The R&A today announced the names of the 288 players set to compete in Final Qualifying for the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, and there are 16 Irish names among them.
Following on from the Regional Qualifier at County Louth Golf Club earlier this week, Jack Madden, Gerard Dunne, Liam Grehan, Jake Whelan, Niall Kearney and Jack Hume are all set to take their places alongside 2023 Walker Cup players Alex Maguire, Liam Nolan and Matthew McClean who qualified due to their amateur exploits.
Gary Hurley, Max Kennedy, Conor Purcell, Colm Moriarty, Graeme McDowell, Dermot McElroy and Tom McKibbin complete the lineup.
McKibbin, who will be hoping to avoid taking his place in the field should he be among the top two non-exempt players at this week’s Italian Open, is due to compete at Dundonald Links and the Ayrshire venue will see the heaviest of the Irish traffic with Whelan, Kennedy, Purcell, Nolan, McClean and McElroy also heading for Scotland.
West Lancashire Golf Club in Liverpool will welcome Hurley, Maguire, County Louth amateur Dunne and Liam Grehan, while Hume and 2010 U.S. Open Champion McDowell are set for Royal Cinque Ports on the south east coast of England.
Madden, who topped the Regional Qualifier at County Louth, is destined for Burnham and Berrow Golf Club on the Bristol Channel and he’s joined by Kearney and Moriarty.
The final number of qualifiers from each of the four venues is yet to be announced, but Final Qualifying takes place over 36 holes on Tuesday July 2.
Among the other big names in the fields are Sergio Garcia at West Lancashire, Justin Rose and Burnham and Berrow, and Alex Noren at Royal Cinque Ports.
For entry list in full, please click here.