Byeong Hun An and David Lingmerth finished tied third at the Scottish Open to earn a golden ticket to Hoylake, as Danish star Nicolai Hojgaard secured the third and final qualifying spot at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
The trio booked their places at Royal Liverpool as the highest finishers in the Scottish Open, who were not already exempt, with South Korean , An, who finished ten-under, five strokes behind winner Rory McIlroy, admitting he now needed to get his clothes cleaned for The Open next week.
An, who closed with a final round 70, said: “It feels great. Hoylake was my first Open as a pro in 2014. I had a good finish. I can’t wait to go back there. I am looking forward to it. I remember the place. It's a great golf course.
"I wasn’t expecting to go back, I have to go and do my laundry. At least I have a lot of warm clothes. I've got everything, just need to do laundry so that will be my whole afternoon. The Open wasn't in my mind but it was good preparation playing the links course the week before. Hopefully I can keep this up and play a little better."
An, ranked 131st in the world, finished tied 26th the last time The Open was at Hoylake with a final round 72 for a four-under finish. On Sunday, he kept calm despite finding the high winds in Scotland very testing. He went on to add: “With these windy conditions it is hard to putt. Even taps-in are not easy but I grinded it out and made some good putts coming in.”
The tough conditions did not deter Lingmerth, who carded 66 and a final 68 over the weekend to storm up the leaderboard. It ensured he and An tied with Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, who closed with a 70. The crucial moments for the Swede came when Lingmerth reached the par 5 10th in two for a birdie and drove the green on the downwind 13th, which was 373 yards, to set up another.
Hojgaard also impressed on the back nine as he qualified for The Open to join his twin brother, Rasmus, in the field at Hoylake. Hojgaard carded a final round three-under 67 after an eagle on the 13th and birdies on the 15th and 16th. His eagle was particularly impressive after driving the ball on to the green before sinking his putt.
