Sergio Garcia will miss the British Open for the third time in four years after the Master champion failed to get among the 20 spots on four courses during 36-hole qualifying Tuesday. For Matthew Baldwin, it’s a major championship on his home course at Royal Birkdale.
Baldwin was among five qualifiers at Dundonald Links in the west of Scotland, joining medalist Jake McDonald, amateurs David Howard and Nevill Ruiter, and West Point graduate Marcus Plunkett, who served five years in the Army.
“I get emotional just thinking about it. It will be incredible,” Baldwin said. “Fortunately I have done it a couple of times before in the northwest at Hoylake and at Lytham so it will be a dream come true to do it in front of my family. It will be amazing.”
The British Open is July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
A trio of Americans — Peter Uihlein, Caleb Surratt and James Nicholas — qualified for both of golf’s oldest championships. They also made it through 36-hole qualifiers for the U.S. Open.
Uihlein, the 2010 U.S. Amateur champion, was among five qualifiers at Royal Cinque Ports along with medalist Baard Bjoernevik Skogen, M.J. Daffue, Matthew Southgate and Antoine Rozner. Nicholas and Surratt qualified at Burnham & Berrow with Tom Sloman, Austen Truslow and amateur Alejandro de Castro Piera.
Sam Bairstow led the five qualifiers at West Lancashire, joined by Kazuma Kobori, Josele Ballester, Tiger Christensen and Matthew Jordan, who got the final spot in a playoff.
Among those who failed to make it through were LIV Golf players Thomas Detry and Anirban Lahiri, and Thriston Lawrence of South Africa, who finished fourth in the 2024 British Open at Royal Troon. Also missing out were 2016 Masters champion Danny Willet and Florida junior Luke Poulter, the son of Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter.
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The Associated Press
