Three East Lancashire golfers aiming to qualify for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale will go for glory next week in Final Qualifying.
Mark Young and Simon Lucas, both members at Longridge Golf Club, will travel to Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, near Royal Troon, for a 36-hole day which could secure them a spot at next month’s major.
Both men were successful in regional qualifying – Mark at Kilmarnock (Barassie) and Simon at Hesketh – and secured their spots at Final Qualifying on Tuesday, June 30.
Waterfoot-raised DP World Tour golfer Marcus Armitage will also be trying to get into the Open for the first time since 2022 as he aims to qualify at West Lancashire.
They face a tough task with only a handful of spots in The Open next month available, with the field featuring a smattering of PGA, DP World, and LIV Golf tour professionals.
Mark, from Hurst Green, has played his way into The Open through this route before in 2015, when he qualified for the major at St Andrews, and has fallen short twice since.
He will tee off at 7.20am in a group alongside former tour pro Robert Rock and Scottish pro Paul O’Hara, before going out for their second round at 1.05pm.
Simon tees off at 7.40am alongside Fleetwood’s DP World Tour professional Jack Senior, and amateur Ashley Williams from Bolton Old Links.
Their second round will start at 1.25pm.
Notable big names in the field at Dundonald include two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, plus Cameron Davis, Angel Higaldo, and American amateur Ryder Cowan, who was joint low-amateur at this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Another highly rated amateur in the field is Scotland’s Niall Shiels-Donegan, who was part of the UK & Ireland Walker Cup team last year.
Other host courses for final qualifying are West Lancashire, Royal Cinque Ports, and Burnham & Berrow.
Marcus Armitage – nicknamed The Bullet – has made two cuts at The Open in four appearances, with a T53 his best finish at St Andrew's in 2021, and he will be in qualifying at West Lancs.
He plays in a group alongside Masters champion and Ryder Cup legend Sergio Garcia from 7.50am.
Other notable names there include another Masters champion, Yorkshireman Danny Willett, Matt Wallace, Estonian amateur Richard Teder – who chipped in from the fairway to earn the last spot at the 2025 Open, and Spaniard Jose Luis Ballester, who caused controversy at the Masters in 2025 when he urinated in Rae’s Creek.
Read more
Lancashire golf courses among top 100 in the world in new list
Stunning moorland links with Open history of its own a must for golf fans this summer
The Open 2026 - Mackenzie-designed course is Lancashire golf's 'best-kept secret'
Ormskirk amateur Andrew Haswell also plays at West Lancs, as does St Annes Old Links amateur Neil Williams.
Big names at Cinque Ports on the Kent coast are 2024's fourth-place finisher Thriston Lawrence, amateur Luke Poulter (son of Ryder Cup icon Ian), Thomas Detry, and Garrick Higgo – who was handed a two-shot penalty for being late to his tee time at this year’s PGA Championship at Aronimink.
In Somerset at Burnham & Berrow, American Sahith Theegala, Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olsen, Marc Leishman of Australia, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa are the headliners.
The top handful of players from each venue will earn a spot at the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and compete for the chance to lift the Claret Jug and be named Champion Golfer of the Year.
The Open takes place from July 16 to 19.
