Matthew Dodd-Berry

Two weeks after losing in the quarter-finals of The Amateur Championship and seeing a chance of playing in The Open - as well as the US Open and Masters - by that route disappear, Dodd-Berry secured a place at Royal Troon with a superb performance in the 36-hole Final Qualifying event at West Lancashire on July 2.  

He fired back-to-back rounds of 69 for a six-under-par total of 138 that made him joint winner with three-time DP World Tour winner Sam Horsfield as 69 players fought for four spots in golf’s oldest major.

Former Masters champion and Ryder Cup star Sergio Garcia was among those who did not make it. It meant more success for the Royal Liverpool club, which hosted The 151st Open, fellow member Matthew Jordan having qualified on the same course then before going on to finish joint-10th.

Dodd-Berry was the winner of last year’s Dutch Junior Open and said then: “It’s my first big international win. I’ve won smaller competitions over the years, but I’d never won on an international stage like that before.” Now he gets to experience an even bigger one.