British Open: Open Qualifying Series closes at Scottish Open, John Deere

The British Open is now just days away. With four spots up for grabs between the John Deere Classic and the Scottish Open, the intensity to qualify for golf’s oldest championship is at its peak.

The British Open – the Open Championship, of course – is more than golf’s oldest championship. It’s a special week; one that can’t quite be duplicated anywhere else. While the Masters has the aura of Augusta National, the Open literally goes back to the place where the sport was born.

The Royal and Ancient understands this, and their Open Qualifying Series makes tournaments on both the PGA and European Tours that much more exciting. All it takes is one hot week for a golfer to secure his spot to compete for the game’s most vaunted title: champion golfer of the year.

As Carnoustie prepares to host the Open for the eighth time in its vaunted history, there are just four spots left. Three players will win their place at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. Meanwhile, just one player will head across the pond from the John Deere Classic.

The Scottish Open will award its allotment of Open Championship spots to players inside the top ten at Gullane. In recent years, this event has been a sort of final tune-up for the Open’s top contenders. Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, and Masters champion Patrick Reed will all be teeing it up in Scotland.

Overall, ten of the world’s top 30 will be at Gullane, which would – in theory – make a top-ten advancement much more difficult. Last year, though, the three qualifiers finished second, third and fourth behind winner Rafa Cabrera Bello. Runner-up Callum Shinkwin nearly won the event, but RCB was just too good on Sunday.

Only one of those three, Andrew Dodt of Australia, made the cut at Royal Birkdale, but they made the field, nonetheless.

John Deere Classic, British Open connection growing every year

On this side of the pond, things get a little bit more intense. Players who choose to tee it up at the John Deere Classic are faced with a bit of a Catch-22.

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One the one hand, there are valuable FedEx Cup points at stake. For players who aren’t likely to make the Open field, but need to position themselves inside the top 125 for next year’s card, this seems like an easy decision. On the other hand, there’s just one spot in the Open up for grabs.

The organizers of the John Deere Classic have made this week a great experience for all their players. While some stars are absent – notably two-time champion Jordan Spieth – there’s a reason guys like Zach Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Steve Stricker keep coming back.

The biggest selling point for players these days is the charter flight that leaves from the Quad Cities on Sunday after the tournament. Part of that is just the cost of doing business. If you want Open-caliber talent in the field, then they need to be able to justify the six time-zone travel.

Even though there’s only one Open spot up for grabs this week, major hopefuls have a little extra motivation. With just 14 players in the field at TPC Deere Run already heading to Carnoustie, the competition will be wide open.

Next: 2019 PGA TOUR schedule features three new events, finishes by Labor Day

The Open Qualifying Series has spread the aura of golf’s oldest championship around the globe. What was once limited to four days in July now covers months. And it all comes to a head this week. One tournament in the heartland of the United States. The other at a 140-year-old course in the middle of UK golf history.

That’s the power of the Open.

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