British Open 2024: Justin Rose leads qualifying for 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon

Justin Rose shot 66-68 on Tuesday at Burnham and Berrow in England, equalling amateur Dominic Clemons for a medal at that venue and a ticket to his 21st Open Championship.

Rose, who is ranked No. 66 in the Official World Golf Rankings, had no other exemptions for this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, so he went out and did it the old-fashioned way, digging it out of the ground over 36 holes of play.

For Rose, his Open journey began in 1998 at Royal Birkdale, where he holed out on the final hole to finish T4 and win the low amateur title. He has played 20 times since that famous start, and has not missed an Open from 2007 to 2021.

“There is clearly a lot of momentum,” Rose told TheOpen.com“Honestly, the Open has been like a fairy tale and a love story for me since I was 14 years old (when he first played in the final qualifying round).

“The Open is always special, and you can take that for granted. As you get a little bit older, things get harder, and in a way, I think it’s a good thing (having to qualify) because it makes you appreciate how special it is.”

Interestingly, T4 is still his second-best finish at the Open. He finished T2 in 2018 at Carnoustie when Francesco Molinari went on to win. Rose narrowly qualified for that event before shooting 64-69 on the weekend to finish two strokes behind Ryder Cup friend Molinari.

Rose wasn’t the only golfer to qualify on Tuesday. A total of 16 players played their way into the Open Championship across four different venues. While big names like Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell didn’t make the cut, here are the 16 who qualified, including Angel Hidalgo, qualifier at Dundonald after scoring an eagle on the 36th hole of the day.

Royal Cinque Port

1. Matthew Southgate (-6)
T2. Elvis Smylie (-3)
T2. Jaime Fernandez Montojo (away) (-3)
T4. Luis Masaveu (a) (-2)

West Lancashire

T1. Matthew Dodd-Berry (-6)
T1. Sam Horsfield (-6)
T3. Daniel Brown (-5)
T3. Masahiro Kawamura (-5)

Dundonald Link

1. Sam Hutsby (-8)
T2. Angel Hidalgo (-5)
T2. Liam Nolan (a) (-5)
T4. Jack McDonald (-4)

Burnham and Berrow

T1. Justin Rose (-8)
T1. Dominic Clemons (a) (-8)
T3. Abraham Ancer (-5)
T3. Charlie Lindh (-5)