a) -4

Nevill Ruiter (a) -3

Marcus Plunkett -3

Lightning struck twice for Jack McDonald when he led the qualifiers at Dundonald with a five-under-par total of 139 today to repeat his achievement at the Ayrshire links two years ago.

The 33-year-old will make his second appearance in The Open at Royal Birkdale having come through Final Qualifying in 2024 to secure a place at his home Open venue of Royal Troon.

It will also be a homecoming for Matthew Baldwin, who tied for four-under with Irish amateur David Howard, to earn his spot at Birkdale, only a few miles from his home. The 40-year-old will make his fourth appearance in The Open and complete the north west set having played at Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St Annes previously.

Howard, the East of Ireland Amateur champion, will follow his friend and fellow Irish amateur Stuart Grehan, who won The Amateur Championship last week, into the field at The Open.

The final two places were taken by Dutch amateur Nevill Ruiter and American professional Marcus Plunkett, who will both be making their major championship debuts at Birkdale.

Royal Cinque Ports

Qualifiers Total (to par)

Baard Bjoernevik Skogen -12

MJ Daffue -12

Matthew Southgate -10

Peter Uihlein -9

Antoine Rozner -8

South African MJ Daffue claimed top honours alongside Baard Bjoernevik Skogen at Royal Cinque Ports to book his place at The 154th Open. With rounds of 67, 65 for a total of 12-under-par 132, he will make his debut at Royal Birkdale. His day was highlighted by back-to-back eagles on the par-4 6th and 7th holes at Royal Cinque Ports this morning.

Skogen, who is ranked 771st on the Official World Golf Ranking, will also make his first appearance at The Open. The Norwegian made just one bogey in 36 holes as he recorded rounds of 68, 64 to hold a share of the lead at the end of the day.

England’s Matthew Southgate has come through Final Qualifying for a remarkable sixth time with four of those occasions occurring on the Deal layout. He recorded rounds of 68 and 66 for a total of 10-under-par 134. Southgate’s best performance in The Open came at Royal Birkdale in 2017 when he finished tied sixth.

Peter Uihlein of the United States of America played at Royal Cinque Ports for a second consecutive year. Having led after the first round, he qualified for Royal Birkdale with rounds of 66 and 69 to be one shot behind Southgate.

Frenchman Antoine Rozner closed his round with three consecutive birdies to ensure his place at Royal Birkdale. This is the second time he has qualified at Royal Cinque Ports after he was also successful in 2023. Rozner qualified with rounds of 69 and 67 for a total of eight-under-par 136.

West Lancashire

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Qualifiers Total (to par)

Sam Bairstow -10

Kazuma Kobori -9

Jose Luis Ballester Barrio -9

Tiger Christensen -9

Matthew Jordan* -8

(*Matthew Jordan qualified at the second hole of play-off with a birdie three.)

Sam Bairstow led the qualifiers at West Lancashire after rounds of 66 and 68 gave the Englishman a 10-under-par total of 134. He last qualified for The Open at St Andrews in 2022 and returns to golf’s original Championship after a dominant display at West Lancs.

He was joined by Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand, Germany’s Tiger Christensen and Spaniard Jose Luis Ballester Barrio after the trio finished tied for second place on nine-under-par 135.

Kobori followed an opening round 70 with a sparkling second round 65 which included eight birdies, while Christensen fired two eagles and four birdies in a first round 65 before settling for a steady round of 70 this afternoon. Ballester sealed his place in The Open with a birdie at the last to also sign for a second round 65 which included seven birdies and an eagle to add to this morning’s round of 70.

A play-off between Matthew Jordan, Joe Dean and amateur Sam Easterbrook, who all finished tied fourth on eight-under-par 136, determined the final place. Local favourite Jordan delighted the home crowd on the second play-off hole, sticking his approach to two feet and clinching his spot in The Open with a birdie three after Dean and Easterbrook only managed par.

The countdown is now fully on to The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale, which is being played on the 16-19th July.