Golfer Lee Westwood, thanks to his rounds of 70 and 67 at Dundonald Links, secured his place to participate in The Open. This will be his first major since he joined LIV Golf, funded by Saudi Arabia, three years ago.Westwood was one of the 20 players who secured their place at Royal Portrush through the Final Regional Qualifying, which took place at four courses in England and Scotland, awarding five places each. Of the 15 LIV players who participated in the qualifiers, three managed to qualify.Westwood, a 52-year-old Englishman with 25 titles on the European circuit and three Order of Merit titles, led the five qualifiers in Dundonald with a total of 7 under par, 137.
The Open will take place from July 17 to 20 at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland, where Shane Lowry won in 2019. Westwood was one shot off the lead after 36 holes before tying for fourth place, nine shots behind Lowry.Two other LIV Golf players, Lucas Herbert of Australia and Dean Burmester of South Africa, also secured a spot in The Open. Herbert led the qualifiers at West Lancashire, while Burmester did the same at Royal Cinque Ports.Graeme McDowell, who grew up in Portrush, was one of the five LIV players who failed to qualify at Royal Cinque Ports. Among them were Ian Poulter and his 21-year-old son, Luke, who plays in Florida and was a substitute at the US Open last month.I’ve always said it’s the biggest championship in golf and, as a British player, you get phenomenal support. I’m looking forward to enjoying the week at Portrush, seeing some old friends and enjoying that golf course.
Lee Westwood
Seven other LIV players failed to qualify, either finishing outside the top five or withdrawing mid-round. Three others withdrew before starting. LIV Golf finished an event in Dallas on Sunday, and the players had to fly directly to the UK for qualifying.
Westwood was world number 1 at the end of 2010. At the time, he was considered one of the best who had never won a major, finishing runner-up twice at the Masters and losing a playoff by one stroke at the US Open (2008 at Torrey Pines) and the British Open (2009 at Turnberry).
