England’s Joe Dean, ranked No. 268 in the world, will compete in the 154th Open Championship after winning the inaugural Last Chance Qualifier on Monday.
The 32-year-old DP World Tour member carded a 2-under 68 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club to claim the final spot in the 156-man field in Southport, England.
“Any opportunity to get in The Open again, I’ll gladly turn up and play,” Dean said. “One-day events, I seem to play better. I don’t quite know why, the mentality of trying to keep the same throughout any round and every round.”
Fellow Englishman Andrew Wilson placed second in the 12-man field Monday at 1-under and Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa finished third at even par.
Dean took the lead with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole, where his approach shot from 250 yards stopped 3 feet from the cup.
“(I) just probably hit the best 6-iron I’ve ever hit,” Dean said. “Fortunately, (the) wind caught it and it bounced pretty good. We didn’t hear anything from the grandstands, but I don’t know if we were too far away to hear anything.”
Potgieter needed a birdie at the 18th to match Dean and force a playoff, but his approach found a greenside bunker and he made a bogey.
Dean is making his third appearance in The Open after finishing T70 at Royal Birkdale in 2017 and T25 at Royal Troon in Scotland in 2024.
