By GolfDigestME.com
It is all to play for heading into the final day of Made in Himmerland as four players share the third round lead, with English trio Ross McGowan, Oliver Wilson and Matthew Southgate joined by Italy’s Francesco Laporta at the summit on 17-under.

Packed crowds enjoyed moving day at Himmerland, where Englishman Matthew Jordan equalled the course record with a nine-under 62 to move to within one shot of the lead on 16-under, while American John Catlin delighted the fans with a hole-in-one at the 16th — known as Himmerland Hill.

The spectators witnessed another remarkable hole-out for Southgate, whose second shot on the par four first hole dropped into the cup for an eagle two. His six-under 65 was matched by former Ryder Cup player Wilson, who could have led outright only for back-to-back bogeys on the final two holes.

McGowan, the outright leader after both of the opening two rounds, signed for a two-under 69 while Laporta carded a three-under 68.

Jordan held fifth place on his own while Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, Tom Lewis of England and South African Justin Walters were a shot further back on 15-under.

“It was a tricky day out there today,” said McGowan. “The first two rounds, especially when playing in the morning groups didn’t really have any wind. The wind had picked up to 20 miles per hour, so you were almost starting your line on the trouble to try get it close.

“So on most holes I was trying to just play to the middle of the green, and I struggled with the speed as well to be honest. Yesterday they were really quick in the morning but this afternoon they had slowed up a bit — struggled to get a few to the hole early on and then started hitting them too hard. Hopefully tomorrow my speed will be better.

“I’ve been playing nicely for a few weeks even though the results haven’t shown it. I know where the ball is going off the tee and my iron shots and wedges have been really good. The last two or three weeks have been good, I didn’t play much over the summer as my wife and I had a baby girl, so had some nice time off although I missed a few big events.

“But since coming back I’ve been improving every week and hopefully the form will continue until the end of the season.

“It’s a bunched leaderboard, four tied for the lead, anybody can win it really. Looks like the wind is going to pick up again tomorrow throughout the day so somebody who is on 11 or 12 under with a low round has a chance.”

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The post DP World Tour: Fight to the finish in Himmerland as four share lead appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
On the homepage of Joost Luiten’s own website, the Dutchman boldly claims he’s “at my best when I’m under pressure”.  Quite.

The 32-year-old again held his nerve down the stretch on a Sunday to win the inaugural NBO Oman Open by two strokes from Englishman Chris Wood. Luiten started the final round at Al Mouj tied for the lead at -12 and while Frenchman Julien Guerrier faded to solo third with a 71 and Englishman Matthew Southgate dipped to a share of ninth after a 75, a closing 68 saw Luiten claim a sixth European Tour title.

It also saw the world No.90 extend his winning record when leading through 54 holes to an utterly impressive five from seven even if he needed all his closing qualities to get the job done in Muscat.

He’s done it! ? @joostluitenofficial wins the #NBOOManOpen.

A post shared by European Tour (@europeantour) on Feb 18, 2018 at 4:28am PST

Three successive birdies from the second saw Luiten race to a three shot lead but bogeys at 7 and 8 enabled Wood draw level at -13. Robert Rock, a blast from the past who counts the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship among his two European Tour titles, briefly made it a three-way tie at the top but three closing bogeys ended his challenge.

The stage was left to Luiten and Wood but everytime the latter (playing in the penultimate group) birdied, Luiten responded immediately, decisively so on the par 5 16th. A bogey on the next hole was Wood’s only blemish in a closing 69 and gave Luiten a two shot buffer down the 72nd hole.

From the runner-up to the winner ??

A nice touch from @Chris3Wood… pic.twitter.com/UF2upVxBsf

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 18, 2018

Luiten’s last win came at his home KLM Open in 2016. He was 36th in last season’s Race to Dubai in a consistent season featuring two top-10s, a runner-up finish to host Sergio Garcia at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters the bitter-sweet highlight. Another tilt at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship now beckons with Luiten rocketing up to 10th in the 2018 Race to Dubai standings after starting the week on the bubble in 60th place.

It earns the Dutchman a start in the March 1-4 WGC-Mexico Championship and an outside shot at a Ryder Cup debut in Paris this September. The performance didn’t go unnoticed by European captain Thomas Bjorn who celebrated his 47th birthday with a share of 31st place.

Congratulations to @joostluiten on a great performance in Oman!!!
Top class golf on top class golf course.

— Thomas Bjorn (@thomasbjorngolf) February 18, 2018

“This is why you play golf, to hold trophies,” Luiten told EuropeanTour.com afterwards.

“It’s always tough to win out here, all these guys are so good and they keep putting pressure on you.Down the stretch I hit some nice shots, I made some nice putts and it was a nice battle with my friend Woody. I did drop a couple of silly ones going out. My aim after that was just to create chances and hopefully take a few.

“The putt on 16 really closed the door on the other guys. I wasn’t tempted to go for the green in two. I played that hole smart. As for the Ryder Cup, I need to win a couple more times to have a chance. But if I play more good golf, you never know what might happen.”

Luiten is a confirmed starter for next week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club where South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang will defend.

The final leaderboard:

?? -16 Luiten
??????? -14 Wood
?? -13 Guerrier
?? -11 Han
?? -11 Campillo
?? -11 Levy
?? -10 Zanotti
??????? -10 Rock

All Scores: https://t.co/ce7cATJvNA pic.twitter.com/na0pFIdCto

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 18, 2018

The post Dutch delight as Joost Luiten wins in Muscat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Frenchman Julien Guerrier, Joost Luiten of The Netherlands and Englishman Matthew Southgate will start the final round of the $1.75 million event tied for the lead at 12 under par, a shot ahead of Chris Wood. Every one within five strokes of the lead – 13 players in all – will fancy their chances but if Saturday’s topsy-turvy scoring at Al Mouj is any indication, the final round in Muscat is going to a dramatic shootout peppered with red, blue and even black numbers.

If you’re looking for momentum going into Sunday, look no further than the trio of leaders.

Guerrier, Guerrier and Southgate took turns to birdie the testy par-4 18th to cap rounds of 66, 66 and 69 respectively. Southgate’s gain was achieved with the longest putt and was arguably the most impressive, a gritty way to sign of a schizophrenic round which saw him start with three successive birdies to go from two behind starting the third round to three ahead as overnight leader Matthieu Pavon was bitten by the snake early and faded to a 75.

Can he tie the lead?

Yes he can. @SouthgateMatt gets to 12 under par too. pic.twitter.com/LILGeDzCpl

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 17, 2018

But Southgate, suddenly losing his already quick rhythm, then dropped four shots in the space of four holes before a birdie on nine readied the ship and lightened the Englishman’s equilibrium.

“It was quite funny really, we birdied the ninth and I walked off and said to my caddie Gary, ‘that was nine pars Gaz, I don’t know what you’re talking about’,” said Southgate.

“He laughed and I said, ‘I’m serious, we can create any outcome that we want in our mind and we’ve just shot level par for nine holes so let’s just pretend that we’ve made nine solid pars, that we haven’t holed a putt, haven’t made a birdie and let’s just start again on the tenth.

 “That’s exactly what we did and we executed the game plan and I’ve got a 69 on the card, so it was a good day’s work.”

Southgate, who is in the hunt for his first title, resolved to take the same positive mindset into Sunday.

 “I’d love to get a win over the line but ultimately I need to learn everything I can moving forwards,” he said.  “I think that’s really important tomorrow – to be open minded enough that whatever the outcome, we’ve got to take new things on board and realise that this might be a position that we might end up in a few more times, maybe this season or the rest of my career so that’s the goal – hit good shots, make good decisions but learn stuff as well.” 

Guerrier, who won twice on the Challenge Tour last season to secure his European Tour card, bookended his round with birdies and while there was an eagle on the 12th, his 66 was blemished with a pair of front nine bogeys.

MUSCAT, OMAN – FEBRUARY 17: Julien Guerrier of France celebtares his birdie on the opening hole during the third round of the NBO Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf on February 17, 2018 in Muscat, Oman. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

He’ll look to cash in on his Al Mouj knowledge Sunday.

“I’ve played four times here so I know the course quite well and I think it made the difference as on some holes you can go for it, and some you can’t, so I think it helped.

“I’ve played a lot of years on the Challenge Tour – I’ve played a couple of years on the European Tour in the past too and I want to stay here now.”

Of all the leaders, Luiten was the tidiest on moving day and crucially has the pedigree to kick on from successive 66s.

 “It was another perfect day,” said the 32-year-old who is searching for his sixth win on the European Tour and his first since capturing his home KLM Open in 2016.

MUSCAT, OMAN – FEBRUARY 16: Joost Luiten of Netherlands finnishes off his round on the par four 9th green during the second round of the NBO Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf on February 16, 2018 in Muscat, Oman. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

“There was some wind in the afternoon, but it was a light breeze which cooled things down beautifully. I played good golf. I played solid and did not get into any trouble. One bogey and seven birdies…what more do you want?”

Wood seemed to be cruising along until a pair of bogeys on the 17th and 18th proved his snakebite. He was lucky though – a members bounce off the rocks on the 18th could have go the other way into the Gulf of Oman and he is very much in the mix for his first win since the 2016 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after missing three successive cuts to start 2018.

The luckiest tee shot of 2018.@Chris3Wood ? pic.twitter.com/nmJ4kzXz9d

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 17, 2018

Dubai-domiciled Spaniard Adrian Oteagui sits at 10 under after a faultless 66 while Frenchman Alexander Levy, the highest ranked player in the field at No.62, signed for a 67 to get to -9. Levy has added motivation to ride the ladder Sunday –  currently 11^th in the Race to Dubai standings, he needs to squeeze into the top 10 to secure a spot in next month’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

The post Snakes and Ladders has Southgate, Luiten and Guerrier tied heading into Sunday in Muscat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
With Frenchman Alexander Levy the highest ranked player in the field at No. 62 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), the new NBO Oman Open offers fading stars and lesser lights the chance to shine.

Paul Waring and Matthew Southgate duly obliged Thursday, the Englishmen grabbing a share of the lead in the $1.75 million European Tour event with seven under 65s.

Both went bogey free around the majestic Al Mouj Golf layout but Southgate’s card was illuminated by an ace on island green 5th. The seven iron dunk from 165 yards was the 29-year-old’s second hole-in-one inside a month after he binned a nine iron on the par-3 7th at Emirates Golf Club during last month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic; it was also the second ace on the historic day in Muscat after German Marcel Siem holed out from 162 yards on the 13th moments earlier. In a bizarre coincidence, the caddies of both players are twin brothers – Gary and Guy Tilson. 

Southgate and Waring lead by a shot from Dutchman Daan Huizing who hit the first shot of the championship and just 65 further strokes to cash in on a special invite having played four of the five Challenge Tour events previously held at Al Mouj, including a T-10 at last November’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.

Ryder Cupper Andy Sullivan and fellow Englishman Callum Shinkwin were a shot further back after 67s while Matteo Manassero’s name was a welcome sight among a group of six players on 68.

Waring, the world No. 251, will be relived with his fast start after a challenging beginning to 2018 which has seen the 33-year-old miss three successive cuts en-route to Muscat after opening the wrap-around season with a T-41 effort in Hong Kong before Christmas.

Paul Waring

The 2005 English amateur champion played last season on a medical exemption after wrist and shoulder problems but also enjoyed a career-best campaign, finishing 60th on the Race to Dubai rankings and saw light despite the unwanted weekends off.

“I’d missed three cuts on the spin but I didn’t feel like I’d played badly to miss them. I didn’t feel too far away,” Waring told EuropeanTour.com after a round that included a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th (he started at 10) and birdies on all four par 5s.

“It was definitely a bit of a glide. I played some of the best golf I’ve played for a little while. I actually missed a few chances, which sounds ridiculous. I did hole a nice one on one from 30 or 40 feet which is nice to keep the momentum going. I’m really happy with that.”

Southgate’s early form hasn’t been much better than Waring’s. Ranked 163rd in the latest OWGR, he missed the cut at the SA Open and in Abu Dhabi before T-57 and T-62 finishes in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.   

It was a good day for this guy ?

Shoots 65
Makes a hole-in-one
Takes the first round lead pic.twitter.com/rIK3woah9R

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 15, 2018

The Southend-on-Sea professional provided one of the stories of 2015, coming through all three stages of Q-School to regain his card after surgery for testicular cancer just months earlier. More recently Southgate has been in the news for cruelly incurring a four stroke penalty at the DAP Championship during last September’s Web.com finals, a freak incident that ultimately cost him a PGA Tour card.

Putting on the 15th at Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio, his ball was struck by a leaf that blew across the green, nudging the ball off line ever so slightly.

Southgate finished the hole, but made a huge error in the process as he should have placed his ball back to its original location and replayed the shot without penalty. Instead, by continuing the hole, he was handed a four-stroke penalty – two for playing from the wrong spot and two more for signing an incorrect card.

Here’s the incident:

Golf is hard … especially when you’re playing for a @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/SoyWo6X01q

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) September 24, 2017

Sullivan, T-6 in Dubai and T-17 in Malaysia, is trending nicely as he looks to September’s Ryder Cup in Paris. The 31-year-old concedes complacency crept in after he slipped to 62nd place in last year’s Race to Dubai standings following back-to-back top 20 finishes in 2015 and 2016.

He achieved just two top-10s in 2017 but is determined to get back to the top after the high of qualifying for the 2016 Ryder Cup in Hazeltine.

“I think it was just a bit of complacency,” he told EuropeanTour.com. “I got to the Ryder Cup pretty early and achieved everything in really quick time and you just don’t realise how hard you have to work to maintain these things. I’d be guilty of that and of not quite performing how I wanted to.

“Since DP World we’ve put the hard work in and it’s nice to see it coming back to where it was so early. I didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly.

“Once you’ve played one Ryder Cup you don’t want to miss another one, it’s so special. My first one was in America and obviously we got humped but the whole experience is so awesome, being a part of that team, you just don’t want to miss another one.

“One of my goals is to try and force my way into that team. I know it’s going to be difficult and I’ve left myself a lot to do but that’s where I want to be again.”

Levy, for the record, signed for a one-under 71 Thursday, as did Andrew “Beef” Johnston.  Shubhankar Sharma, the 21-year-old Indian who leads the 2018 Race to Dubai after wins at the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship in the past two months, finished with a 73 despite a near tap-in eagle on the par-5 12th.

It was a tough day for the local hopes. Al Mouj teaching professional Steven Troup (SCO) is tied for 128th overnight after a 77 while Oman national team amateur Azaan Al Rumhy carded an 80. Bahrain amateur Nasser Yaqoob was on +13 after an 85.

The post Southgate, with an ace, and Waring lead in Muscat after 65s appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Not long after Pat Perez had waltzed around the Majlis’ back nine in a scarcely believable 29 strokes to haul himself back into the €3 million European Tour event, Frenchman Alexander Levy went and did this:

Hole-in-One! ?@alexlevygolf at the fourth hole ? pic.twitter.com/KZb7IcQhA3

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2018

It was the second ace in as many days on the Majlis after Englishman Matthew Southgate binned his tee shot on the par-3 7th.

Related: Southgate’s perfect timing

Did we also mention Rory McIlroy’s five birdies in seven holes to set the halfway lead at -15?

Perez started the third round at -6 but got it to -14 with eagles on the 13th and 18th in a outward nine also sprinkled with four further birdies. It was breathless stuff that had the Desert Classic on 59 watch for the second time in three days after Jamie Donaldson’s opening gambit which eventually ended with a 62.

8 under par through 9 holes! Wow.

Pat Perez is on fire out there ??? pic.twitter.com/kuQcGEOLyS

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2018

A bogey at the first, Perez’s 10th, and a par at the short par-4 second slowed the PGA Tour drawcard’s momentum but Ernie Els’ 1994 Majlis course record 61, -11 under,  is still under threat.

Indeed, strap yourselves in sports fans. Moving day is off to a cracking start, especially with Rory only easing into his third round. The way things have started Saturday, anything could happen.

The post Watch Alex Levy ace the 171 yard par-3 4th at Emirates Golf Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Whatever Tiger Woods can nearly do at Torrey Pines, Matthew Southgate can really do at Emirates Golf Club.

The 29-year-old Englishman aced the water-fronted par-3 7th on the Majlis Friday morning with a nine iron – roughly 12 hours after Woods nearly holed out on the 16th hole of the South Course at Torrey in an eventual even par start to his PGA Tour comeback at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Here’a Tiger’s near miss in case you missed it.

WOW!

THAT close to a hole-in-one for @TigerWoods!#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/VfEpjdSq6A

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 25, 2018

Southgate’s perfect shot helped him forget a bogey start to his second round at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, the start of which had been delayed by nearly three hours due to a blanket of heavy fog hovering over the European Tour venue.

It saw him move to -6 through 27 holes after his opening 68 and earned the world No.142 a Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Master Chronomter timepiece from headline sponsors OMEGA. The fun didn’t stop there either; he went on to eagle the par 5 -15 hole to get to -3 for his second round and -7 for the championship with five holes to play.

Southgate was due a bit of luck after cruelly incurring a fateful four stroke penalty at the DAP Championship during last September’s Web.com finals.

Putting on the 15th at Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio, his ball was struck by a leaf that blew across the green, nudging the ball off line ever so slightly.

Southgate finished the hole, but he made a huge error in the process as he should have placed his ball back to its original location and replayed the shot without penalty. Instead, by continuing the hole, he was handed a four-stroke penalty – two for playing from the wrong spot and two more for signing an incorrect card.

Here’s the incident:

Golf is hard … especially when you're playing for a @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/SoyWo6X01q

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 24, 2017

The unlucky break ultimately cost Southgate a PGA Tour card for 2018 but rather than cursing to the heavens and golf’s sometimes silly rules, it left him “embarrassed”.

“It was poor from me to not know the rules of a game I’ve played since I was two,” Southgate later told The Telegraph.

“I take full responsibility. ¬People say it’s bad luck but it’s not bad luck because I should have replayed the shot and could have made four. But I didn’t and it became nine, and that ¬became me missing my card. I’ve only got myself to blame. I’m not annoyed with anyone else.”

Overnight leader Jamie Donaldson, meanwhile, had stretched out to -12 through eight holes of his second round after his sizzling 62 on Thursday. He led by one from fast charging Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez who had birdied five times in an outward nine of 32.

The leaderboard will be complicated by days end due to the fog however with the marquee groups of Sergio Garcia-Henrik Stenson-Rory McIlroy and Pat Perez-Tommy Fleetwood and Thomas Pieters not scheduled to start their second rounds until 3.10pm and 3.20pm respectively.

That will see the cut-deciding second round spill over into Saturday and will force a big catch-up on moving day.

? Hole-in-One Alert ?@SouthgateMatt at the 7th hole with a 9-iron from 156 yards ?? pic.twitter.com/F4AM9XRQDF

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 26, 2018

The post Perfect timing as Southgate aces the par-3 7th hole at Emirates Golf Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Check out what happened on Sunday to Matthew Southgate, who was closing in on earning his PGA Tour card for the first time in the Web.com Tour Finals. Southgate faced a short birdie putt on the 15th hole of the final round of the DAP Championship when this gust from the gods got him:

Golf is hard … especially when you're playing for a @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/SoyWo6X01q

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 24, 2017

A leaf?! How’s that for a bad break? But actually, it turns out that it wasn’t as bad of a break as Southgate and most viewers initially thought. And as a result, the situation got much, much worse.

You see, Southgate was actually entitled to replay his putt thanks to Rule 19-1, which reads in full:

*Rule 19 – Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped*

*19-1. By Outside Agency*

*If a player’s ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency, it is a rub of the green, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, except:*

*a. If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke other than on the putting green comes to rest in or on any moving or animate outside agency, the ball must through the green or in a hazard be dropped, or on the putting green be placed, as near as possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball came to rest in or on the outside agency, but not nearer the hole, and*

*b. If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke on the putting green is deflected or stopped by, or comes to rest in or on, any moving or animate outside agency, except a worm, insect or the like, the stroke is canceled. The ball must be replaced and replayed.*

*If the ball is not immediately recoverable, another ball may be substituted.*

*Exception: Ball striking person attending or holding up flagstick or anything carried by him – see Rule 17-3b.*

*Note: If a player’s ball in motion has been deliberately deflected or stopped by an outside agency:*

    *(a) after a stroke from anywhere other than on the putting green, the spot where the ball would have come to rest must be estimated. If that spot is:*

        *(i) through the green or in a hazard, the ball must be dropped as near as possible to that spot;*

        *(ii) out of bounds, the player must proceed under Rule 27-1; or*

        *(iii) on the putting green, the ball must be placed on that spot.*

    *(b) after a stroke on the putting green, the stroke is canceled. The ball must be replaced and replayed.*

*If the outside agency is a fellow-competitor or his caddie, Rule 1-2 applies to the fellow-competitor. (Player’s ball deflected or stopped by another ball – see Rule 19-5)*

Hopefully, that’s one of the parts that will be simplified by the USGA when it makes its much-talked-about revision of golf’s rules. Asking someone to decipher all of that is more difficult than any reading comprehension portion of the SAT.

The important part involves a stroke on the green being affected by “any moving or animate outside agency,” then “the stroke is canceled,” and “the ball must be replaced and replayed.” Whoops.

Instead, Southgate, thinking he had gotten robbed by Mother Nature, tapped in for par. But by not replacing his ball, Southgate incurred a two-shot penalty after his round. Ouch. And by signing an incorrect scorecard (the penalty wasn’t discovered until too late), he was docked two more strokes. Ouch again.

Before having four shots tacked onto his card (he wound up making a quadruple bogey on 15 instead of that par), Southgate added a bogey on 17 and a triple bogey on 18 meaning he wound up losing eight shots on the final four holes to fall to T-64 for the event. Nicholas Lindheim won the tournament in a playoff over Chesson Hadley and Rob Oppenheim.

The low finish dropped him to 20th in the Web.com Tour Finals standings after three events. He’ll have one more chance at this week’s Web.com Tour Championship to remain in the top 25 of the standings and lock up his PGA Tour card for the upcoming season, but those four shots could loom large.

For a man who has shown tremendous courage and perseverance battling back from testicular cancer, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Southgate handled this crazy — and costly — four-shot penalty well on Sunday night.

https://twitter.com/SouthgateMatt/status/912037297612259328

Chin up, is right. But this should also serve as an important PSA to golfers everywhere: Know the rules — especially this one. Some of them actually are there to help you.

The post You won’t believe how a LEAF caused a four-shot penalty that may keep one golfer from earning his PGA Tour card appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Ian Poulter earned a return to the scene of his most memorable major performance as the final 15 spots for the 146^th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale were filled Tuesday.

The European Ryder Cup legend clinched one of three spots in final qualifying at his home club of Woburn after carding rounds of 70-68. It sets up a return to Royal Birkdale where he finished second to Padraig Harrington in 2008.

“Job done,” the 12-time European Tour winner told TheOpen.com. “Obviously going back to Birkdale after what happened in 2008 is special. You know I thought I had that 15-foot putt (on the 72nd) to maybe win or get in a play-off and then my Irish friend (Padraig Harrington) decided to go bananas on the last five holes.

Job done today @WoburnGC securing a spot in @TheOpen. Woburn was magnificent as always. @JackSinghBrar is going to be a star. Well played. pic.twitter.com/UdhKA8Qmnn

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 4, 2017

“It was a great week, my best in a major. All my family and friends were there to see me play and after I finished Katie told me she was pregnant with Lily, so it was happy days that week.”

Poulter now has the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open starting at Portstewart GC Thursday and next week’s Scottish Open at Dundonald to prepare for the year’s third big.

“I would say Birkdale is my favourite Open venue because of 2008 and I’m looking forward to competing there. It’s going to be a busy run. It will be my fourth tournament in a row but it’s about managing my energy levels. But as soon as I get there I will be pumped for the week.”

India’s Shiv Kapur, who made a special 4167-mile round trip from his home in Delhi to play, took the top spot at Woburn with scores of 71 and 65 for an -8, 136 total. England’s Toby Tree earned a start in the biggest championship of his career by tying Poulter for second on six-under-par.

Congrats to @shivkapur62 & @TobiasTree, who join @IanJamesPoulter in qualifying from Woburn for #TheOpen ? pic.twitter.com/Ht7GTGVZkb

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 4, 2017

Sweden’s Jens Dantorp left Woburn frustrated after receiving a two-shot penalty for having 15 clubs in his bag on his opening hole of the day before going on to finish one shot outside the qualifiers, TheOpen.com reported.

Elsewhere, Matthew Southgate won his final qualifying event for the third time in four years and clinched back-to-back wins at Royal Cinque Ports at Deal.

The Englishman won at Sunningdale in 20145 before going on to miss the cut at Royal Liverpool. He failed to qualify for St Andrews the following year and instead spent the week of The Open in recovery from a testicular cancer operation.

Royal Cinque Ports confirmed qualifiers – @SouthgateMatt, @RobDin29 & @AustinConnelly9 – congratulations guys. See you at Royal Birkdale ? pic.twitter.com/PA0qmCk7kD

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 4, 2017

Southgate made an emotional return to The Open with a T12 finish at Royal Troon last year, just missing out on an automatic trip to Royal Birkdale.

Visit TheOpen.com for the full list of qualifying results from Gailes Links, Hillside, Notts Hollinwell, Royal Cinque Ports and Woburn.

The post Poulter punches his ticket to “favourite Open venue” Royal Birkdale in final qualifying appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.