The Open final qualifying: Poulter, Westwood & McDowell chasing Royal Portrush spots

It is a cut-throat business laced with sporting romance.

Poulter begins his 36-hole bid in the company of Tom Lewis, who shot 65, a record low score for an amateur, when he took the first-round lead as a qualifier at Royal St George’s in 2011.

McDowell was thrilled to be at Portrush, the town of his birth, in 2019 when The Open was staged there for the first time in 68 years. He grabbed a qualifying spot at the Canadian Open, a route no longer open to him because of his LIV affiliation.

“With the Open going back to Royal Portrush, it’s been a big focus,” McDowell revealed. “I’ll play Dallas and fly straight to London, and I’ll go down to the qualifier.

“I’m going to Royal Cinque Ports. It’s maybe not the best prep in the world, but I’ll be pretty fired up.

“I’m excited. It would certainly be bittersweet to not be there, but I’ll definitely be giving it my full attention and be trying hard.”

He knows this will be a special championship given how Shane Lowry delighted home fans on the island of Ireland with his runaway victory six years ago.

And McDowell’s Northern Irish compatriot, Rory McIlroy, will bring the Masters Green Jacket, a career Grand Slam, and a huge buzz to the Antrim venue.

“It would be amazing,” the 45-year-old Ulsterman added. “With everything that Rory’s done this year, with Shane being the defending champion, to go back to Portrush, it’s going to be a special week.

“It goes without saying that I’d love to be a part of it.”

McDowell tees off with the highly promising Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who contended before finishing 12th at the US Open in June. He has yet to compete at an Open.

Also entered at the Deal course is DP World Tour stalwart Matt Southgate, who was sixth at the 2017 Open and promising amateurs Tyler Weaver and Kris Kim. If successful, Weaver – along with Luke Poulter – will warm up for Portrush by representing England Golf men’s squad in the European Amateur Championships from 8-12 July in Kilarney, Ireland.

Chris Wood was a 20-year-old amateur when he finished in a share of fifth at the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale. A year later only Stewart Cink and Tom Watson finished better than him at Turnberry as he shared third place with Lee Westwood.

Both Englishman are seeking a ticket to Portrush. Wood plays alongside Eddie Pepperell (T6 in 2018) at Burnham and Berrow while Westwood makes the journey from LIV Dallas to Dundonald.

On the Ayrshire coast, he will be reunited with former Ryder Cup partner Jamie Donaldson.

The field there also includes Alex Noren, who was in the final pairing with champion Scottie Scheffler at the US PGA Championship in May, as well as tour winners Marc Warren and Adrian Meronk.

Former Masters champion Danny Willett tries his luck at West Lancashire along with the likes of Sam Bairstow, Alex Fitzpatrick, Joe Dean and Sam Horsfield.

In the United States, they call final qualifying for the US Open “the longest day”. It is a marketing ploy that could easily be attributed to the four events across the UK this Tuesday.

Destiny could be decided by sudden death play-off and at each venue dreams will be realised while hearts are being broken. It is golf in its rawest form with a place in the game’s most historic tournament at stake.

It should be quite the conversation over the Poulter family dinner table.