Lee Westwood reacts after sealing stunning Open return

Lee Westwood will return to The Open for the first time since 2022 after a stunning performance in Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links.

The 52-year-old carded rounds of 70 and 67 to lead the 36-hole marathon on seven-under and punch his ticket to Royal Portrush.

It will also be the first major championship he’s contested since a T34 finish at the Old Course, and the LIV Golf man is excited about that prospect.

“I’ve always said it’s the greatest championship in golf and as a British player you get phenomenal support,” Westwood told reporters after his second round.

“I really enjoyed Portrush last time. I finished fourth and played nicely.

“I’m just looking forward to enjoying the week at Portrush. Seeing a few old friends and enjoying that golf course. For me, it’s in the top three links courses in the British Isles.”

He later told bunkered.co.uk of how much he has missed playing in the game’s ‘big four’.

“I think if you play golf to a high level, the major championships are the ones you want to play,” he said.

“They are the biggest tournaments. It’s always nice to test yourself on the toughest golf courses against the best players.”

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Westwood only arrived at the qualifying site at 7:30pm last night, after he was in LIV action in Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club.

He finished T25, nine strokes behind eventual winner Patrick Reed, but the man that arrived in Scotland was a far more refined one.

The Englishman was delighted to open with a two-under-par round in the morning, especially after carding a double bogey seven on the par-5 14th.

“It’s dropped now, but there were times out there where there was a couple of club winds,” Westwood said.

“I get the feeling that you can score around the front nine on this golf course and you kind of have to hold on around the back. It just appears to play that way. I’ve only played it twice.

“I was quite happy getting through the back nine in one-under-par this afternoon and being three-under for the tournament and feeling like I could put my foot down around the back nine.”

But can Westwood break his major duct on his second Open appearance at Portrush?

Well, he is adamant that despite his age, he can compete on the Dunluce links, albeit lifting the Claret Jug might be one step too far.

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“I think of any major championship, you can compete on links courses,” he said. “I think Tom Watson proved that around Turnberry in 2009. And then Greg Norman a couple of years later at Birkdale.

“I think if any form of golf gives seniors a chance, it’s links golf, because you get a bit of run on the ball and you have to use a bit of cunning and guile with the wind.

“But I’m not going in there with any preconceived ideas. I won’t have any expectations.”

Meanwhile, Scot Daniel Young and Spaniard Angel Hidalgo also qualified after finishing T2 on –6. Swede Jasper Sandberg sealed his Open spot on –5 and Scottish amateur Connor Graham won a play-off for the final place.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.