Rose qualifies for British Open, Garcia misses

• Justin Rose qualified for the British Open in Troon.
• Sergio Garcia missed qualifying for the second year in a row.
• Rose remains optimistic about winning the Open; Garcia indicated that delays due to large crowds were a factor in him missing qualifying.
• For more golf news.

England’s Justin Rose qualified on Tuesday for the British Open, which will be held in Troon this month, while his former Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia again failed to secure a place in golf’s oldest major championship for the second year in a row.

The 43-year-old Rose, the 2013 US Open winner, secured one of four available places in the final round of qualifying at Burnham Burrow in Somerset.

Rose has missed the cut in four of his last five majors but still believes he has what it takes to win the British Open, an event he cemented with a fourth-place finish at Birkdale in 1998 as a 17-year-old amateur and a second-place finish at Carnoustie in 2018.

“I feel a bit of a buzz at the moment,” 2016 Olympic champion Rose told Sky Sports. “I think I’ve come in with a good attitude… I still feel like I can win the Open. To win, you have to compete.”

But on the West Lancashire course there was disappointment for another former major champion as Garcia failed to qualify for the British Open, finishing two strokes behind the top four, just as he did 12 months ago.

The Spaniard’s low world ranking since joining LIV Golf means the only major tournament he qualifies for on merit is the US Masters, as he is a former champion.

Garcia is still a popular figure, however, as was evident from the hundreds of spectators who followed him on Tuesday. However, this did cause problems, as there were long waiting times at each hole due to the large crowds.

That resulted in his team being warned for playing slowly, which Garcia said was unfair and contributed to a number of missed balls, which proved decisive.

“The marshals did their best, but we had to stop for two or three minutes at every tee because there were people walking on the fairways,” Garcia said.

“I don’t think they took that into account and that was a shame because it meant we had to rush. And on a day like today, with such difficult conditions, you might need a little extra time. That’s why I made a couple of bogeys, which might have meant I couldn’t go to Troon.”

The 152nd Open in Troon, on the southwest coast of Scotland, will take place from July 18 to 21. Brian Harman from the United States will defend the title he won last year in Hoylake.