Lee Westwood seals Open return after 4,700-mile trip from Dallas to Dundonald

He’d travelled 4,700 miles from Dallas to Dundonald, hadn’t played the Ayrshire course before and only got one-and-a-half hour’s sleep. Despite all that, Lee Westwood is heading to Royal Portrush in a fortnight’s time to tee up in the 153rd Open.

After showing his class by posting rounds of 70 and 67 for a seven-under-par total, the 52-year-old Englishman claimed top spot in one of four Final Qualifiers, securing his 28th appearance in the Claret Jug event and a 93rd start in a major.

Lee Westwood acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green following his second round ion The Open Final Qualifier at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire | R&A via Getty Images

Scottish duo Daniel Young and Connor Graham, Spaniard Angel Hidalgo and Swede Jesper Sandborg secured the other spots up for grabs at Dundonald Links, but, on a day when he was followed by a large crowd from start to finish, it was Westwood who undoubtedly took pride of place.

“Not really that tough,” he said of making 27 successive starts in the world’s oldest major before seeing that run ended in 2023 then sitting it out again last year. “If I’d have wanted to play in them that badly, I would have come along and tried to qualify. But this time around, I thought, why not?

“I only made up my mind last week really. Didn’t get in until seven o’clock last night from Texas. I hadn’t played the golf course before and walked it last night. I only had an hour and a half sleep last night as well. So if I collapse, then you’ll know why (laughing).

“Yeah, it’s a strange route, isn’t it? Dallas to Dundonald. Obviously it’s not the ideal preparation, but it’s the greatest championship in the world and I felt like I’ve played well the last few tournaments on LIV with a 62 and finishing tenth in Washington.

“I played solidly last week and there was a bit of breeze blowing and felt like my game was in decent shape. So I thought, come along and give myself an opportunity. You don’t want to turn up at qualifiers if you haven’t got plenty of game, but I felt like I’d got plenty of game. It was just not knowing the golf course that was really the conundrum for me.”

His morning effort contained an eagle at the third but also a double-bogey 7 at the 14th. In a polished afternoon performance, he made birdies at the tenth and 11th going out before adding gains at the second, third, fifth and seventh coming home. His sole dropped shot came at the par-4 13th.

“Good but tired,” he said with a smile in reply to being asked how he felt. “It’s a while since I’ve played 36 holes in a day and didn’t really give myself the best chance, really. The first time I played it was this morning and that was the second time.

“There were times out there where there were a couple of club winds and I get the feeling that you can score around the front nine and you have to hold on around the back. I was quite happy getting through the back nine in one under par this afternoon and three-under for the tournament and then feeling like I could put my foot down around the back nine.”

Lee Westwood watches a tee shot in the first round at Dundonald Links | Ross Parker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Westwood, who now plays for Majesticks in the LIV Golf League, finished a distant runner-up to Louis Oosthuizen in the 2010 event at St Andrews while he was joint-third in both 2009 and 2013 at Turnberry and Muirfield respectively.

“I’ve always said it’s the greatest championship in golf,” said the former world No 1. “As a British player, you get phenomenal support and I really enjoyed Portrush last time (in 2019). I finished fourth and played nicely, so I’ll be looking forward to going back there. There’s no walk like walking down the 18th in an Open with the stands surrounding the 18th green.”

Asked about his expectations - Justin Rose finished runner-up at Royal Troon last year after coming through Final Qualifying - Westwood replied: “I won’t really have any. I’m playing at Valderrama next week in LIV and I’ll try and sharpen my game up. I’m looking forward to the next few days having some time off. I’ll work on my swing a little bit, keep working on my putting. Putting was good today.

“And maybe turn up at Portrush on the Tuesday afternoon! I feel like I’ve played it before. I can get a practise round in on Tuesday afternoon and then maybe play nine holes on Wednesday and try and be as fresh as possible.

“I think of any major championship, you can compete on links courses. I think Tom Watson proved that around Turnberry in 2009 and then Greg Norman a couple of years later at Birkdale. I think if any form of golf gives seniors a chance, it’s links golf because you get a bit of run on the ball and you have to use a bit of cunning and guile with the wind.”

Daniel Young maintained his recent sparkling form on the HotelPlanner Tour to secure his Open debut | Getty Images

Maintaining his recent sparkling form, having recorded back-to-back top-five finishes on the HotelPlanner Tour, Young progressed on six under along with playing partner Hidalgo, the Spaniard roaring with delight as the Perth man finished with a birdie on the ninth as he added a 67 to a morning 71.

“Absolutely,” said Young of feeling he could come through the test. “I've been playing great the last month. I finally had a nice result to back it up and then followed it up last week with another good week. I've played well around here before, coming close last year, so I feel quite comfortable on the golf course.

“I know the scoring never gets probably as low as people might think. It's a tricky enough course and they set up a few tricky enough pins today. So, yeah, you've just got to be pretty patient like I was this morning when I didn't probably have my best stuff. And then I strung together just a lovely round this afternoon.”

Blairgowrie amateur Connor Graham secured his spot at Royal Portrush through a play-off in Ayrshire | The R&A

Graham, the 18-year-old Blairgowrie amateur, secured the final spot as he birdied the first extra hole in a play-off with Tartan Tour stalwart Paul O’Hara. “It feels pretty good and I am delighted,” said Graham, the 2022 Junior Open champion. “It was pretty nervy in the play-off but, thankfully, I got the job done.”

He’d played with Westwood and Jamie Donaldson earlier in the day. “There were big crowds following us and I managed to deal with the pressure I was under pretty good and that definitely helped me in the play-off,” he said with a smile.

Elsewhere, Ian Poulter, one of Westwood’s Majesticks team-mates, and his son, Luke, both missed out at Royal Cinque Ports.