Opportunity knocks this week for Jonathan Caldwell and Cormac Sharvin to play their way into the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews with spots up for grabs at the Dutch Open.
The leading three players who finish in the top ten and ties at the Dutch Open who are not already exempt will earn their Open places, with Sharvin and Caldwell hoping to put aside their struggles and punch a ticket to St Andrews.
The Dutch Open is the sixth event in The Open Qualifying Series having been included for the first time and will be played at Bernardus Golf, Cromvoirt from 26-29 May.
Thomas Pieters recently confirmed his participation in this year’s Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet and he is one of twelve players including compatriot Thomas Detry, Nicolai Hojgaard, Bernd Wiesberger and Guido Migliozzi already exempt for the 150th Open.
British Masters winner Thorbjorn Olesen, who also confirmed he will tee it up in Mount Juliet, is not yet exempt while Frenchman Victor Perez and Andy Sullivan will be hoping to secure their spots this week.
With just a fortnight to go until Caldwell returns to Sweden to defend his Scandinavian Mixed title, he will be keen to arrest a run of successive missed cuts this week and turn around what has been a disappointing season.
Since winning his maiden DP World Tour title, the Clandeboye native has struggled to replicate the same vein of form and is yet to post a top-20 finish. A T-26 finish at last year’s Portugal Masters has been the best he could offer up over the last eleven months.
A share of 40th in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters is the 37-year-old’s best result this season.
Caldwell tees off alongside Italy’s Andrea Pavan and England’s Matthew Southgate.
Sharvin is hoping to make his first cut in six attempts in the Netherlands this week and turn around what has been another torrid season.
The Ardglass native has only made one cut this season at the Magical Kenya Open and has been grouped with England’s Jack Singh Brar and Dutch amateur Jack Ingham.
Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg is back at the site of his second DP World Tour title after he completed an emotional victory following an injury ravaged six years.
He is making his first appearance since withdrawing from the Qatar Masters in March after a reoccurrence of his injury troubles.
Broberg held an eight-stroke advantage heading into last year’s final round and a level-par 72 saw him hold off Mattias Schmid for a three-shot victory.
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