Joe Dean won the Last-Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale to secure the final place in The 154th Open Championship.
The 32-year-old Yorkshireman took the spoils on the Monday of Open week with a two under-par 68 at Royal Birkdale earning him his third appearance in The Open – as he held off Darlington-based Andrew Wilson and South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter by a single shot.
Joe made a birdie at the par three seventh hole, and followed it up with another at the 11th, before he made an eagle at the 14th to cancel out a bogey either side. He then parred his final three holes to complete the one-shot victory in the 12-player 18-hole qualifier.
Joe, who tied for 25th place at The Open in 2024, said: “It was great today. Any opportunity to get in The Open again, I’ll glady turn up and play.
“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. I don’t know if I got used to it a bit more and it was sort of just a one-round shootout.
“To see the amount of people out here today, it’s been great. I think it has drawn a lot more people.”
On his eagle, he added: “I just hit a really good drive down the middle, had 250 yards to the flag straight down wind and just probably hit the best six-iron I’ve ever hit.”
The Last-Chance Qualifier was introduced this year after a survey of fans carried out by The R&A.
Meanwhile, the first two reserves for the 154th Open are Aldrich Potgieter and Matti Schmid.
For the full results click here.
