2026 Open Championship Final Qualifying Results: 20 Earn Royal Birkdale Spots
BetspertsGolf
an hour ago
Twenty players earned the last spots in the 2026 Open Championship on Tuesday, June 30, coming through 36-hole Final Qualifying at four venues in England and Scotland. LIV Golf players Caleb Surratt, Peter Uihlein, and Josele Ballester all advanced to Royal Birkdale, while James Nicholas took medalist honors at Burnham and Berrow.
Final Qualifying is the last door into the year’s final major. Five players came through at each of the four host courses, filling out the field for the 154th Open, which runs July 16 to 19 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
Who qualified for the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale
Final Qualifying sent five players from each of four host courses to Royal Birkdale, twenty in all. Burnham and Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, and West Lancashire staged the one-day, 36-hole shootout on June 30. The full list of qualifiers is below.
| Venue | Qualifier | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burnham and Berrow | James Nicholas | -10 | Medalist |
| Burnham and Berrow | Caleb Surratt | -9 | LIV Golf |
| Burnham and Berrow | Tom Sloman | -8 | |
| Burnham and Berrow | Alejandro de Castro Piera | -8 | Amateur |
| Burnham and Berrow | Austen Truslow | -8 | |
| Dundonald Links | Jack McDonald | -5 | |
| Dundonald Links | Matthew Baldwin | -4 | |
| Dundonald Links | David Howard | -4 | Amateur |
| Dundonald Links | Nevill Ruiter | -3 | Amateur |
| Dundonald Links | Marcus Plunkett | -3 | Won playoff |
| Royal Cinque Ports | Baard Bjoernevik Skogen | -12 | Co-medalist |
| Royal Cinque Ports | MJ Daffue | -12 | Co-medalist |
| Royal Cinque Ports | Matthew Southgate | -10 | |
| Royal Cinque Ports | Peter Uihlein | -9 | LIV Golf |
| Royal Cinque Ports | Antoine Rozner | -8 | |
| West Lancashire | Samuel Bairstow | -10 | |
| West Lancashire | Kazuma Kobori | -9 | |
| West Lancashire | Josele Ballester | -9 | LIV Golf |
| West Lancashire | Tiger Christensen | -9 | |
| West Lancashire | Matthew Jordan | -8 | Won playoff |
LIV Golf players headline the Royal Birkdale qualifiers
Three LIV Golf players came through Final Qualifying, a reminder that many LIV members are not otherwise exempt into the majors and have to earn their starts. Caleb Surratt of Legion XIII grabbed one of the Burnham and Berrow spots, Peter Uihlein advanced from Royal Cinque Ports, and Josele Ballester of the Fireballs got through at West Lancashire.
Uihlein has now booked two majors the hard way this year, having already earned his place in the 2026 US Open through Final Qualifying before adding an Open start. For Surratt and Ballester, both young and aggressive, Royal Birkdale will be a first taste of links major golf as professionals.
Notable names and storylines from Open Final Qualifying
James Nicholas was the standout, posting the low number at Burnham and Berrow to earn medalist honors. Nicholas has now qualified for both the US Open and The Open in 2026, a strong stretch for a player still chasing full status. Over at Royal Cinque Ports, Baard Bjoernevik Skogen and MJ Daffue shared co-medalist honors at 12 under, the lowest scores of the day across all four sites.
New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, a DP World Tour winner, punched his ticket at West Lancashire, where Matthew Jordan needed a playoff to get through. Several amateurs also made it, including Alejandro de Castro Piera, David Howard, and Nevill Ruiter. And yes, there is a Tiger in the field, as German professional Tiger Christensen qualified at West Lancashire, though that Tiger is not the one most casual fans picture.
What the qualifiers mean for 2026 Open Championship betting and DFS
Final Qualifiers rarely start as serious win contenders at a major, and most will open as triple-digit outrights when the full 2026 Open market posts closer to Royal Birkdale. The smarter way to use this group is through make-cut, first-round leader, and each-way markets rather than outright bets, since a hot qualifier can catch a favorable early wave on a links course.
Links form and comfort in wind matter more here than at a soft parkland stop, so the DP World Tour regulars in this group, and anyone with prior Open experience, are worth flagging once the odds arrive. Treat these names as a watch list for value, not as core plays, and revisit the board when the 154th Open lines firm up in the days before July 16.
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2026 Open Championship Final Qualifying FAQ
How many players qualify for The Open through Final Qualifying?
Twenty players advance, five from each of the four host venues, in a single day of 36-hole stroke play. In 2026 the sites were Burnham and Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, and West Lancashire, and ties for the final spots were settled by playoffs.
When and where is the 2026 Open Championship?
The 154th Open runs July 16 to 19, 2026 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. It is the 11th time Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open, with practice rounds scheduled from July 12 to 15 ahead of the championship.
Do LIV Golf players have to qualify for The Open?
LIV Golf members who are not otherwise exempt must earn their way into The Open through qualifying or the championship’s exemption criteria. That is why Caleb Surratt, Peter Uihlein, and Josele Ballester all played Final Qualifying rather than receiving automatic starts.
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