[PHOTO: Richard Martin-Roberts/R&A]
LIV Golf League member and three-time DP World Tour winner Sam Horsfield started seven-over for his front nine at the Open Championship Final Qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club. Despite still having 27 holes to get back in contention, the Englishman decided that that was enough and walked off the course after nine holes. It’s not the best look, but it’s also not uncommon in these kind of qualifying events; at last month’s US Open, more than a dozen tour pros failed to finish all 36 holes. And fellow LIV golfer Adrian Meronk also dropped out of his Final Qualifying event overnight (Australian time) in Scotland after playing only 18 holes.
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What made Horsfield’s move unusual, however, was that he apparently didn’t tell R&A officials that he was withdrawing from the event. The R&A confirmed to Golf Digest that Horsfield was ultimately “disqualified after leaving the venue without informing officials”.
The 28-year-old was one of a handful of LIV pros among the 72 golfers at West Lancashire, including Lucas Herbert, Andy Ogletree and Harold Varner III, looking to snag one of the five tickets to Royal Portrush. There were four Final Qualifying sites overall, with 20 spots into this year’s Open up for grabs. Fourteen LIV players were among those trying to earn their way into the major.
Horsfield has played in three Open Championships so far, with a career-best T-67 performance in 2021, but he certainly won’t have a chance to improve on that showing this time around. The Englishman finished fifth at LIV’s inaugural event, winning $US975,000, and his last DP World Tour win was back in May 2022 at the Soudal Open.
Can’t wait to be back 💪 pic.twitter.com/6B5uyAQdNE
— Sam Horsfield (@hr59sam) May 10, 2023
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A torn labrum in his right hip and subsequent surgery sidelined him for a good portion of 2023, but Horsfield returned to the Majesticks at the tail-end of the year.
This non-finish finish is the latest in a precarious start to Horsfield’s 2025, in which he has just one top 10 in nine LIV events – a T-7 at LIV Golf Adelaide. In his past seven starts, Horsfield has finished T-50, T-49, T-27, T-41, T-29, T-33 and T-25.
