For the 10th time in its storied 134-year history, Goswick Links will welcome 135 top professional and amateur players from seven countries on Monday hoping to advance past Regional Qualifying and ultimately earn a spot in The Open to be played at Royal Troon 18-21 July.
Goswick, a classic James Braid-designed authentic links course set in the sand dunes along the Northumberland coast midway betweenNewcastle and Edinburgh, previously hosted Regional Qualifying from 2008-2012,2018-2019 and 2022-2023. This is the last year in the current agreement to be one of 15 Regional Qualifying venues as selected by the R&A.
“We are honoured and proud to once again play our part in helping to identify the players worthy of competing for the Claret Jug,” said Goswick General Manager Keith Martin. “We’re obviously biased about the quality of our links. But the performance of these very talented players and the positive feedback they share helps to validate everything we are striving to achieve in making a great championship course even better.”
Given the strength of the field, it’s impossible to predict who will earn the coveted spots in Finals Qualifying. But some notables to keep an eye on include:
- Chris Doak – A former DP World Tour player.
- Sam Westwood – Son of England golf legend Lee Westwood.
- Oliver, Cameron and Samuel Mukherjee –The three brothers have each made a name for himself among Scotland's junior ranks, highlighted by Oliver’s victory in the Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship in 2022.
- Jack McDonald, Jordan Clements and Morgan Blythe – They were among the eight players who advanced from Goswick a year ago.
- Daniel Bullen, ShaneArmstrong, Archie Cook and David Ord – These four local heroes will represent Goswick, highlighted by Bullen who is just coming off an unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the Goswick Club Championship.
The field will go off in 3-balls starting at 6:45 am and continuing every 10 minutes until 2:25. The general public is very welcome to come out and watch the play, which this year will include contending with Goswick’s most tenacious rough in recent memory — fueled by this season’s warm and wet weather.