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Garcia Fails Open Qualifying, Cites Lasagna Nausea

7/1/2026

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Summary

Garcia Misses Qualifying

Sergio Garcia missed qualifying for the 2026 Open Championship after the Final Qualifying at West Lancashire on 2026-06-30.
He opened with a 4-under-par 68, then shot a 3-over-par 75 to finish one under, saying a lasagna eaten between rounds made him nauseous and consider stopping.
Sam Bairstow led at 10 under while Kazuma Kobori, Tiger Christensen, Jose Luis Ballester and Matthew Jordan also earned qualifying spots.

Summary

Americans Qualify

Matthew Baldwin qualified at Royal Birkdale while Marcus Plunkett, a West Point graduate and former Army serviceman, earned a spot at the Dundonald Links qualifier.
Peter Uihlein, Caleb Surratt and James Nicholas were the only Americans to earn spots in both the Open and U.S. Open via 36-hole qualifiers.
Amateurs David Howard, Nevill Ruiter and Alejandro de Castro Piera also advanced, keeping non-professionals in the Open.

Summary

Garcia in Qualifier

The final qualifying for the 2026 Open Championship, called “Golf’s Longest Day,” will fill the last 20 spots for the July 16 Birkdale event.
Four tournaments in Scotland and England will each host about 71 players playing 36 holes for five berths.
The fields include former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, 2016 U.S. Open winner Danny Willett now on LIV Golf and YouTube golfers George Bryan and Wesley Bryan.

History

Historical Context

The Open Championship added a formal qualifying stage in 1907, creating a process that trims over 2,500 worldwide entrants to a 156-player field. That system evolved into local and final qualifying events, such as the 2026 Final Qualifying at West Lancashire where Sergio García, Matthew Baldwin and 20 others compete for spots at Birkdale on July 16.

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Garcia Misses Qualifying

Sergio Garcia missed qualifying for the 2026 Open Championship after the Final Qualifying at West Lancashire on 2026-06-30.
He opened with a 4-under-par 68, then shot a 3-over-par 75 to finish one under, saying a lasagna eaten between rounds made him nauseous and consider stopping.
Sam Bairstow led at 10 under while Kazuma Kobori, Tiger Christensen, Jose Luis Ballester and Matthew Jordan also earned qualifying spots.

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