Callum Shinkwin, Matthieu Pavon and Andrew Dodt have qualified for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Three places were available in golf's original championship through The Open Qualifying Series which continued at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Dundonald this week.
Shinkwin finished runner-up to Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is already exempt for The Open, after losing a play-off on the first extra hole.
The Englishman started the final round in steady form with a series of pars but moved up the gears towards the end of the front nine with consecutive birdies that spanned three holes.
Two further birdies at the 13th and 15th looked to have put the former English Amateur champion in a position to win the championship but a bogey on the final hole meant he had to settle for a four-under-par 68 and finish tied for first place with Cabrera Bello on 13-under-par.
Pavon will make his debut in The Open after carding an excellent six-under-par 66 during today’s final round.
The Frenchman rolled in four birdies during the front nine and despite a bogey on the 13th, picked up three further shots before the end of the round to ensure he finished in third place on ten-under-par for the championship.
Dodt experienced a difficult final round, posting a one-over-par 73, but hung on with a par putt on the final hole to make sure of his place at Royal Birkdale.
The Australian, who will make his first appearance in The Open, finished tied for fourth place on eight-under-par overall alongside two-time Champion Golfer of the Year Padraig Harrington, Matt Kuchar, Ryan Fox, all of whom have booked their place in The Open, and Anthony Wall.
Dodt takes the final qualifying place over Wall due to his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Callum Shinkwin (England)
“It’s fantastic to be playing in The Open and I’m looking forward to playing at Royal Birkdale. The Open is the number one championship for us and to have qualified is great. I played at Royal Troon last year, didn’t make the cut, but I thought I performed well there.”
Matthieu Pavon (France)
“It’s an amazing day and at the start of the weekend, I wasn’t expecting to qualify for The Open. I played very solidly for two days however and everything went well. I’m so happy.
“It’s going to be my first time playing in a major championship and my first time at Royal Birkdale too. I will enjoy this moment but I need to get down there as fast as I can!”
Andrew Dodt (Australia)
“I’m absolutely pumped to be playing in my first major. It’s taken a while but I finally got there. Qualifying for The Open has been a motivation for the last six months. Today wasn’t easy at times but I’m in and here we go.
“I’m prepared for playing links golf, it was nice to have the Irish Open last week and then the Scottish Open. I played Royal Birkdale about ten years ago, I don’t remember much but we’ll get out there tomorrow and do our homework.”
| The Open Qualifying Series | Event | No of places | Detail |
| TOQS-Australia | Emirates Australian Open 17-20 November 2016 Royal Sydney Golf Club |
3 | Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties |
| TOQS-Singapore | SMBC Singapore Open 19-22 January 2017 Sentosa Golf Club |
4 | Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties |
| TOQS-South Africa | Joburg Open 23-26 February 2017 Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club |
3 | Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties |
| TOQS-Japan | Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open 25-28 May 2017 JFE Setonaikai Golf Club |
4 | Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties |
| TOQS-USA | Quicken Loans National 29 June - 2 July 2017 TPC Potomac |
4 | Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties |
| TOQS-France | HNA Open de France 29 June - 2 July 2017 Le Golf National |
3 | Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties |
| TOQS-Final Qualifying | 4 July 2017 Gailes Links Hillside Notts (Hollinwell) Royal Cinque Ports Woburn (Marquess’) |
15 | Three places available at each venue |
| TOQS-Ireland | Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 6-9 July 2017 Portstewart Golf Club |
3 | Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties |
| TOQS-USA | The Greenbrier Classic 6-9 July 2017 The Old White TPC |
4 | Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties |
| TOQS-Scotland | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 13-16 July 2017 Dundonald Links |
3 | Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties |
| TOQS-USA | John Deere Classic 13-16 July 2017 TPC Deere Run |
1 | One place to the leading player (not otherwise exempt) who finishes in the top five and ties |
The Open
The 146th Open will be played at Royal Birkdale from 16-23 July 2017.
The Open is golf’s oldest championship. Played since 1860 on iconic links golf courses, it is the sport’s most international Major Championship with qualifying events on every continent. For one week each year, the pursuit of the famous Claret Jug trophy is the focus of the sporting world, followed globally by millions of fans.
Staged by The R&A, The Open delivers an annual economic benefit of up to £100 million to its host region, while the Championship’s commercial success supports the development of the game, worldwide.
