Byeong-hun An, David Lingmerth and Nicolai Højgaard have qualified for The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool through the Genesis Scottish Open.
Byeong-hun An led the way in Scotland after matching the course-record 61 on the opening day, and remained in contention for most of the weekend on his way to earning his ninth start in The Open through the Open Qualification Series at the Genesis Scottish Open.
A level par 70 on a blustery day in Scotland was enough for the South Korean to finish in a tie for third on ten under, four shots behind eventual winner Rory McIlroy.
He spread four birdies and four bogeys over 18 holes on the final day at The Renaissance Club, which included a dropped shot on the last that stopped him from finishing in outright third. A frustrating end, but it was more than enough for An to play his way into the field at Royal Liverpool, which will be his first appearance since he finished in a tie for 26th at Royal St. Georges in 2021.
An's third place was shared by exempt World Number One Scottie Scheffler and Sweden's David Lingmerth, who was playing in a group with runner-up Robert MacIntyre.
"The Open wasn't in my schedule but after the last couple days, all I tried to do is try to play a little better," said An, whose first appearance in The Open was at Hoylake in 2014.
"Struggled a little bit off the tee, tee-to-green the last couple weeks but I'm glad to see that tee-to-green was great this week.
"That's great. My first time at The Open as a pro. I remember the place. It's a great golf course, I feel like it was a little wet that week, a little soft to play. That was my first major cut I think that I made. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it and hopefully can have a little better finish this year.
"I felt like my swing was back on track. It was a little off the past couple weeks but it's good to see my swing is back on track. Yeah, this is a bonus, extra week, so hopefully I can make the best out of it."
Lingmerth posted a flawless front nine with a birdie at the par-five third joining eight pars, then added a birdie at ten, a bogey at 12 and a final birdie at the 13th before parring his way in to earn his spot at Hoylake.
The Swede will return to The Open next week for the first time since 2016 where he missed the cut at Royal Troon. His only other appearance was at the Old Course in The 144th Open in 2014 where he finished tied 74th.
Nicolai Højgaard joins An and Lingmerth in the final qualifying spot after finishing one behind on nine under par, booking his third appearance following a missed cut in 2018 and a tie for 53rd in St. Andrews last year.
The Dane said that he was inspired this week by his twin brother’s victory at last week’s Made in HimmerLand, and he made sure that he’ll join Rasmus in the field at Royal Liverpool after a brilliant performance at The Renaissance Club.
Højgaard went low on Friday with a 63 to move into contention, and despite a disappointing 71 on Saturday he bounced back with a three-under 67 in high winds on Sunday, becoming one of just 13 players to be under par on the final day.
It was by no means an easy day, though. The 22-year-old made three birdies on the front nine at three, five and eight but also dropped a shot at the third and four-putted the par-three ninth to walk off with a double-bogey.
He faired a little better on the back-nine, holing for eagle from the side of the driveable par-four 13th, then posted back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 following a bogey at 14.
Safely in the clubhouse with two pars to finish, Scotland's Grant Forrest was tied on the same number with a few holes to go. He needed to beat Højgaard in order to take one of the three spots, but ended up falling back with a bogey at the last, allowing the 22-year-old to take the final spot in The Open.
Along with Rasmus, they will be the second brothers competing in next week's event, joining 2022 U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick and his younger brother Alex, who earned his place through Final Qualifying.
