[Photo: Cameron Smith/R&A]
Monday qualifiers often produce some of the great stories in golf: a journeyman, nascent pro or up-and-coming amateur earning a place in a tournament early in the week with the chance of changing their careers by the weekend. Those stories, however, don’t usually come at major championships. But this year at the Open Championship that’s set to change.
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The R&A is debuting the “Last-Chance Qualifier”, where 12 players will tee off at Royal Birkdale on Monday morning playing for one spot in the field at The Open.
According to R&A chief executive Mark Darbon, it’s part of a series of new innovations from the governing body as it continue to evolve the year’s final major and “elevate the experience of attending The Open”.
“I think we’re going to create some drama and excitement at the start of the week,” Darbon said.
So who are the 12 and how will it work?
Starting at 7:30am on Monday, four groups of three players will tee off at this year’s Open venue, competing in 18 holes of strokeplay to decide who will earn a tee-time on Thursday. If there’s a tie, a playoff will then take place.
The R&A revealed the 12 players overnight, a diverse group of golfers representing various paths to The Open and backgrounds. Here’s a quick introduction to each.
Aldrich Potgieter 
Photo: Tyler Clouse
The long-hitting South African, who is a former British Amateur champion and won the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic a year ago, is the highest-ranked player (77th) not already in the field for The Open. The 21-year-old has played in two Open Championships, failing to make the cut at the Old Course in 2022 and at Royal Portrush 12 months ago.
Matti Schmid 
Photo: Stacy Revere
You might remember the German from the PGA Championship in May, where he played in the final group on Sunday, eventually finishing in a tie for fourth. Schmid has played in The Open three previous times, finishing as low amateur in 2021 at Royal St George’s.
Matt Moloney (a) 
Photo: Jan Kruger
The American amateur earned his place in the Last-Chance Qualifier by playing in the final of last month’s British Amateur at Royal Liverpool. Moloney was 3 up early in the final but ultimately lost to Stuart Grehan on the 36th and final green. The 20-year-old is a junior at the University of Georgia.
Joe Dean 
Photo: NurPhoto
Dean finished in the top 25 at last year’s Open and will hopes to make his return to the event, being played just two hours from where he grew up. He earned his spot in the field after losing in a playoff at Final Qualifying, where fellow Englishman Matthew Jordan nearly holed out on the second extra hole at West Lancashire Golf Club.
Sam Easterbrook (a) 
Photo: Jan Kruger
The other member of that playoff at West Lancashire was Easterbrook. The amateur from Tomworth, England, played the last four holes of final qualifying in four-under but also succumbed to Jordan’s heroics. The 21-year-old plays college golf at Purdue University, where his 70.7 scoring average this year was the second lowest in school history.
Adri Arnaus 
Photo: Octavio Passos
Arnaus finished one shot further back at West Lancashire. The hard-hitting Spaniard is a DP World Tour winner (2022 Catalunya Championship), but has struggled in 2026, making just five cuts in 14 starts. Perhaps his fortunes could change at Royal Birkdale?
Charles Huntzinger 
Photo: Octavio Passos
Huntzinger, 29, plays on the Korn Ferry Tour but finished alongside Arnaus in final qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club. The Penn State graduate is ranked 972nd in the OWGR and has never played in a major but has stated a goal of one day “designing a championship golf course”. He’ll see one up-close on Monday at Royal Birkdale.
Wesley Bryan 
Photo: Emilee Chinn
Perhaps the most painful story from final qualifying was that of Bryan. The YouTube star and former PGA Tour winner missed a short par putt on the last hole at West Lancs with a place at The Open on the line. He will probably draw the most attention and crowds of any Last-Chance player as he looks to make his second Open appearance.
John Gough 
Photo: Octavio Passos
The Englishman missed out on a spot at The Open by one shot after shooting seven-under-par at Royal Cinque Ports. He was the only person on that score and thus earned his place in the Last-Chance Qualifier. The 27-year-old may be the most in-form player in the 12-man field, having won his maiden title on the Challenge Tour last month in France.
Angel Hidalgo 
Photo: Stuart Franklin
The ever-entertaining Spaniard hopes to make his third-straight Open appearance, having missed out at final qualifying by a shot at Dundonald Links. The 28-year-old made headlines when he outlasted Jon Rahm to win his national open in 2023 and also featured early at last month’s US Open with an opening-round 69 at Shinnecock Hills.
Andrew Wilson 
Photo: Octavio Passos
The 32-year-old Englishman birdied his final hole at Dundonald but finished one shot short of qualifying. He’ll have a chance to qualify for The Open for the second time on Monday morning, having made the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Marcus Helligkilde 
Photo: Alex Burstow/R&A
Helligkilde was the only player in the top 10 in final qualifying at Burnham & Berrow to birdie the final hole, but he was still one shot shy of earning a spot in The Open. The 29-year-old Dane has won three times on the Nordic Golf League and earned his DP World Tour card via the Challenge Tour in 2021. In his free time, he likes to switch-hit and play golf left-handed, but we imagine he’ll bring his right-handed set to Birkdale on Monday.
