British Open: Three more spots filled at Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

The British Open is just 11 days away, but the Open Qualifying Series rolls on. Three more players punched their tickets to Carnoustie at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on Sunday.

The British Open – or the Open Championship if you’re so inclined – is just over a week away. As the opportunities to play in golf’s oldest championship dwindle down for the year, the intensity keeps picking up.

The story was no different on Sunday at Ballyliffin. Even as the Irish Open pressed on to extra holes, three more players earned their place at historic Carnoustie.

The top qualifier this week was Ryan Fox of New Zealand. The 31-year-old out of Auckland has been climbing up the ranks on the European Tour, after first earning his membership last year. This week, he nearly bagged his first win on Europe’s premier tour. Heading into Sunday with a share of the lead, Fox forced a playoff with the hard-charging Russell Knox.

Although he fell to Knox on the 73rd hole, Fox has little to hang his head about. There’s something about the Ulster region that just seems to work for him. Fox not only improved on last year’s finish (fourth at Portstewart), but he also earned his second straight trip to the Open. Even though the 2019 edition is headed far southwest to Lahinch, I imagine he’ll be back for more next year.

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Of course, Fox wasn’t the only one who brought home a ticket to The Open this week. England’s Andy Sullivan, an eight-year veteran of the European Tour, made his last major start at the 2017 PGA Championship. Hovering around 130th in the world ranking most of this year (and currently 110th), Sullivan needed a strong week top make his fourth straight Open.

Sullivan went from +1 at the cut line, to posting a weekend card of 65-69. That was good enough to finish in a tie for sixth place, and his Open qualifying mission is complete.

The final qualifier from Ballyliffin was Zander Lombard of South Africa. For the 28-year-old, this week went about as perfectly as it could. Lombard had made just two full-event cuts in 2018, and had yet to card a single finish higher than a tie for 34th place.

Despite only being ranked 581st in the world, Lombard shot under par in three of the four rounds at Ballyliffin, tying with Sullivan in sixth place. He’ll be headed to the British Open for the second time in his young career, hoping to improve on his T-66 finish at Troon two years ago.

Next: Is the British Open field the weakest of the majors?

There’s just one week left in the Open Qualifying Series, and the pressure continues to rise. These three are certainly going to enjoy a stress-free week, as the European Tour heads to the Scottish Open before its return to Carnoustie.

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