Tasmanian pro Ryan McCarthy survived a four-players-for-one-spot playoff to gain a berth in this month’s British Open after the final qualifying event at Gailes Links in Scotland.
McCarthy finished two-under for the round before birdieing the first extra hole to take the coveted spot at Royal Birkdale. In a great show of camaraderie, fellow qualifying aspirant Jordan Zunic was on hand to capture McCarthy’s moment:
Yesss! Ryan McCarthy holes his birdie putt on the first playoff hole to qualify for @TheOpen! @PGAofAustralia @Challenge_Tour @GolfAust 🇦🇺🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/Qrxm7HMg4u
— Jordan Zunic (@jzunic91) July 4, 2017
The 27-year-old was the lone Aussie to advance from the five final qualifiers held across Britain and joins the nine Australians already guaranteed a start: Ash Hall, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Adam Bland, Aaron Baddeley, Scott Hend, Matt Griffin, Adam Scott and Jason Day. The British Open begins a fortnight from tomorrow, on July 20.