Three LIV Golf Players Win Qualifiers to Earn Spots in British Open

Lee Westwood, 52, will play at Royal Portrush in two weeks along with Dean Burmester and Lucas Herbert, the only three LIV players to advance out of 14 on Tuesday.

Lee Westwood will make his first British Open start since 2022. / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Three LIV Golf League players led their qualifying venues Tuesday to earn spots in the British Open to be played in two weeks at Royal Portrush.

Lee Westwood, Dean Burmester and Lucas Herbert won their respective qualifiers that were staged at four venues across the United Kingdom, with five places awarded to each location.

Westwood, 52, has not played in the Open since 2022 and shot scores of 67–70 at the Dundonald Links in Scotland. He and his other LIV colleagues were playing in the 36-hole qualifiers after making the journey on Sunday night from the LIV Golf Dallas event.

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“I’ve been up since half-past one this morning with jet lag so I was starting to feel it,” said Westwood, whose chances to qualify for the majors have been thwarted due to his inability to play in regular events.

“Royal Portrush is a fantastic golf course and I played well there last time, finished [tied] fourth in 2019, so that was another reason to come and play.”

There were 14 LIV Golf League players attempting to qualify, with only the three medalists making it through.

At Royal Cinque Ports in England, Burmester led the way at a qualifier that also saw Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter fail to advance. Poulter’s son, Luke, also failed to qualify, as did David Puig.

At West Lancashire in England, Australia’s Herbert was the medalist and earned a trip to the July 17-20 tournament.

At Burnham & Barrow in England, LIV’s Anirban Lahiri missed out on playing off for a spot by one shot.