English golfer Joe Dean, currently ranked 268th in the world, punched his ticket to the 154th Open Championship on Monday by winning the first-ever Last Chance Qualifier.
The 32-year-old, who competes on the DP World Tour, posted a 2-under-par round of 68 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club to claim the last available spot in the 156-player field set to compete in Southport, England.
“Any opportunity to get in The Open again, I’ll gladly turn up and play,” Dean said. “One-day events, I seem to play better. I don’t quite know why, the mentality of trying to keep the same throughout any round and every round.”
Among the 12 competitors in the qualifier, fellow Englishman Andrew Wilson finished as runner-up at 1-under par, while South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter came in third at even par.
Dean seized the lead with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole after his approach shot from 250 yards out settled just 3 feet from the pin.
“(I) just probably hit the best 6-iron I’ve ever hit,” Dean said. “Fortunately, (the) wind caught it and it bounced pretty good. We didn’t hear anything from the grandstands, but I don’t know if we were too far away to hear anything.”
Potgieter had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the 18th hole, but his approach landed in a greenside bunker and he walked away with a bogey instead.
This will mark Dean’s third appearance at The Open. He previously finished tied for 70th at Royal Birkdale in 2017 and tied for 25th at Royal Troon in Scotland in 2024.
